Guide to Dolly Parton's 'Dolly: A True Original Musical' on Broadway

Dolly: A True Original Musical tells the life story of country superstar and international icon Dolly Parton, from her 1946 birth in a one-room cabin in East Tennessee as the fourth of 12 children of musical parents to her rise to mainstream prominence on The Porter Wagoner Show and beyond.

Parton is one of the best-selling artists of all time: She released 49 studio albums, wrote more than 3,000 songs, and has sold more than 100 million records. Her movie credits include 9 to 5, Steel Magnolias, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She also created the theme park Dollywood in her native Tennessee, and the Imagination Library literacy charity.

Dolly: A True Original Musical plays at the St. James Theatre, located at 246 W. 44th St. in Manhattan. Built in 1927, the venue seats approximately 1,700 audience members. The venue hosted the original premieres of Oklahoma!, The King and I, and Hello, Dolly!, and recent productions include Sunset Boulevard, The Queen of Versailles, and Titanique.

The age recommendation for Dolly: A True Original Musical is to be confirmed. Please note that children under 4 are not permitted in Broadway theatres.

Starting December 7, Dolly: A True Original Musical plays eight performances a week, with two performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays. In December and January, the show is dark on Sundays; beginning in February, it is dark on Mondays. This schedule is subject to one-off changes, particularly around the holidays.

Dolly: A True Original Musical features a book co-written by Dolly Parton herself with Maria S. Schlatter. Schlatter is best known as a producer of films including Sinatra: Eighty Years of My Way, which earned two Emmy nominations, and she wrote the 2020 Netflix movie Dolly Parton’s Christmas in the Square. Dolly is her first work for the stage.

Dolly: A True Original Musical premiered at Belmont University's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville in July 2025, and the Broadway production starts performances on December 7, 2026.

Dolly: A True Original Musical is led by three actresses playing Dolly Parton at different stages of her life. Katie Rose Clarke (Merrily We Roll Along) is established star Dolly Parton, Carrie St. Louis (Just in Time) is up-and-coming singer Dolly, and Norah Nunes is Little Dolly.

The cast also includes John Behlmann (Shucked) as Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, and Tony Award winner Gabriel Ebert (Matilda the Musical) as Porter Wagoner, the country musician who introduced Parton to a TV audiences.

Dolly Parton personally selected all five leads for the show. All but Ebert return from the Nashville world premiere (Nunes understudied Little Dolly in Nashville and now plays the role full-time).

Dolly: A True Original Musical dramatizes numerous real people from Dolly Parton’s life.

• Dolly Parton: The established singer, songwriter, businesswoman, philanthropist, and global icon.
• Dolly: The rising star making her name in country music.
• Little Dolly: The girl from the Smoky Mountains dreaming of a career in music.
• Carl Dean: Dolly's devoted husband of 65 years who rarely made public appearances.
• Porter Wagoner: The host of a country-themed TV show and one-half of a singing duo with her. Porter and Dolly had a complex mentor-mentee relationship.
• Sandy Gallin: Dolly’s manager of 25 years.
• Judy Ogle: Dolly’s personal assistant and lifelong best friend.
• Uncle Bill: Dolly’s maternal uncle Bill Owens, a songwriter who taught her how to play guitar.

The full Broadway song list for Dolly: A True Original Musical is to be confirmed, but we're sure to hear all of Parton’s biggest hits, including “Coat of Many Colors,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Jolene,” and “9 to 5,” alongside lesser-known gems. The score will also include some tunes Parton wrote just for the stage musical.

Yes! Dolly: A True Original Musical is the first stage show about Parton's life, but she's also the subject of the 2019 documentary film Dolly Parton: Here I Am, with exclusive interviews and archival footage. Parton has also acted in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square.

Learn more about Dolly Parton's celebrated life and career, and about the actresses portraying her on stage, with these fun facts.

• Dolly Parton wrote two of her biggest hits, “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You”, at the same songwriting session in 1973. Talk about a productive day at the office!
• Parton is associated with butterflies (seen in the show’s logo) because she grew up observing them in the Smoky Mountains and was drawn to their beauty and gentleness. She subsequently adopted them as her personal symbol and released the album Love is Like a Butterfly (with the title track of the same name) in 1974.
• This isn’t the first time that Dolly Parton’s songwriting has appeared on Broadway: The stage adaptation of 9 for 5 featured a Tony Award-nominated original score by Parton, plus the iconic title song from the film.
• Leading ladies Katie Rose Clarke and Carrie St. Louis have both played the bubbly blonde good witch Glinda in Wicked on tour and on Broadway. They know how to be very, very popular and make everyone love them — very important when filling Dolly Parton’s shoes!

Get *Dolly: A True Original Musical* tickets on New York Theatre Guide soon. Hello, Dolly — it's good to have you and your memory back where you belong, on Broadway.