Review: HERE YOU COME AGAIN Is A Wholesome And Heartwarming Celebration of The Queen of Country, Dolly Parton

With Dolly Parton’s blessing, Bruce Vilanch (Co-creator), Gabriel Barre (Co-creator and Director) and Tricia Paoluccio’s (Co-creator and Performer) new musical, HERE YOU COME AGAIN opens in Sydney to the delight of Dolly fans.  Following tours in the United States and the United Kingdom, this cleverly crafted warm hug of a show is partway through its Australian tour. 

In an attic bedroom in Bendigo in 2020, Dolly Parton (Paoluccio) comes to the aid of one of her most devoted fans, the 40-something, recently single, comic club waiter and failed comedian, Kevin (Dash Kruck).  He’s recently moved back in with his parents when his boyfriend Jeremy (Bailey Dunnage) suggested some time apart, but his cautious mother (Kellie Rode) wants to reduce unnecessary contact, it’s the middle of the pandemic after all, so he’s stuck with accessing his childhood bedroom via a ladder out the window.  He feels his life is pretty bleak and he’s emotional state is rock bottom, with only his records to really keep him company.  In a mysterious manifestation, Dolly Parton emerges out of his life size poster of the Queen of Country, all rhinestones, big hair and big assets.  What unfolds over the following 24 hours of Kevin’s life is a wonderful homage to how truly wonderful Dolly Parton is.  Anchored in the reality that Dolly Parton is well known for her philanthropy and her good heart, the Parton that Paoluccio creates on stage is warmth, wisdom, compassion and inspiration as she helps Kevin to see that he does have options and opportunities if he’d just be bit more confident in his own attributes.

With only the two core characters of Dolly Parton and Kevin, the minor characters only making cameos and covered by the background vocalists and band members, it would be a mistake to think that HERE YOU COME AGAIN is a ‘little musical’.  It is big and bold and heartwarming and ever so relatable as it is anchored in the global ‘shutdown’ that was the 2020 Covid pandemic.  While the work was created by Americans and would have no doubt had Kevin living somewhere in America with American references, this production is given a decidedly Australian edge by Australian adaptors Fiona Harris and Mike McLeish. A quick search of the UK tour shows that Paul Wills’ set has been recreated for the Sydney production, but decidedly Australian elements have been added for this tour.  It is incredibly detailed and instantly evokes the idea of homes that have stayed constant even when parents became empty nesters, with nothing of their offspring’s youth thrown away.  As Director, Barre has incorporated these elements throughout the story, from the makeshift microphone of tennis ball and paper tube, playing with the Humphrey B Bear and Agro toys and the repurposed hamster cage used to transfer meals Kevin’s mother sends up for him.

As a co-writer of HERE YOU COME AGAIN, the work showcases Tricia Paoluccio’s ability to mimic her idol Dolly Parton’s sound. The characterisation is presented with warmth and lightness without being too saccharine.  Paoluccio ensures there is a wholesome sass and comedy in the character as well as an ability to convey earnest sincerity as Dolly uses her wisdom and a dash of magic set Kevin on the right path.  With wig, figure hugging wardrobe and platform stilettos, Paoluccio creates an image of a younger Dolly so when paired with her ability to recreate her sound, adds a believability to the story, keeping it clear of a parody performance. 

Dash Kruck has seemingly been absent from Sydney musical theatre stages so it is a treat to see him back on stage in a role that suits him perfectly.  He has an innate ability to capture the essence of a nerdy, goofy but utterly endearing young man and his portrayal of the obsessed uber fan Kevin is presented with honesty and sincerity.  The dramatic expression paired with his vocals delivers a heartwarming and humorous expression of a man on the edge.

The live vocals are supported by Andrew Worboys’s (Musical director/keys) band of Tina Harris (Bass), Luke Herbert (Drums), Ash Murdica (guitar) with Kellie Rode, Bailey Dunnage and Laura Joy Bunting providing backing vocals and the cameo characters.  The surreal nature of the story has the band and the vocalists appearing either in/on the roof or around Kevin’s bedroom, interacting with Kevin and Dolly. 

With a career spanning 60 years as a singer, songwriter, musician, actress, philanthropist and businesswoman, most people will be familiar with at least some of Dolly Parton’s work so even if you don’t know every song covered in HERE YOU COME AGAIN, there are enough of her hits woven into the story to keep everyone happy.  While this would fall under the genre of a ‘jukebox musical’ its different in that it is taking Dolly’s songs and having a characterisation of Dolly sing them.  There has been care to ensure that the songs selected fit with the storyline so for the most part, don’t feel shoe-horned in like most other jukebox musicals, with even 9 to 5 presented with a warped humour given it was 2020 and not many people aside from the essential workers were going to work.

HERE YOU COME AGAIN is a wonderfully uplifting evening of Dolly Parton’s music set to a heartwarming and wholesomely comic storyline of finding hope when it feels like all hope is lost.  Whether you are a die hard Dolly Parton fan like Kevin or just love fun music and a feel good story, this must not be missed.

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Photos: Cameron Grant

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