Dolly Parton Broadway Bio Musical aiming for Spring 2025- Page 7

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 8/2/25 at 5:24pm

Sad to report that I have to join the choruses saying this show is in very poor shape.   Saw it last night with some friends and we all agreed it's a mess.    Her fans may appreciate it but everyone else will be bored.    There were large stretches of book scenes that didn't add up, and once she gets to Nashville, everyone becomes an "Hee Haw" cliche.   The drama with Porter Waggoner plays like a Wikipedia page. Once she gets to Hollywood, they whip through all the things we're interested in and suddenly she's unhappy with success and she wants to go back to Nashville I didn't know what was going on.   There's basically no choreography, and the staging is stiff.  The sudden use of live video felt totally gratuitous.   If they ran it in Branson, or Dollywood, it would run forever.   The audience was very much a country music crowd.  It's just not a satisfying musical.  

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/8/25 at 5:59pm

Looks like they’ve expanded on the show’s title now:

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 8/8/25 at 6:09pm

No way this is coming to broadway this season. That’s why Evita has the August Wilson already booked

[shomeika]

Posted: 8/8/25 at 6:47pm

Tonight is the official opening, I suppose the reviews will drop shortly. 

[getatme]

Posted: 8/8/25 at 10:22pm

Crusty Bagel said: "No way this is coming to broadway this season. That’s why Evita has the August Wilson already booked"

They don't have the August Wilson booked.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/8/25 at 10:53pm

This show should cut its losses and close and NEVER….

I mean NEVER attempt to open here in New York.

Let this sh!t die on the road and spare us. 

Updated On: 8/8/25 at 10:53 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/9/25 at 10:36am

Bartlett Sher and Dolly at last night’s Opening Night:



Dolly and her Dollys:


 

[jlindsey865]

Posted: 8/9/25 at 10:43am

I’ll be interested to see who reviews the Nashville run.  There aren’t any actual theater critics in the city.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/9/25 at 11:23am

jlindsey865 said: "I’ll be interested to see who reviews the Nashville run. There aren’t any actual theatercritics in the city."

Patiently waiting to see these reviews pop up. While doing a Google search I stumbled onto a Dolly Parton Facebook Fan Page and boy, even they could see the sloppy mess the musical is, which speaks volumes. These fans obsessively know her work and life journey and intelligently broke things down, from not only the long running time and the sugar coating to the wigs and costumes recreations. Many even agreed the show as it stands would never make it on Broadway. This Nashville audience is quite sharp and sophisticated. 

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 8/9/25 at 11:58am

I’m sure they’re sophisticated when it comes to Dolly Parton. Them not liking the long running time tells you exactly what kind of audience they are.  They should just do a Dolly Parton revue and make it as expensive as possible. People want the songs and costumes, who cares about her life 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/9/25 at 2:56pm

Some production photos. Yup, these are the ones they released to the media. Yikes. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 8/9/25 at 3:48pm

Looks ready to set sail on NCL, which I’m sure is the end goal. 

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 8/9/25 at 6:03pm

I hate these video screen backdrops.  Just like Betty Boop and Smash. Id rather it not be there at all

Updated On: 8/9/25 at 06:03 PM

[Melissa25]

Posted: 8/9/25 at 8:32pm

I love Dolly and so many of her songs. I would have been perfectly happy with a Parton on Parton (like Sondheim on Sondheim or Old Friends).  I am still waiting for well-cast revue/jukebox of the Trio album as well. 

 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 8/9/25 at 8:40pm

I feel like with so many of these bio musicals there's just no reason for them to exist, especially if they're still alive. You'll never actually get into the real meat of their lives and allow there to actually be true drama. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 1:36am

Amen. And how did Bart direct this? Like he’s a great director but this just all feels wrong. It could have been so many things but “small town girl turned Hollywood” is just so blah. 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 2:23am

At least one of those stills has a lot of telltale signs of generative AI in the video backdrop. But nobody seemed to care when Death Becomes Her definitely used (obvious, hideous) AI "artwork" in at least three scenes, and the producers of The Wiz got away with outright lying about their screensaver sets, so I guess they can get away with it if so. A real shame. 

Updated On: 8/10/25 at 02:23 AM

[bway1430]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 3:43am

getatme said: "Crusty Bagel said: "No way this is coming to broadway this season. That’s why Evita has the August Wilson already booked"

They don't have the August Wilson booked."

We shall see.......

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 7:27am

Yea Evita is going to the Wilson, not Dolly

[Jg2019]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 10:02am

Went again last night, and there are noticeable changes.  The bridge has been cut entirely, along with the act two opener. Jolene now opens act two.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 10:45am

Dolly Parton's Musical Is a Triumph - American Songwriter

https://americansongwriter.com/dolly-partons-musical-is-a-triumph/

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 11:33am

MezzA101 said: "Dolly Parton's Musical Is a Triumph - American Songwriter

https://americansongwriter.com/dolly-partons-musical-is-a-triumph/"

A country music industry publication would also be raving at a new attraction added at Dollywood. This is far from a legitimate theater piece review. 

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 12:11pm

Got the chance to catch this one this week - in short, it’s far from ready…however, it’s very fixable and there’s definitely good bones. If they can make the proper cuts o could see this one being entertaining enough to be critic proof, like MJ or BEAUTIFUL. 

the first act is absolutely plodding, like watching a funeral procession. Lots of gaping pauses in book scenes, low stakes, and seemingly endless (95 mins). The second act moves breathlessly fast and only goes skin deep in terms of real drama, but it has energy, tender scenes that showcase Dolly’s relationships, particularly with Carl Dean, and is packed with all her biggest hits. The audience was cheering for female-empowerment one-liners from Dolly throughout Act 2, moving to the music, and were clearly enjoying themselves after being nearly silent for almost all of Act 1. If they can economize Act 1 to match the energy of Act 2, it’ll be fine and will run forever.

The other major problem is that the two leading ladies are simply not in the same league. Katie Rose Clarke is giving a Tony-worthy performance as the eldest Dolly. She disappears into the role; nailing Dolly’s vocals, sense of humor, cadence, and body language. The same unfortunately cannot be said of Carrie St. Louis as middle Dolly, who feels like an imitation of Megan Hilty in 9 to 5, but with less power. Ms. St Louis is not driving the scenes at all, and is surprisingly vocally very weak in power and off pitch (a sequence at the Opry where Dolly yodels, meant to be impressive, fell so flat it hurt). Why they aren’t following BEAUTIFUL’s model where one adult plays the role through adult life is beyond me…Ms. Clarke could easily play younger and do the role throughout. It only makes things more confusing that John Behlmann and John Zjdrolski play Carl and Porter throughout their years, but Dolly isn’t given the same rules. It would also help the overall flow of the show to follow one actress throughout so we could really invest in her journey and root for her to win.

So, all in all, it was rough…and high art, even with lots of work, this is never going to be. But if they can just get over this rough patch, make some tough decisions, and excise the fat in Act 1 - this has the bones to be a long running, tourist-driven hit.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 2:01pm

Is the real Dolly still projected above everyone for the finale?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/10/25 at 3:00pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Is the real Dolly still projected above everyone for thefinale?"

 Yup. It’s the encore after the curtain call.