"An extraordinary oral history of the making of a modern musical masterpiece." - Buzz Magazine
"Fascinating . Provides a rare insight into the very process of theatre itself." - The Irish
Times The incredible journey of a musical from potential disaster to success and the
Broadway industry that managed to stay alive during the pandemic shutdown of 2020-22. Despite
historic seemingly insurmountable setbacks of four openings Bob Dylan and Conor McPherson's
musical Girl from the North Country became a critical Broadway hit. Hailed as an experience "as
close as mortals come to heaven on earth " by The New York Times the musical weaves two dozen
songs from the legendary catalogue of Bob Dylan into a story of Duluth during the Great
Depression to create a future American classic. Opening on Broadway in the middle of an
unprecedented moment Slow Train Coming is a book about pressing on in the face of extreme
adversity. Todd Almond's behind-the-scenes oral history weaves his personal first-hand account
of starring in the show with exclusive interviews and reflections from fellow cast members and
the creative team. Together they follow the show from its beginnings at New York's Public
Theater where it emerged as an underdog-of-a-show through a fraught jump to Broadway against a
backdrop of the emerging Covid-19 pandemic and the longest shutdown in Broadway history which
resulted in the theatre industry's subsequent fight for survival. Told through personal
stories anecdotes from the cast production shots behind-the-scenes photos and insights from
the creators this book is both an inside look at a perilous moment of one of America's
proudest institutions Broadway and a true story of American grit and determination lived by
the company of this quirky musical-that-could.
