Dolly Parton is bringing her signature sparkle to the Broadway stage.
The queen of nation revealed thrilling new particulars about her upcoming musical, Whats up, I’m Dolly, set to make its debut someday in 2026.
The long-awaited musical will reportedly chronicle her life and profession — from her humble beginnings in Tennessee, the place she grew up with 11 siblings, to her rise within the Nashville music scene and past. It’ll function a mixture of her timeless hits and new unique songs.
“I’m writing my life story as a musical for Broadway,” Parton, 78, mentioned throughout a dialog with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Aug. 27. “We’re engaged on it now, and it takes months and months to get these sorts of issues collectively.”
Whereas the present will embrace “all of the hits that you understand,” Parton emphasised that the story will delve into “what was occurring at the moment” in her life, providing a deeper look behind the music.
Right here’s every little thing we all know to date about Whats up, I’m Dolly — and the massive query on everybody’s thoughts: Who might don the enduring blond wig to play the queen of nation?
What we find out about ‘Whats up, I’m Dolly’
The title is a nod to her 1967 debut album, which included songs like “Dumb Blonde” and “One thing Fishy.”
The manufacturing has been in improvement for years, however main clues about what it should appear to be may be present in NBC’s TV film Coat of Many Colours (2015), first revealed to followers by way of an unique preview on Yahoo.
Launched and narrated by Parton herself, the movie starred Alyvia Alyn Lind as a younger Parton and was impressed by the singer’s autobiographical tune of the identical identify. It drew in almost 16 million viewers and marked the start of Parton’s journey to carry her life story to Broadway.
In a June 2016 interview with Selection, Parton revealed that the movie was supposed as “a very good promotional instrument” for the Broadway musical, which on the time had no agency launch date.
She confirmed that the stage manufacturing would delve into points of her life depicted within the TV movie, together with her harsh experiences as a younger lady just like the untimely beginning and lack of a child brother.
“The entire first act is my early days earlier than I went to Nashville,” she mentioned of the musical. “The second act is about my days in Nashville and past. So the primary a part of the musical can be so much like Coat of Many Colours with music and songs and can contain extra particulars.”
Who else is concerned?
The musical will function a rating by Parton and can embrace a few of her largest hits in addition to new songs.
The e-book can be co-written by Parton and longtime collaborator Maria Schlatter, who received an Emmy in 2021 for producing Netflix’s Christmas on the Sq., starring Parton and Christine Baranski. It’s produced by Parton, Adam Speers for ATG Productions and Danny Nozell for CTK Enterprises.
Will probably be directed by Bartlett Sher, whose Broadway directorial credit embrace The Bridges of Madison County (2014) and the revivals of Fiddler on the Roof (2015) and My Honest Woman (2018). Extra members of the artistic staff and casting have but to be introduced.
This ain’t her first rodeo
Although Parton herself hasn’t starred on Broadway as a performer, she has appeared in musicals as a composer and lyricist.
In 2009, Parton premiered 9 to five: The Musical, the stage adaptation of the 1980 hit movie through which she starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Parton not solely composed the rating for the present but in addition noticed Megan Hilty step into her unique function. The musical ran on Broadway from April to September 2009 and earned a Tony Award nomination for Greatest New Musical.
Earlier than that, Parton’s music had been featured in Candles, Snow & Mistletoes (1993), a three-day Christmas selection present that featured her 1984 tune “With Bells On,” a duet with Kenny Rogers.
Parton’s music was additionally showcased in a regional manufacturing of Right here You Come Once more, a musical that debuted final 12 months that includes the story of a diehard fan whose imaginary model of Parton will get him by way of attempting instances. Although she wasn’t a part of the artistic staff, the musical featured her hits “Jolene,” “9 to five” and “Islands within the Stream.”
May three actresses play her?
The present might very effectively be in three acts, that includes totally different actresses who would play her at three totally different phases of her life and profession — like what The Cher Present and Summer season: The Donna Summer season Musical have completed.
“I’ve to have no less than two, effectively, three Dollys, actually,” she mentioned in a February 2022 interview on the discuss present Mr. Nashville Talks.
“I’ve to have a bit Dolly, we’ve to have the medium one and, now that I’ve lived lengthy sufficient to be older, I’d play myself as my older self,” she teased. “I do not know. Anyhow, however there’s some ways to do it.”
Who might play the queen of nation music?
Parton has acknowledged that nobody has but formally signed on to play her within the upcoming musical, joking within the 2022 interview with Mr. Nashville Talks, “It is determined by once I get it completed. Most of them age out!”
Over time, nevertheless, she’s teased a couple of stars who might fill her iconic sneakers:
Kristin Chenoweth
The Broadway powerhouse and high-pitched soprano has for years been subtly — and generally not so subtly — campaigning to play Parton.
In March 2022, she playfully retweeted a put up concerning the musical, merely stating, “I’m prepared Dolly.” Her ambitions had been crystal clear in a December 2021 interview with Jay Leno on The Kelly Clarkson Present, through which she declared, “I wish to [play Dolly in the musical]. I simply wish to say, ‘Dolly, the place’s my digital camera?’”
Parton has expressed her help for Chenoweth at numerous instances.
Throughout Carrie Underwood’s 2009 Christmas particular, Parton mentioned, “I feel Kristin Chenoweth can be actual good,” including, “I’m hoping that she would possibly presumably do this once I get completed.”
She echoed these sentiments on Mr. Nashville Talks in 2022, saying, “I like Kristin Chenoweth. She’s simply completely improbable. I assumed she’d be a perfect individual to try this.”
Carrie Underwood
In the identical 2009 Christmas particular, Parton jokingly advised that Underwood might tackle the function.
“[If you’re interested], we might get you a giant ol’ bra and get you all fastened up!” she mentioned. Whereas it appeared lighthearted, it confirmed that Parton noticed actual potential within the American Idol alum.
Miley Cyrus
Although Cyrus hasn’t publicly campaigned for the function, followers had been fast to appoint the “Flowers” singer, who additionally occurs to be Parton’s goddaughter.
When Parton shared the official brand of the musical on Instagram in June, followers flooded the feedback with strategies like, “Nominating @mileycyrus to play younger Dolly” and “Forged Miley Cyrus as Dolly—we’d like her to get a Tony!”
Cyrus donned Parton’s well-known wig throughout a January 2020 look on The Tonight Present, the place she and host Jimmy Fallon impersonated Parton and Kenny Rogers for a rendition of their 1983 duet “Islands within the Stream.”
