Well, it's not 'Mamma Mia'... I'm talking about 'Girl From The North Country', the remarkable new play by Conor McPherson with music by Bob Dylan – which is definitely not a musical. And, as with most things that Dylan touches, it has a magic that is quite unlike anything else.
It's on at the Old Vic in London until October 7 and tickets are increasingly hard to come by. The word has got around that this is something special – and it lives up to its billing.
You don't expect something set in 1930s Depression-hit Minnesota to be a bundle of laughs, but there is humour woven in among the tragic storylines, and joyous moments amid the harshness of reality.
It's not a musical, it's not a jukebox musical... and the music that it does use is not a 'greatest hits' selection. It's lovely to hear less feted songs from 'Infidels' and 'Street Legal' being put into a new and passionate context, and the brilliant actors/musicians produce remarkable versions of 'Has Anybody Seen My Love?' and a dead-slow 'I Want You' (in the ballad style you can find on the 'Live At Budokan' album).
To tell anymore would spoil enjoyment of the show. Best thing is to go and see it. You are unlikely to be disappointed.
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