Dolly Parton'sMusical About Her Life Will Premiere in Nashville Before Coming to Broadway in 2026

Mar. 15, 2025

Dolly Parton in Los Angeles on Nov. 5, 2022.Photo:Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Dolly Parton attends the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Dolly: An Original Musicalis gearing up for a Nashville debut.The upcoming stage production, based on the life of country-music legend and philanthropistDolly Parton, is set to kick off a four-week limited engagement in the Tennessee capital city before a planned 2026 move to Broadway in New York City.Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts will be home to the show beginning July 18, as it plays its first preview performance. Aug. 8 marksDolly’sofficial opening, with additional shows running through Aug. 17, according to an official release.“Dolly Parton’s career is nothing short of extraordinary,” reads the release, adding, in part, “With over 3,000 songs written and 25 No. 1 hits, Dolly has firmly cemented her place in music history. But how did this ‘Backwoods Barbie’ rise to become a Living Legend?“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.During apress conferenceannouncing the show’s Nashville debut Tuesday, Jan. 28, Parton, 70, said onstage at the Fisher Center that she “always wanted to do my life story as a musical,” perVariety.“I wanted to see it done while I’m still around, to be able to oversee it and make sure that it’s done properly in a way that I would want to see it, rather than to wait till I’m gone and let somebody else decide how they think it should be done,” she added.Parton also told the audience that the show will include"lots of songs that you know,“but also “a whole lot of original songs” — including “a lot of the country instruments,” like mandolin and fiddle.“I think they’ll appreciate me taking Nashville to New York with all those country sounds,” she added, according toVariety. “And when I had a chance to do something bigger and broader where I thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna get to have an orchestra — that’s gonna be great if I can have strings on this and that.' It was exciting and fun for me to write the new stuff.“The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!A Broadway production telling her life story has been Parton’s dream, she previously told PEOPLE in January 2024.“Right now, I’m working on mylife story as a musical, and so going on Broadway and opening my show on Broadway, that’s been a biggie in my mind for many, many years,” she said at the time. “That’d be the one that I want to make certain I get done while I’m still kicking, while I’m around to stay involved in it.”Casting is yet to be announced, withVarietyreporting that three actors will play Parton, one for each stage of her life portrayed in the show. “I wish I had three of me a lot of times, the way I work,” she joked at the press conference Tuesday.Tickets forDolly: An Original Musicalare now on sale atdollymusical.com.

Dolly: An Original Musicalis gearing up for a Nashville debut.

The upcoming stage production, based on the life of country-music legend and philanthropistDolly Parton, is set to kick off a four-week limited engagement in the Tennessee capital city before a planned 2026 move to Broadway in New York City.

Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts will be home to the show beginning July 18, as it plays its first preview performance. Aug. 8 marksDolly’sofficial opening, with additional shows running through Aug. 17, according to an official release.

“Dolly Parton’s career is nothing short of extraordinary,” reads the release, adding, in part, “With over 3,000 songs written and 25 No. 1 hits, Dolly has firmly cemented her place in music history. But how did this ‘Backwoods Barbie’ rise to become a Living Legend?”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

During apress conferenceannouncing the show’s Nashville debut Tuesday, Jan. 28, Parton, 70, said onstage at the Fisher Center that she “always wanted to do my life story as a musical,” perVariety.

“I wanted to see it done while I’m still around, to be able to oversee it and make sure that it’s done properly in a way that I would want to see it, rather than to wait till I’m gone and let somebody else decide how they think it should be done,” she added.

Parton also told the audience that the show will include"lots of songs that you know,“but also “a whole lot of original songs” — including “a lot of the country instruments,” like mandolin and fiddle.

“I think they’ll appreciate me taking Nashville to New York with all those country sounds,” she added, according toVariety. “And when I had a chance to do something bigger and broader where I thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna get to have an orchestra — that’s gonna be great if I can have strings on this and that.' It was exciting and fun for me to write the new stuff.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

A Broadway production telling her life story has been Parton’s dream, she previously told PEOPLE in January 2024.

“Right now, I’m working on mylife story as a musical, and so going on Broadway and opening my show on Broadway, that’s been a biggie in my mind for many, many years,” she said at the time. “That’d be the one that I want to make certain I get done while I’m still kicking, while I’m around to stay involved in it.”

Casting is yet to be announced, withVarietyreporting that three actors will play Parton, one for each stage of her life portrayed in the show. “I wish I had three of me a lot of times, the way I work,” she joked at the press conference Tuesday.

Tickets forDolly: An Original Musicalare now on sale atdollymusical.com.

source: people.com