Produced by arrangement with Dolly Parton. Directed by Gabriel Barre. Australian adaption team: Fiona Harris and Mike McLeish
A biographical musical for Dolly Parton? No, this is an ode to loving yourself as told through the lyrics of the Queen of Country Music herself
Reviewed by Annika Loci
Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
Until 20th July, Reopening 23rd October – 2nd November, 2025
Tickets: https://hereyoucomeagain.com.au/
Type: Dolly Parton Hits, Jukebox-esque
If You Liked: Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Dolly Parton’s Best Hits, The Cher Show
After successful seasons in both The States and Britain, the Dolly Parton musical Here You Come Again has opened to Melbourne audiences for the first of two strictly limited runs at the Comedy Theatre. With the Australian adaptation being overseen by Fiona Harris and Mike McLeish, the Parton biographical musical is created by Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre and Tricia Paoluccio (who also plays the role of Dolly).
This colourful and heartfelt musical is based around Kevin (Dash Kruck), who is a self-confessed diehard fan of Dolly Parton’s, who finds himself back in Bendigo isolating in his parents attic during the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic with his life not quite going according to plan.
Fear not thought, this is not a “covid production”, despite it being set during lockdowns it is able to poke some fun at the worries we all experienced – especially in Melbourne – and immediately garners our empathy. Kevin’s life as a comedian hasn’t quite gone as he had expected and is totally confused on where he stands with his love life. Back in Bendigo, isolated, discouraged and lonesome, Kevin wonders “What would Dolly do?” as he looks around the attic with all his memorabilia dedicated to his icon. Kevin continues to receive some hard knocks, until just like a fantasy, Dolly herself materialises in front of him. Using a combination of her signature music, plenty of humour, and a big serve of optimism, Dolly (acting as a southern Mary Poppins) leads Kevin through a number of life lessons to help him realise his full potential.
Although a careful selection of Dolly Parton’s music is used to help support scenes, this not a tribute show or a biography production and aims to be more than a jukebox musical. Using Kevin’s story arc, we hear how a variety of Dolly’s music can have multiple meanings, from a extremely entertaining interpretation of “Jolene” to the high energy number “9 to 5” and a powerful performance of “I Will Always Love You”. We also see a knowing nod to Dolly as the gay icon she has become.
With the fourth wall broken and the intimacy the Comedy Theatre brings, there are some fun audience interactions with Paoluccio in total control in the spotlight. Paul Wills’ set and costume design is remarkably detailed, making you feel as though you’re right in Kevin’s attic, capturing the concept of the crowded attic beautifully. It was great fun pre-show scanning the set for little Easter Eggs, especially those uniquely Australian. Wills decorates the attic with plenty of items for Kevin and Dolly to utilize throughout the story alongside some extra Dolly “magic”. Lighting Design by Jason Bovaird supports the constant changes in Kevin’s emotions and moods as he often jumps from joy to hopelessness in a split moment.
Paoluccio fully embodies Dolly, from the familiar blonde hair down to her glittering high heels. Throughout, she is nailing the iconic Dolly sound in vocals, dialogue and, especially, attitude as she struts the stage as only Dolly could. You could easily make the mistake that the real icon was in front of you with Paoluccio’s gorgeous voice.
…the story is really a love letter to our own self acceptance
Kruck’s down on his luck Kevin brings a heartwarming and emotional performance, balancing moments of pure delight to despair without hesitation. His wide range of experience in the performing arts, especially within cabaret and musical theatre fit perfectly with the wide emotional demands of this role. Paoluccio and Kruck have great chemistry, allowing the story to flow consistently and are supported by a very small, yet entertaining ensemble in Kellie Rode, Bailey Dunnage and Laura Joy Bunting.
With Parton’s music at the heart of Here You Are Again, the all-Australian four piece band under the Musical Direction of Andrew Worboys is outstanding. With Worboys on keys, Ash Murdica on guitar, Tina Harris on bass and Luke Herbert on drums, they were able to impressively capture the intricacy of Dolly Parton’s music. Although there are distractions with the band (or parts of) constantly climbing up and down the back of the large set as they play some songs within the set and others out of sight. However, I enjoyed seeing the band as part of scenes and the clear enjoyment they experience working through the Dolly catalogue.
Whilst seemingly promoted as a love letter to Dolly Parton, we find the story is really a love letter to our own self acceptance. Filled with plenty of humour, classic hit songs and a wealth of life lessons from Dolly, Here You Come Again will have you smiling with the realisation that the real gift we can take from the show is taking each day as being a new page in our lived experiences.
Theatre Thought: When does a musical stop itself from becoming a jukebox?
