Singer Dolly Parton announces Broadway musical production debut

• Dolly Parton's autobiographical musical is headed to Broadway starting this December.
• The show officially opens on January 19, 2027, coinciding with her birthday.
• Parton won't perform herself; the show focuses on her life story and songs.

Country singer Dolly Parton announced on Tuesday that her autobiographical stage show, Dolly: A True Original Musical, is heading to Broadway. The musical production will debut with preview performances in New York City this December before officially opening on 19 January, 2027, to coincide with her birthday. The announcement follows the cancellation of her live concert residency in Las Vegas due to ongoing medical complications.

The hitmaker published the personal update via a video on her official Instagram account, confirming she will not perform on stage herself. Parton shared that the theatrical story focuses on her origins, personal losses, and life experiences rather than mere superficial glamour. She explained that the production utilises her own words alongside a collection of music that has defined every step of her career journey. The production features her most famous tracks, including Jolene, I Will Always Love You, 9 to 5, and Coat of Many Colors, alongside newly written material.

The show originally debuted in Nashville last year and underwent several structural changes before securing its upcoming New York run. Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher is directing the project, with pre-sale ticket access beginning on Wednesday. Parton described the Broadway transfer as a dream come true and expressed intense excitement about sharing the completed narrative with global theatregoers.

The career development follows a period of physical recovery for the entertainer, who went public with her health issues in September 2025 after cancelling an appearance at Dollywood due to kidney stones. She subsequently called off her six-show Las Vegas residency in May after initially postponing the engagements the previous year. In a social media update, she noted she was responding well to medical treatments but lacked the strength required for live stage performances. The professional milestone also comes after a period of mourning for her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025 at the age of 82.