Dolly! The Musical coming to Broadway 2026?

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 10/1/25 at 11:05pm

I was wondering if there has been any word on whether they still plan to open Dolly! The Musical in New York this spring? or if they they plan to delay and rework the show after the reviews and reception in Nashville. As well with Ms. Parton's recent cancelation of a number of events due to health. I would love any information as I'm hoping to plan a trip around it this spring. 

As well, any word on casting changes? Thanks

[ACL2006]

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

Reports are that they've scrapped the immediate Broadway transfer for the Spring due to bad reviews.

[Ensemble1711444445]

Posted: 10/2/25 at 9:24am

ACL2006 said: "Reports are that they've scrapped the immediate Broadway transfer for the Spring due to bad reviews."
 

Updated On: 10/7/25 at 09:24 AM

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 10/2/25 at 9:37am

Bart Sher doesn't scream jukebox musical to me, tbh

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/2/25 at 9:51am

I’m shocked they didn’t get Marc Bruni for this. Was Bart Sher their first choice? 

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 10/2/25 at 10:11am

Dolly's concert postponements in Las Vegas due to health challenges may be another reason to back-burner this for a bit. If she's not well enough to perform that short residency at the current time, the rigors of producing a Broadway musical would probably not be in her long-term wellness best interests either.

Updated On: 10/2/25 at 10:11 AM

[shomeika]

Posted: 10/2/25 at 11:48am

fashionguru_23 said: "Bart Sher doesn't scream jukebox musical to me, tbh"

It's actually not a jukebox musical, most of the songs were written for the show, by Dolly. There are maybe only 4 or 5 recognized hits.

The show was pretty good, the performances by Katie Rose Clarke and John Behlmann were especially good.  I can see why they might tweak the show a bit more, before moving onward though. I saw it late in the run and they did address the run time by the time I saw it. 

Updated On: 10/2/25 at 11:48 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/2/25 at 12:32pm

Indeed, DOLLY! includes a handful of her hits but Parton wrote a large amount of original music for this show. This was unexpected as many people were confused with the non-recognizable songs as they assumed the show would be using all of her greatest hits sprinkled throughout. 

[Ensemble1711444445]

Posted: 10/2/25 at 1:10pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Indeed, DOLLY! includes a handful of her hits but Parton wrote a large amount of original music for this show. This was unexpected as many people were confused with the non-recognizable songs as they assumed the show would be using all of her greatest hits sprinkled throughout."

 

Updated On: 10/7/25 at 01:10 PM

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 10/2/25 at 3:20pm

According to Dolly, she wrote over 25 new songs for the musical. I'm not sure how many remained in the show, but there is quite a bit of new material.  Also, when I saw it late in the run, it clocked in at about 2:30 plus intermission.

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/2/25 at 5:22pm

Ensemble1711444445 said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Indeed, DOLLY! includes a handful of her hits but Parton wrote a large amount of original music for this show. This was unexpected as many people were confused with the non-recognizable songs as they assumed the show would be using all of her greatest hits sprinkled throughout."

It was mostly her old songs (not new) but also not all well known to everyone. She has a LOT of old songs! All the hits are there. It never got under 2:45 timing. Still a very long show."

Hamilton is close to 3 hours but never felt long to me. If this show is 2:45 and feels long, then something has to change.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 10/5/25 at 4:48pm

Wick3 said: "Ensemble1711444445 said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Indeed, DOLLY! includes a handful of her hits but Parton wrote a large amount of original music for this show. This was unexpected as many people were confused with the non-recognizable songs as they assumed the show would be using all of her greatest hits sprinkled throughout."

It was mostly her old songs (not new) but also not all well known to everyone. She has a LOT of old songs! All the hits are there. It never got under 2:45 timing. Still a very long show."

Hamilton is close to 3 hours but never felt long to me. If this show is 2:45 and feels long, then something has to change."

Whether a show feels “too long” or not is really just a matter of personal opinion, isn’t it?  As an example, to me HAMILTON felt interminable—— but seeing both parts of THE INHERITANCE back to back flew by! 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/5/25 at 4:53pm

The opinion that something is too long is usually a telltale sign of book problems — or that someone just doesn’t like the show. MY FAIR LADY is long but not too long, and (imho) its book is tight as a drum.

[Tag]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 2:53pm

Fall 2026 in New York (with re-writes) according to Dolly from her re-appearance at Dollywood this week.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 3:20pm

If ATG keeps their promises, they’ve got the August Wilson. 

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 3:25pm

Being there, I had heard this too. I would love to know some big details on the changes.

Personally, with Kristin Chenoweth free, I would love her in the lead. 

She mentioned about a lot of expanding stuff, and I really would like to know more. From people who had seen it, I thought it needed a bit more focus, a new book, a new director, and design elements.

I know in Nashville, the people came from the show just wanting more for Dolly, feeling she deserved better. 

I love that she's doing more original song work, and using songs only if they fit to the story. 

Do we really think that it was originally earmarked for the St James or  Majestic? I would feel far more confident with the Nederlander. Was there any word on the producing partner bring it in? Nederlander? Shubert?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 3:56pm

Have heard it's indeed coming in 2026. ATG is a lead producer on it so the August Wilson, Hirschfeld, or St. James seem logical.

It can probably run a year on Parton's name, lose most of its money, and then maaaaaaybe recoup on the road, cruise ships, and licensing.

Chenoweth should not, and will not, go within 100 feet of this thing.

Updated On: 3/15/26 at 03:56 PM

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 4:16pm

I don’t think Chenoweth would at this point. She’s too much of her own brand at this point and I can’t envision her doing anything but a bad knockoff.

Megan Hilty obviously has experience playing a Dolly-adjacent character in 9 TO 5 and it was received quite well as more than just a basic imitation. Plus, she now has a bigger fanbase from DBH and I’m sure they might throw a pile of money at her to do it. It might also very well be her Tony, much like how SJB picked it up for The Cher Show

[Joyce 9]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 4:25pm

I feel like Laura Bell Bundy should do it.  They should scrap the younger characters and just have Laura Bell Bundy play Dolly at all ages 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 4:32pm

Wow, people really don’t like Katie Rose Clarke?

[Ensemble17591322022]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 4:39pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Wow, people really don’t like Katie Rose Clarke?"

She reminds them too much of Laura Osnes, who they still hate despite being proved right about the vaccines. 

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 4:39pm

I agree that they need to cut the three dolly thing. I understand why, but its so difficult to make it work. I would agree that Megyn Hilty would do well at the role and agree that Kristin is probably a nonstarter. But I would have loved to see what she did with it. I fear that where the Cher Show for me went a miss was the rewriting to make it a Vegas show with no heart on Broadway where the chicago version was attempting something interesting and needed to be refined.    Where a show like Beautiful saw its success in my opinion was the limited timeline scope which allowed for the connection instead of the marathon. And as much as I truly love Dolly if a show runs nearly 3 hours, audiences for whatever reason seem to be removed from it. 

Do we think this time, working on it, we will have something better? (And please bring on a new director)

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 5:32pm

Theatrefanboy1 said: "new director"

Sher remains attached. Maybe it will never be great, but delivering an enjoyable enough "consumer product" should be the team's goal.

The thing I've never understood with the "multiple actors playing different eras of the same character" thing is a lack of age difference. Katie Rose Clark is 41, Carrie St. Louis is in her late 30s, and they read as nearly the same age. There was a decade between Stephanie J. Block and Teal Wicks, but they too read as nearly the same age. Same with the two MJs.

Updated On: 3/15/26 at 05:32 PM

[Joyce 9]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 5:42pm

It’s just unnecessary.  Kristin Chenoweth and Helen Mirren in The Queen [of Versailles] proved that one actor is more than capable of playing the character at different stages. You just have to do them up differently with wigs and costumes, and you get the picture.  There’s a disconnect with 3 actors playing the same character. 

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 3/15/26 at 5:56pm

Ensemble17591322022 said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Wow, people really don’t like Katie Rose Clarke?"

She reminds them too much of Laura Osnes, who they still hate despite being proved right about the vaccines."

At this point, I start to assume this Ensemble17591322022 account is run by Laura Osnes / Chad Kimball in rotation 

Updated On: 3/15/26 at 05:56 PM