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Here You Come Again - The New Dolly Parton Musical

King’s Theatre, Glasgow

Four stars

 

Dolly Parton is a musical and philanthropic wonder. For anyone with ears and something between them, this is a rootin’ tootin’ no-brainer. Whatever the considerable talents of the First Lady of country music and much more besides, no-one would expect her to have been a saviour of Covid induced lockdown. Then again, the pandemic did strange things to those with over-active imaginations and no one to isolate with but themselves. 

 

Such is the premise behind this musical fantasia dreamt up by writer Bruce Vilanch, director Gabriel Barre and the show’s star Tricia Paoluccio. Rather than step out with a full on jukebox tribute to Parton, Vilanch, Barre and Paolucci put the spotlight on a guy called Kevin, a forty-something man-child and wannabe comedian who lives in his mother’s attic. This has been transformed into a shrine to Ms Parton by way of Paul Wills’ wonderfully cluttered set.

 

With only a record player and a bulk buy of toilet rolls for company, Kevin finds himself dumped by his city slicker boyfriend and sacked from his job. In the depths of despair that even a song and dance routine can’t sort out, Kevin contemplates the inevitable, before asking himself the most important question of all. What would Dolly do? 

 

Then, Pow! Like a be-wigged fairy godmother, out pops the lady herself to save the day with song. Over the next two hours she acts as Kevin’s guardian angel, agony aunt and singing partner all rolled into one. With some necessary Anglicisation by Jonathan Harvey for this UK version that began life at Leeds Playhouse, this makes for a pretty nifty sitcom style rites of passage for Kevin, played with puppy dog enthusiasm and considerable vocal skills by Steven Webber. As touchingly sentimental as Kevin’s plight is as he gets in touch with his own inner Dolly, all this is really just a magnificent excuse for  Paoluccio to put on a Barbie blonde wig, fine tune the deep fried southern charm and work her way through some of her inspiration’s greatest hits. 

 

Jolene, 9 to 5, I Will Always Love You and Islands in the Stream are all in there, but so too are some less familiar numbers, all delivered by Paoluccio with a bright-eyed and perfectly observed vocal and visual impersonation. The songs are accompanied by an authentic sounding bar band led by keyboardist Jordan Li-Smith, with backing vocals from Charlotte Elisabeth Yorke and Aidan Cutler, who double up as Kevin’s mum and dad. The combined effect makes you believe in the power of country music and want to book a flight to Dollywood. And why not? After all, what would Dolly do? 


The Herald, January 23rd 2025

 

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