Dolly Parton has “always wanted” to tell her life story on stage.

Dolly: A True Original Musical made its world premiere at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. The Broadway-bound, biographical production made its debut with preview performances beginning July 18. Opening night took place on Friday (August 8).

Parton, 79, publicly announced the musical for the first time at the Country Music Association’s CMA Fest in June 2024. She announced at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts earlier this year that the world premiere of the production would take place in Nashville before it heads to New York City. Parton worked with Maria S. Schlatter to write the music and lyrics of the Bartlett Sher-directed show. The production features original music in addition to some of Parton’s most well-known songs throughout her unequaled career, including “Tennessee Mountain Home,” “Dumb Blonde,” “Coat Of Many Colors,” “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You,” “9 to 5,” and more (and, of course, stunning wardrobe pieces and wigs paying tribute to the Country Music Hall of Fame member’s iconic fashion moments over the decades).

“I’ve lived my whole life to see this show on stage. I’ve written many original songs for the show and included all your favorites in it as well. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll clap, you’ll stomp, it truly is a Grand Ol’ Opera. Pun and fun intended.” — Dolly Parton

Hello, I'm Dolly

Three actresses are originating the role of Parton throughout the life-encompassing story. Carrie St. Louis brings the beloved music legend to life on stage alongside Quinn Titcomb and Katie Rose Clarke. St. Louis — known for previous Broadway and off-Broadway roles as Glinda (Wicked), Sherrie (Rock of Ages), Rose (Titanique), Elle Woods (Legally Blonde) and more — tells Parton’s story beginning around the time she moves from her East Tennessee home to Nashville in pursuit of her dreams as an artist.

St. Louis recently spoke with iHeartCountry about “the honor of a lifetime” playing Parton in the biographical show. The Broadway star said “it’s amazing,” “thrilling” and “a little scary” to originate a role, though she considers Dolly: A True Original Musical “a slam dunk” in many ways, crediting the world’s collective fascination by Parton’s life and career, and the “incredible” creative team. She shared that she “was lucky enough to be asked to do one of the first workshops of the show,” about a year-long process in which a group of actors “work through the script and sort of figure out what works and what doesn’t.” St. Louis said while there’s no guarantee the workshopping actors will continue with the project, she “got lucky enough” to see it through, and “it’s been a really wonderful journey” to watch the production evolve over time. Now, the cast spends about five hours each day in rehearsals, “and things are still constantly changing,” as new ideas are introduced.

“And Dolly is there for all of it, which is so incredible,” she said.

‘There’s Nobody Quite Like Dolly Parton’

“She’s (been) there eight hours a day for all the rehearsals, and she would just throw something out and say, ‘why don’t you just say this,’ you know? And it’s just the funniest thing you’ve ever heard, and it goes into the script,” St. Louis said of working with Parton. “There’s nobody quite like Dolly Parton, and being able to spend so much time with her and as I’ve been crafting my version of her and trying to soak in her essence, it’s just been so incredible.

“No pressure!” St. Louis added with a laugh when asked about originating the role of a globally-beloved icon as opposed to a fictionalized character. “The greatest human alive is sitting right in front of you as you’re singing her songs. So, yes, it’s definitely very different, especially because when you’re playing a fictional character, you can have your own spin on it. But when you’re playing a living, breathing legend, it’s more of infusing her into my veins, in a way, is kind of how I say it. Because I didn’t want to just do an impersonation of her. That would never feel true and honest. ...It’s been a really amazing experience to figure that out.”

St. Louis, Titcomb and Clarke have worked together over the course of the production to tell Parton’s story and to spotlight the journey of her iconic voice in different eras of her life. Titcomb portrays Parton’s childhood in the Smoky Mountains at the beginning of the musical. St. Louis picks up her story when Parton moves to Nashville, including when she meets her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean (who died earlier this year at the age of 82), and when Parton gets started on late legend Porter Wagoner’s show. Clarke picks up the story around the 1980s, paying tribute to Parton’s career in film and more, leading into the present day. St. Louis said “it’s been really fun to research that specific time in her [Parton’s] life. …it’s been really wonderful to get to share it with them [Titcomb and Clarke] and to all sort of bring our own self to Dolly and get to tell her story.”

“She’s just so amazing. She’s not slowing down at all, she’s present for every single thing. I just don’t even know how she’s real, to be honest, and I’ve spent so much time with her. Maybe my ‘fun fact’ is that she’s real and she’s better than you could even imagine. And I know we all imagine her to be the best human being on the planet, but she’s even better than that. I have nothing but the utmost respect, and I’m just so inspired by her.” — Carrie St. Louis

‘A Celebration Of All Things Dolly’

“I’ve really seen this show go through so many different phases, and I’ve gotten to hear so intimately all of these stories from Dolly that a lot of people don’t get to hear or get to know,” St. Louis said. “And the musical is showing a side of her life that I don’t think people have really seen before. It’s a little bit deeper; it’s a little bit more intimate, and it’s just really cool to be able to breathe life into that for the first time and bring that to audiences. …It’s so thrilling and so fun.”

St. Louis, Titcomb and Clarke make up the cast alongside John Zdrojeski (Porter Wagoner), John Behlmann (Carl Dean), Jacob Fishel (Sandy Gallin), Tabitha Lawing (Little Judy Ogle), Beth Malone (Judy Ogle), Danny Wolohan (Uncle Bill) and more. Dolly: A True Original Musical is running at The Fisher Center in Nashville through August 31. Parton joined the cast on stage on opening night, taking a bow alongside St. Louis, Clarke and Titcomb as the audience applauded at the end of the show.

St. Louis said throughout the process of bringing the production to life, “I’ve just learned so much and she’s just such an inspiration... Like she said, it’s knowing who you are and do it on purpose. And she’s just always had this fire and this purpose that kept her going through very difficult circumstances.

“It’s a celebration of all things Dolly.”

Corey Calhoun