Review: I went into Here You Come Again a Dolly Parton fan – now I can never listen to Jolene again

If there is a sudden shortage of blonde wigs in Sydney for the next month, you can blame Dolly Parton. The show that features her songs, Here You Come Again, is on at the Theatre Royal.  And many in the audience are wearing her trade-mark blonde locks.

As a gay icon, Dolly has a huge following. And in Sydney, her fans were out in force in a variety of country and western costumes and big hats.

Indeed, the audience was a lot more entertaining than this laboured show, with its thin, repetitive plot and shmaltzy story line.

According to the production, the 79-year-old mega star has given the show her blessing. That must have been for the stellar performance of the lead, Tricia Paoluccio. She nails the woman who made 50 studio albums and had a 60-year singing career.

But that’s where the good news ends. The idea for the show is so ridiculously bad that her excellent performance simply cannot resuscitate it.  The eight strong cast do their best at CPR, but this show’s plot really is beyond saving.

A plot as thin as a rake

Kevin, a hopelessly bad gay stand-up comic, is locked up in his parents’ attic during Covid. The mega star comes to life out of a poster in his bedroom to administer a series of relentlessly positive life messages while singing some of Dolly’s biggest hits (and a few songs you’ve never heard of).

Co-created by Paoluccio, Bruce Vilanch and Gabriel Barre (with Australian adaptation by Fiona Harris and Mike McLeish), the show revolves around Kevin.

But Kevin is stuck in a loop of despair over his plight as a 40-year-old loser. He tells the same sorry story over and over again.

Paoluccio literally carries this show. She is Dolly and obviously loves her subject. She has a powerful, warm voice that could be Dolly in her heyday. Hits like Jolene, 9 to 5, I Will Always Love You, and Here You Come Again turn the theatre into a communal late-night sing-along.

“I’ve loved Dolly my whole life and have been singing her songs since I was a little girl… Having Dolly’s personal stamp of approval on this piece makes it even more special,” she says of the show.

The cliches keep coming

But the cliches just keep coming. And so does the saccharine. Kevin’s self-loathing, dumped by his boyfriend and a failure at his stand-up comedy bar, rely on your feeling sympathy.  Dash Kruck does his best to rescue this febrile character but he just can’t make you care.

Even before the interval, Dolly’s up-beat mentoring and syrupy solutions become irritating.

This show has toured in the UK, and The Times review warns that unless you’re a devoted Dolly fan, the show’s sentimentality may feel like a concert with plastic set.

If you love Dolly Parton, Here You Come Again will feel like warm comfort blanket. But if you go expecting something dramatic, structurally daring, or psychologically deep, you will be left sadly wanting.

Personally, I liked dolly Parton’s music before seeing this show.  Now, I just can’t listen.

The details

What: Here you come again

Where: Theatre Royal

When: Sept 12-October 18Tickets: $69.90 to $129.90 – tickets.theatreroyalsydney.com