“I just want people to go away feeling like they’ve been entertained,” Dolly Parton said. “I want them to see the person inside of me, the life, [and] the things you go through.”
That’s Parton’s hope for “Dolly: An Original Musical,” which will debut at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts this summer before hitting Broadway in 2026. The Tennessee native joined director Bartlett Sher on Tuesday in Nashville to announce a series of preview performances in July before the musical’s official premiere on Friday, Aug. 8.
Alongside Parton’s greatest hits, fans can expect to hear new songs she’s written. That includes her favorite — and what she described as the musical’s theme song — “I Wouldn’t Be Here If You Hadn’t Been There.”
“It kind of talks about all the people that have been in my life, but it also references God as well,” Parton said. “I’m real proud of that, and I’ll be putting that out as a single record of my own in the not-so-distant future.”
Tickets for the slate of 32 performances telling the star’s “rags-to-riches story” are on sale now and begin at $40.
From the stage to the school books
Six Belmont University students will aid in the musical’s production thanks to a new partnership between Parton, the school, and CTK Enterprises founder Danny Nozell. Dolly U will feature four project-based courses in the spring semester, which act as the pilot for the program’s expansion in the future.
