I went to see the new Dolly Parton biomusical play before it heads to Broadway as someone who likely does not fit the stereotypical target audience. Here is my review of Dolly: A True Original Musical.
It, like Dolly Parton, is bigger than life!
Everything is just a little bit over the top in the best way, with a dash of corniness and horniness. God, Sex And Music — if you will. (That’s also the name of one of the songs.)
A little background goes a long way.
Before we go any further, I want you to know where I am coming from.
I grew up going to Broadway and I have seen a good handful of shows. Maybe 15 or 20 in total? I even saw ‘In The Heights’ with High School Musical star Corbin Bleu as the lead.
By no means am I an expert but I do enjoy the arts and everything that comes with them. (Including the break from blue light screens.)
If you are looking for an in-depth breakdown of the theatrical intricacies, I am not your guy. I can tell you I had a great time and I vow to be honest about the things I did not enjoy.
Who should see this show?
I should mention that I am a fan of Dolly Parton but I am not necessarily a Dolly fan… if that makes sense? Do not see this show if you are not either.
A majority of the audience for the matinee show on a Wednesday fell into the Baby Boomer and Gen X age categories. Lots of women with white hair. There were a handful of young children in attendance with their parents, mostly moms, and a smattering of Millennials. I genuinely think everybody had fun.
The play is just clean enough to where it is fit for all ages. And yet, it is just dirty enough to where it is true to how humans in the real world talk, think and act. Some of the funniest jokes are very subtle.
Fair warning — Dolly does not want her musical to be a sing-a-long. This ain’t no hootenanny!
If you are choosing to see this show, you know what you are signing up for. You’ll have a blast!
All three versions of Dolly Parton are dynamite.
Katie Rose Clarke, Carrie St. Louis and Quinn Titcomb do a phenomenal job of bringing Dolly Parton to life on stage.
Rose Clarke is the lead. St. Louis depicts Dolly in her middle years. Titcomb plays her as a child.
First and foremost, I was blown away by Titcomb’s voice. She has some serious pipes for a 13-year-old, which was my biggest takeaway as soon as the curtains opened.
Rose Clarke mostly serves as the narrator during the first act so I must admit that I was not impressed. However, her character really comes to life after intermission and I can confidently say that it was the perfect casting.
It would’ve been very easy for Rose Clarke to come across as a Dolly impersonator. That is not the case!
The Broadway veteran embodies the country music and pop icon both in terms of personality and nuance. She also holds her own on some of Dolly’s biggest songs like ‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You.’ (Those two numbers got the biggest crowd pops of the day.)
St. Louis is the most spunky and flirtatious of the three different Dollys. Best known for her portrayal of Glinda in Wicked, she also has an incredible singing (and yodeling) voice. Two thumbs up.
Not that it matters but I might also mention that, like Dolly, St. Louis and Rose Clark are smoking hot!
You want music and laughs? You’ll get music and laughs!
Not all of the songs featured in Dolly: A True Original Musical are Dolly’s songs. Some of them are specific to the play. They were all very catchy and I was toe-tapping right along.
HUGE SHOUTOUT TO THE BAND!!
With that being said, there is one musical number during the first act that I found to be incredibly boring. This is not a knock on St. Louis by any means, but if changes are still being made to the show before it heads to New York, I would suggest cutting ‘Just Because I’m A Woman’ all together.
Everything else kept my full attention. There were quite a few legitimate laugh-out-loud one-liners over the course of approximately three hours (with intermission) and never a dull moment.
The “Wishy Washy Woman” is by far the funniest character in the show. Porter Wagoner was another highlight.
Staging was a lot more expansive than I had expected. Although it is a very simple set mostly based in technology, the large LED screen and bright stage lights take the audience from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee to Nashville to the bright lights of Los Angeles.
A few interchanging scenic backgrounds, a couple of rolling carts, a couch and a few banjos also help to set the scene.
The coolest part of the play features a number of old-fashioned televisions that make it seem like Dolly Parton is actually live on The Porter Wagoner Show. Four or five different cameras broadcast live to the TVs in real time. Characters also call on the audience for applause like we are a real studio audience.
Dolly: A True Original Musical is worth every penny.
Plot wise, Dolly: A True Original Musical is exactly what you expect. Much like other biopics, the entire first half of the show is focused on ages 3-20(ish). The second act covers everything else.
As a result, the second act moves very fast through the latter half of Dolly Parton’s life. Too fast.
I get it! Most of those years can be found on the internet and it is hard to fit 79 years of life into approximately 150 minutes of run time.
I still feel like some of the story gets lost in the shuffle because it was moving at such a rapid pace after the break. There were also a few awkward silences at the start of the show, and I could not tell you why.
Other than that, I had a phenomenal experience. I would give the first act an A. I would give the second act a B. If we are to meet somewhere in the middle, we’re looking at an A-/B+.
I am curious to see how the audience translates from Tennessee to New York but I highly recommend that you go see Dolly: A True Original Musical if you are a fan of Dolly Parton!
Just be sure that you know exactly what you are getting into before you go, otherwise you will leave disappointed. This isn’t Hamlet. It’s way more fun.
The post Dolly: A True Original Musical — An Honest Review For Common Folk appeared first on BroBible.
Dolly: A True Original Musical — An Honest Review For Common Folk
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