DOLLY: A TRUE ORIGINAL MUSICAL begins on Broadway in December 2026

www.dollymusical.com
 

Dolly: A True Original Musical, the upcoming stage production featuring new music and classic hits by country icon Dolly Parton, will begin previews at Broadway‘s St. James Theatre on Monday, December 7, with an official opening on January 19, 2027, Parton’s 81st birthday.

The announcement was made today by Parton and producers Danny Nozell, Adam Speers for ATG Productions and Gavin Kalin Productions. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, July 8.

Updated On: 7/7/26 at 08:01 AM

I give this three months 

That preview period will be at full price and it’s brilliant ( sadly ) marketing. If the show sucks, you’ve already made a ton of money cause the reviews won’t kill you. 
This already has a huge built in audience. 
Let’s hope it’s enjoyable. 

They should have waited a bit longer and spent more time working on the book, especially since the out-of-town tryout was abysmal. As it stands, it'll probably get swallowed up by Paddington and Warriors.

Updated On: 7/7/26 at 08:52 AM

From the folks who brought you "Christmas in the Square"!

Closing notice stated as Sunday March 21, 2027. 😎🥃

BrodyFosse123 said: "Closing notice stated as Sunday March 21, 2027. 😎🥃"

You're predicting the weekend before Easter?

I mean anything could happen. This really seems like the craziest news I've read in a long time.  Whose money are they playing with?  I wouldn't have confidence in these producers.

theblackumbrella said: "The way to make a Dolly musical financially successful - "Hello, I'm Dolly" (name of her first album) - a musical charting the beginning of her career through the Porter Wagoner Show ending with her releasing "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You". "Clear Blue Morning" would be a great finale. It's hard because the only Tony categories Dolly would be Book and Musical as a producer because the songs would all be existing. Sabrina Carpenter as Dolly and Tim Blake Nelson as Porter. A life spanning bio musical just doesn't work."

Act one needs an overhaul but KRC is truly phenomenal and she needs to be the focus of the show. I do agree that it needs to focus on one time during her life and not her full career. 

BrodyFosse123 said: "Closing notice stated as Sunday March 21, 2027. 😎🥃"

Boomers and older Gen X might just surprise us all and show up for this musical. Starting in December is brilliant. I know I'll be getting tickets as holiday gifts. Bad book? Nothing a double alcoholic beverage and Dolly's songs can't fix.

Updated On: 7/7/26 at 10:21 AM

ucjrdude902 said: "You have to wonder if producers or creatives ever look at these boards? Seems silly that they wouldn't seeing its free advice from the audience you want to win over."

I don't know.  We're a very small sample of essentially anonymous names lacking any of the usual demographic information upon which decisions might commonly be made.  They might find useful anecdotal information here that they could run through their own decision-making filters, but as has been noted here many times in many threads over the years, we are hardly representative of the general theater-going audience.

 

OhHiii said: "You can always tell when a show isn't for the people on this board, because without missing a trick, everyone starts prognosticating it's demise.

Truth is, we're all snobs. And sometimesit's just not that serious and people have a good time and the show rides on that. Someone mentioned MJ and I seem to remember many on this board saying it wouldn't last and here we are.

PeopleloveDolly. Anda lotof peopleloveDolly. It's not a forgone conclusion. The audiences forPaddington and Warriors and this are all 3 very distinct circles with little overlap beyond theatergoers that just see everything."

If we’re being honest, MJ also opened just after the pandemic and people were still squirrelly about going to the theatre. Even in the best of circumstances, there was a possibility that the COVID effect could’ve been insurmountable. It killed the other hot jukebox musical of the time (AIN’T TOO PROUD)

You can purchase tickets now if you have a Capital One card (code is your first 6 digits). Front center mezz is only $179 before fees. First block goes all the way to January, 2028, which feels presumptuous. Opening night is on sale too and currently has the entire house open…

 

https://us.atgtickets.com/events/dolly-a-true-original-musical/st-james-theatre/calendar/2026-07-07

Updated On: 7/7/26 at 01:58 PM