Parton wasn’t a Broadway performer, but she dipped into the Broadway songbook in her 1987 TV variety show, Dolly. She covered, naturally, Jerry Herman’s title song from Hello, Dolly!, as well as Cole Porter’s witty “I Get a Kick Out of You” from Anything Goes.

Twenty years earlier, she'd even named her debut album Hello, I'm Dolly, which sure sounds like a wink to the classic musical.

Named for an album by children’s entertainers Sharon, Lois & Bram, this live holiday special ran from December 26-30, 1993 at Broadway's Palace Theatre. Packed with classic and newer yuletide tunes, the show included Parton’s “With Bells On” from Once Upon a Christmas, her 1984 album with Kenny Rogers.

Parton made her movie debut as savvy secretary Doralee Rhodes opposite Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the 1980 feminist comedy about office workers who target their tyrannical boss. Parton’s title song nabbed her an Oscar nomination.

In 2009, the musical adaptation of the film ran on Broadway, earning Parton a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score. Yes, the earworm “9 to 5” remained alongside a batch of new tunes, including Doralee’s self-reflective solo “Backwoods Barbie,” a number that’s as Dolly as it gets.

Productions of 9 to 5: The Musical have since clocked in across the U.S., U.K., and Australia.

Based on the Tony-winning 1978 Broadway musical about a good ol’ Lone Star State brothel, the movie version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas hit cinemas in 1982. Parton starred as big-hearted madam Mona Stangley opposite Burt Reynolds as Sheriff Ed Earl. Parton’s 1973 tearjerker “I Will Always Love You,” later made even more famous by Whitney Houston, was added for the movie. Listen below.

Based on the 1992 movie blockbuster starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner as a pop queen and her security detail, the 2012 stage musical The Bodyguard debuted in London’s West End starring Tony winner Heather Headley. The score included, of course, Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” which Houston made into a megahit power ballad as the film's lead single.

Parton takes Charles Dickens’s classic holiday tale to Tennessee's Smoky Mountains in this musical, for which she wrote the songs including “Three Candles” and “Once Upon a Christmas.” In this take, miserly Scrooge owns a mining company.

Following its world premiere in 2019 in Boston, the show has had other stagings in Vancouver and London. A U.S. touring production is set to run from November 14 to December 20 of this year.

This autobiographical show traces Parton’s journey from rural Tennessee to international superstardom, and Parton is a big part of the creative team. She co-wrote the script with Maria S. Schlatter and lends her catalog of hit songs, like “9 to 5,” “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “I Will Always Love You,” which has more meaning now than ever.

Fittingly, Dolly: A True Original Musical made its world premiere in Nashville, and it starts Broadway performances at the St. James Theatre on December 7. The official opening night, January 19, would have been Parton’s 81st birthday. Now, it'll be a bittersweet tribute to the icon, celebrating her unparalleled career of many colors.

Check back for information on Dolly: A True Original Musical tickets on New York Theatre Guide.