For actors, portraying a real-life person is a huge challenge. But portraying a real-life singer-songwriter-actress-icon like Dolly Parton when she’s standing right in front of you is a whole other realm. That was the experience and the challenge for the actors and co-creators of “Dolly: A True Original Musical,” which previewed in Nashville last year and comes to Broadway’s St.
James Theatre in previews starting on December 7, 2026, and opens officially on her 81st birthday, January 19, 2027. But while it was certainly a daunting task, it was a deeply enriching one for the people who have brought the musical to life. Parton was there for every step of the process, right up until her death from cancer this past August, and was every bit as positive, charming and encouraging as her iconic image would lead one to expect, according to two of the actresses who portray her — Carrie St.
Louis (“Just in Time,” “Rock of Ages,” “Kinky Boots”) and Katie Rose Clarke (“Merrily We Roll Along,” “Light in the Piazza”) — and Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher and lead producer Adam Speers. All four sat down with Variety’s Jem Aswad for an interview at Variety’s “Business of Broadway” event earlier this week. In vivid detail, they recalled their extraordinary and unique experiences with Parton as she helped them to shape her story and their depictions of her — complete with some of the most intimate and accurate Dolly impersonations the world is likely to hear.
An edited transcript of this remarkable conversation appears below. The show, which examines Parton’s career in three eras, was written by Parton with Maria S. Schlatter, directed by Sher and executive-produced by Speers (who previously worked with Parton on the London incarnation of “9 to 5”) with Parton, her manager Danny Nozell, and Gavin Kalin Productions.
It has been trimmed down from its three-hour-plus Nashville incarnation, but the version that is coming to Broadway was overseen and approved by Parton herself. Katie, Carrie, what sort of advice did Dolly give you? And have you ever had the experience of speaking with the person you’re portraying?
Louis No, and certainly not at that level! I remember the first time I had to sing in front of her. Of course, it’s so nervewracking because you want to do her justice and honor her, but also it has to feel truthful and real and not like a caricature.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
