Surrounded by precious belongings from his youth, he is reunited with a much-loved old record player and his cherished Dolly albums and turns to them to get him through the hard times.
Tricia Paoluccio in Here You Come Again (Picture: Hugo Glendinning)
The show – approved by the country and western legend herself – stars Tricia Paoluccio who plays Dolly and also co-wrote the show.
Here she talks more about the production
What can audiences expect when they come to see the show?
I think every audience member, no matter who they are, will find something very relatable in the character of Kevin (brilliantly portrayed by Stevie Webb). And I think they’ll find the show to be really funny, with lots of laughs, but they’ll also be surprised by how deep and emotional it is. It’s a play with music, with the side benefit of it also sometimes feeling like a Dolly Parton concert.
What was the original inspiration for the show?
I’ve always loved Dolly and been able to sing like her. It was my dream to someday be able to use this ability in a theatrical way and thought the best way to do it was to have it be another person’s journey. What developed was a story about an uber-fan’s fantasy friendship with Dolly. I wanted to show Dolly in action, to see her helping another person, versus it being a bio musical about her life.
What does Jonathan Harvey (who has written for Coronation Street) who has worked with you on the UK version, bring to the table?
He is so funny. He’s a great writer, with fine-tuned taste, and the main thing he’s contributed is helping us set it in England because we had to change all of our cultural references. He’s also helped us to understand how things will hit a British audience because they are different than American audiences and your experience during 2020 was a little different than ours.
Tricia Paoluccio and Steven Webb in Here You Come Again (Picture: Hugo Glendinning)
How did you set about ‘becoming’ Dolly for the show?
I like to say that I began rehearsing for this role when I was five when I first heard Here You Come Again on the radio. I remember that moment vividly. I begged for the record and I memorised every song on it.
I’ve always been able to tune my vocal cords to hit her vibrato and to find that cry in her voice and the musicality of her styling. When it came time to doing our show, though, I did not have her speaking voice down. I worked with a very celebrated dialect coach named Erik Singer, who helped Austin Butler prepare to play Elvis. We worked together on cracking her speaking voice and that took a bit more effort.
How important to you is it not to simply do a Parton impersonation?
Very important. There are wonderful tribute artists out there doing great things to spread the love of Dolly. But in terms of a play or a musical, I don’t think that would be a very satisfying evening in the theatre. I do not think about impersonating her. I’m only thinking about what my objective is in the story and I trust that Dolly’s presence is strong enough in me to let it go.
What did you feel was important to get right about her as a person as well as a singer?
Dolly is a very practical person. She’s no-nonsense and wise. I wanted to make sure that she stayed grounded and real.
With so many songs to choose from, how did you and the team decide what to include?
I love the late-70s/early 80s-Dolly, so I came up with a kind of hit list. But I have to give credit to our lawyer Thomas Distler, who’s responsible for making this all happen because he knew Dolly Parton’s lawyer and got the material to her. That’s how we got permission to be able to do the show and the rights to all her music.
Tom also said ‘You’ve got to find a way to put Jolene in there’. At first we didn’t have it in the show because it didn’t really fit our storyline, but we found a wonderful way to put it in and I’m really glad that we did.
Do you have a favourite song to perform in the show?
It’s like picking a favourite child and I love them all for different reasons. But I think my favourite one to perform is Me And Little Andy.
Tricia Paoluccio and Steven Webb in Here You Come Again (Picture: Hugo GlendinningHow would you describe your relationship with Dolly’s music?
As a child I spent hours and hours walking around our almond orchard in Modesto, California singing her songs, imagining how life might be as a grown up.
Singing along to her made me want to become an actress, because I loved how she told stories and how emotional her songs could be. I can’t express enough how deeply her artistry has influenced my entire life culminating in what I consider the greatest achievement of my career – creating and being in this show. It’s the honour of a lifetime.
If you got to meet her, what’s the one thing you’d want to ask her?
I don’t know what I’d do if I ever met her. I’d die! I would ask her first ‘Can I borrow some of your wigs for our show?’ But if I was having a real heart-to-heart I’d want to know ‘How have you been able to navigate your life and career the way that you have?’
Here You Come Again, The Lowry, Salford Quays, Tuesday, October 29 to Saturday, November 2. Details from www.thelowry.com