Great Performances airs Mondays at 9 PM

Great Performances presents Girl from the North Country, a revelatory musical that reinvents Bob Dylan’s timeless catalog—including “Forever Young,” “Hurricane,” and “Like A Rolling Stone”—into a gripping narrative of struggle and redemption. Set in 1934 Duluth, Minnesota, against the bleak backdrop of the Great Depression, the story unfolds in a dilapidated boarding house where an eclectic group of travelers—a bankrupt family, a boxer on the run, a preacher with a shady past—seek shelter. Their lives intertwine in unexpected ways, with Dylan’s lyrics serving as both commentary and catharsis.

The genius of this production lies in its alchemy: Conor McPherson, the Olivier Award-winning playwright, crafts a script that’s as poetic as Dylan’s own words, while Simon Hale’s Tony-winning orchestrations rework the songs into lush, soul-stirring ensemble pieces. The result is neither tribute act nor nostalgia trip, but a wholly original theatrical experience—one that reveals new depths in Dylan’s work while telling a story that feels urgently human.