I’ve had a slow start to the year in my personal life. Some of this was planned, some the result of extended holiday breaks for some of my regular events. On Sunday evening, I walked over to the performing arts center and took in a traveling Broadway production. I found a discounted resale single ticket in the middle of the front row of the upper deck and snagged it for an unobstructed view. The only things I knew about the show before seeing it were the name of the show (Girl from the North Country) and that it was a musical set to Bob Dylan music. Other than that, I was going in blind, which is not how I normally operate.

This was my second event at DPAC. For a city the size of Durham, it is an amazing venue. This was also my second time in the third deck but I don’t feel compelled to spend more money to be lower down, especially at the price I was able to get my seat. There were lots of stairs to climb since I didn’t want to wait on an elevator, but I went ahead and got into my seat early so that I could get settled in and claim the armrests before the seats filled up around me. I was on the younger side of the attendees but a few young people were there with their parents so I wasn’t the youngest.

The show itself was melancholic. It was set in late 1934 against the backdrop of an impending Minnesota winter. There were a few jokes and some cursing that brought some levity but the show stayed serious as it progressed. Not one of the characters had a happy beginning, nor a happy existence during the play itself, nor was any blessed with a happy postscript. It was an appropriate tone for a performance in the relative cold of early January and Bob Dylan music is hardly upbeat and cheerful. The set design and choreography were reminiscent of the mid-sized productions I’ve seen in New York. I actually expected more of a drop off since this was a traveling production so that was a pleasant surprise. I don’t see myself buying a season ticket this year, or for the foreseeable future, but it is nice to know that I have the option of a different type of entertainment within walking distance.