Dolly: A True Original Musical

Dolly: A True Original Musical is a new biographical musical about Dolly Parton, the country singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist. Parton wrote the music and lyrics and shares the book credit with Maria S. Schlatter; Bartlett Sher directs. Her best-known hits sit alongside a set of new songs composed for the show.

After a first run in Nashville in 2025, the show moves to the St. James Theatre. It is her second Broadway musical, following 9 to 5: The Musical (2009), which also had her music and lyrics and brought Parton a Tony Award nomination.

Parton died on August 25, 2026, at 80, before the Broadway run began. As she wished, the producers kept the dates in place. Opening night is set for January 19, 2027, which would have marked her 81st birthday.

Told from Parton's own point of view, the show traces her rise from a poor, barefoot childhood among the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee to stardom in Hollywood, with songs marking each turn along the way. It is pitched as a rags-to-riches tale with room for her setbacks as well as her successes, and for her career as a trailblazer.

Three performers share the title role, each covering a different period; on Broadway the parts are billed as Dolly Parton, Dolly and Little Dolly. Sher has described the goal as the full story behind her public image, which she had previously shared only in glimpses. The producers say the storytelling was reworked and deepened after Nashville.

Around her are Carl Dean, her husband of 58 years (they married in 1966; he died in 2025); Judy Ogle, a friend for life who also worked as her assistant for many years; and Porter Wagoner, the country star whose television show she joined in 1967. He was her early duet partner, and she left his show to go solo in 1974.

Four hits are confirmed for the score: "Jolene," "I Will Always Love You," "9 to 5" and "Coat of Many Colors." Of these, "9 to 5" was also heard in 9 to 5: The Musical and shares its name with the 1980 film in which Parton co-starred.

In 2025 Parton said she had composed a large number of new songs for the musical; they are now among her last work. As of October 2026, a full song list has not been published.

Two arrangers come from Parton's own circle: Richard Dennison, who arranged her background vocals from 1975 on, and Gregg Perry, her former band leader. Stephen Oremus supervises the music and orchestrates with John Clancy, and Charity Wicks is the music director.

As of October 2026, the announced Broadway cast lists Katie Rose Clarke (Dolly Parton), Carrie St. Louis (Dolly), Norah Nunes (Little Dolly), John Behlmann (Carl Dean), Crystal Kellogg (Judy Ogle) and Gabriel Ebert (Porter Wagoner). Behlmann, Clarke and St. Louis return from Nashville, while Ebert and Kellogg are new to the principal cast. Nunes, an 11-year-old from Texas found through The Search for Dolly, makes her Broadway debut. Ebert won a Tony Award for Matilda the Musical, and Clarke and St. Louis have each played Glinda in Wicked.

In 2023, at the first table read of the still-untitled script, Carrie St. Louis read the part of young Dolly. In June 2024 Parton unveiled the project onstage at CMA Fest in Nashville as Hello, I'm Dolly, a working title borrowed from her 1967 debut album. From December 2024 it was billed as Dolly: An Original Musical, and a national open call, The Search for Dolly, drew thousands of online entries; in February 2025, 15 finalists were invited to audition in person in New York. By July 2025 the show had its final title.

Parton picked Nashville, her musical home for more than 60 years, for the premiere, staged at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on the Belmont University campus. No new musical with a professional cast and creative team had premiered there before. Previews began on July 18, 2025, opening night followed on August 8, 2025, and a planned four-week run was extended through August 31, 2025. Quinn Titcomb played the youngest Dolly there.

On July 7, 2026, the producers announced the move to the St. James Theatre, following Titanique, with previews from December 7, 2026.