Dolly Parton‘s story may be headed to the Great White Way, but it’s taking a detour to Music City first.
The country music legend announced in a January 28 press conference at Belmont University that the musical telling the story of her life will debut in Nashville in July 2025 before taking on Broadway in 2026.
Dolly Parton’s Musical Will Spend the Summer at Belmont University
The Nashville production will play for four weeks at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. Preview performances begin July 18, with the official opening night set for August 8. The show will close on August 17. Tickets are now on sale at www.dollymusical.com.
The musical, originally titled “Hello, I’m Dolly,” has been rechristened “Dolly: An Original Musical.” It is under the direction of Tony Award-winning Bartlett Sher, described by The New York Times as one of America’s “most original and exciting directors.”
Parton herself penned the musical alongside Maria S. Schlatter, who co-wrote the TV movie “Christmas on the Square” with the singer. But the songs in the show are Dolly’s alone.
Parton says on the show’s website, “I’ve lived my whole life to see this show on stage. I’ve written many original songs for the show and included all your favorites as well. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll clap, you’ll stomp, it truly is a Grand Ol’ Opera. Pun and fun intended.”
Nashville Run Will Be a Testing Ground for the Musical
Sher said in the January 28 press conference that the Music City run will be a chance to fine tune the musical. In fact, he expects even the second week of previews to look substantially different from the first.
For Parton, it’s all about getting to tell her own story. When asked during the same press conference why she’s doing the musical now, the country icon said:
“Well, I ain’t getting no younger, but as I tell my husband, I ain’t getting no older either. … I’ve outlived so many plastic surgeons. But I actually have always wanted to do my life story as a musical. And I just thought that I wanted to see it done while I’m still around, to be able to oversee it and make sure that it’s done properly in a way that I would want to see it, rather than to wait till I’m gone and let somebody else decide how they think it should be done.”
Parton explained:
“In the musical people say, ‘Well, I thought we knew everything about your life. Well you do, ’cause I’ve lived long enough. If you’ve been watching anything, you know all about me, you think. But actually, we will be doing lots of songs that you know in the musical. But I’ve written a whole lot of original songs, and I’m having a whole lot of fun working with Maria Schlatter, who I’ve written the book with, or the playbill or whatever you call it. But it’s my story, of course, so I’m giving her an earful of stuff that a lot of people have not seen yet. Of course, we’re lucky enough to have the wonderful Bart Sher to direct it and tell my story in the way that I think it should be.”
Who Will Play Dolly Parton?
Three different actors will portray Parton at different ages in the musical. And that works for her.
“I wish I had three of me a lot of times, the way I work,” she joked at the January 28 press conference. No casting decisions have been released.
The country legend says she’s incorporating a lot of Broadway style into the show but will still stay true to her country roots.
“We use a lot of the country instruments. … And I think they’ll appreciate me taking Nashville to New York with all those country sounds,” said Parton. “And when I had a chance to do something bigger and broader where I thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna get to have an orchestra — that’s gonna be great if I can have strings on this and that,’ it was exciting and fun for me to write the new stuff.”
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Dolly Parton Brings Broadway to Nashville