Dolly Parton brings her signature sparkle to the Broadway stage.
The Queen of Country revealed exciting new details about her upcoming musical, Hello, I’m Dolly, The debut is scheduled to take place sometime in 2026.
The long-awaited musical will reportedly document her life and career, from her humble beginnings in Tennessee, where she grew up with 11 siblings, to her rise in the Nashville music scene and beyond. It will feature a mix of her timeless hits and new original songs.
“I’m writing my life story as a musical for Broadway,” Parton, 78, said during a conversation with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on August 27. “We’re working on it right now, and it takes months and months to get things like this off the ground.”
While the show will feature “all the hits you know,” Parton stressed that the story will delve deeper into the events of her life at the time and offer a deeper look behind the scenes of music.
Here is everything we know so far about Hello, I’m Dolly – and the big question on everyone’s mind: Who could wear the iconic blonde wig to play the country queen?
What we know about “Hello, I’m Dolly”
The title is a reference to their 1967 debut album, which included songs like “Dumb Blonde” and “Something Fishy.”
The production has been in development for years, but important clues about what it will look like can be found in NBC’s TV movie Coat in many colors (2015), was first introduced to fans in an exclusive preview on Yahoo.
The film was introduced and narrated by Parton herself. Alyvia Alyn Lind played the young Parton. The film was inspired by the singer’s autobiographical song of the same name. It attracted nearly 16 million viewers and marked the beginning of Parton’s journey to bring her life story to Broadway.
In an interview with Variety in June 2016, Parton revealed that the film was intended as a “good promotional tool” for the Broadway musical, which did not yet have a set release date.
She confirmed that the stage production will explore aspects of her life portrayed in the television film, including her difficult experiences as a young girl, such as being born prematurely and losing her baby brother.
“The whole first act is about my early days before I went to Nashville,” she said of the musical. “The second act is about my days in Nashville and beyond. So the first part of the musical will be very similar to Coat in many colors with music and songs and will include more details.”
Who else is involved?
The musical features a score by Parton and includes some of her biggest hits as well as new songs.
The book is co-written by Parton and her longtime collaborator Maria Schlatter, who won an Emmy in 2021 for producing Netflix’s Christmas on the square, starring Parton and Christine Baranski. The film is produced by Parton, Adam Speers for ATG Productions and Danny Nozell for CTK Enterprises.
Directed by Bartlett Sher, who has already directed on Broadway The bridges at Madison County (2014) and the revivals of Fiddler on the Roof (2015) and My beautiful lady (2018). Additional creative team members and cast have yet to be announced.
This is not her first rodeo
Although Parton herself has not performed on Broadway as a performer, she has appeared in musicals as a composer and lyricist.
In 2009, Parton premiered 9 to 5: The Musicalthe stage adaptation of the hit 1980 film, in which she played alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Parton not only composed the music for the show, but also arranged for Megan Hilty to take on her original role. The musical ran on Broadway from April to September 2009 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best New Musical.
Previously, Parton’s music was heard in Candles, snow & mistletoe (1993), a three-day Christmas variety show that featured her 1984 song “With Bells On,” a duet with Kenny Rogers.
Parton’s music was also featured in a regional production of Here you come againa musical that premiered last year and tells the story of a diehard fan whose imaginary version of Parton gets him through difficult times. Although she was not part of the creative team, her hits “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “Islands in the Stream” were performed in the musical.
Could three actresses play her?
The show could well be in three acts, with different actresses playing them in three different phases of their lives and careers – such as The Cher Show And Summer: The Donna Summer Musical I have done.
“I have to have at least two, well, actually three Dollys,” she said in an interview in February 2022 on the talk show Mr Nashville speaks.
“I have to have a small dolly, we have to have the medium one and now that I’m old enough to be older, maybe I’ll play my older self,” she teased. “I don’t know. Anyway, there are lots of ways to do it.”
Who could play the queen of country music?
Parton admitted that no one has officially agreed to play her in the upcoming musical and joked in the interview with Mr Nashville speaks, “It depends on when I do it. Most people get too old!”
Over the years, however, she has touted a few stars who could follow in her legendary footsteps:
Kristin Chenoweth
The Broadway star with the shrill soprano has been subtly – and sometimes less subtly – promoting the role of Parton for years.
In March 2022, she playfully retweeted a post about the musical and simply said, “I’m ready, Dolly.” Her ambitions were revealed in an interview with Jay Leno in December 2021 on The Kelly Clarkson Show, in which she explained: “I want to (play Dolly in the musical). I just want to say, ‘Dolly, where’s my camera?'”
Parton has expressed her support for Chenoweth on several occasions.
During Carrie Underwood’s 2009 Christmas special, Parton said, “I think Kristin Chenoweth would be really good,” adding, “I hope she might do that when I’m done.”
She reiterated these views on Mr Nashville speaks in 2022 and said, “I love Kristin Chenoweth. She’s just absolutely amazing. I thought she would be the ideal person for this.”
Carrie Underwood
In the same 2009 Christmas special, Parton jokingly suggested that Underwood could take on the role.
“(If you’re interested), we could get you a big bra and get you all dressed up!” she said. Although it seemed lighthearted, it showed that Parton had real potential in the American Idol Alum.
Miley Cyrus
Although Cyrus did not publicly campaign for the role, fans quickly nominated the “Flowers” singer, who also happens to be Parton’s goddaughter.
When Parton shared the musical’s official logo on Instagram in June, fans flooded the comments with suggestions like “Nominate @mileycyrus for the role of young Dolly” and “Cast Miley Cyrus as Dolly – she needs to get a Tony!”
Cyrus wore Parton’s famous wig during a performance in January 2020 The Tonight Show, where she and host Jimmy Fallon imitated Parton and Kenny Rogers for a performance of their 1983 duet “Islands in the Stream.”
