A new Dolly Parton musical is headed to London this Christmas

London has already had one Dolly Parton musical: penned by the country icon herself, ‘9 to 5’ was an adaptation of the classic ’80s film that played a stint in the West End pre-pandemic and was an enjoyable bit of wilfully campy fun.

The downside, however, was that awesome as it was that Dolly had written a load of new songs expressly for it, there was a distinct death of her classic hits bar the immortal title song.

And that is where new musical ‘Here You Come Again’ comes in. Penned by Emmy-winning US writer Bruce Vilanch, Broadway director Gabriel Barre, and its star Tricia Paoluccio, the plot concerns a Parton superfan who turns to an imagined version of her (Paoluccio) to get through tough times. But the basic point here is that it includes her hits: ‘Jolene’, ‘Islands in the Stream’, ‘I Will Always Love You’, ‘9 to 5’ (again) and more.

The show – which originated at Leeds Playhouse – has been touring the UK since spring and will be traversing the country next year too, but for Christmas it’ll pitch up as the main festive event at Hammersmith’s iconic Riverside Studios. There haven’t been any formal reviews for the regional tour, but word of mouth suggests an enjoyable night out with a few proper deep cuts for the real Parton heads – and of course it’s camp as Christmas, so what could be more seasonally appropriate?

‘Here You Go Again’ is at Riverside Studios, Dec 10-Jan 18 2025. 

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