John Behlmann and Bartlett Sher Open Up About 'Emotional' First Week of Rehearsals for DOLLY on Broadway
The actor and director share how Dolly Parton's spirit continues to shape the upcoming biomusical
(Photos by Sergio Villarini for Broadway.com)
What to Know
- Director Bartlett Sher and actor John Behlmann discuss bringing DOLLY: A True Original Musical to Broadway following Dolly Parton’s death in August
- Sher reveals that the Broadway staging will feature several new songs written by Parton, while Behlmann reflects on portraying her late husband, Carl Dean
- DOLLY: A True Original Musical begins previews December 7 at the St. James Theatre, with opening night set for January 19, 2027
DOLLY: A True Original Musical is headed to Broadway this December, bringing Dolly Parton’s rags-to-rhinestones story to the St. James Theatre. Directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher, DOLLY features the country legend’s greatest hits alongside new songs written for the stage. Katie Rose Clarke, Carrie St. Louis and Norah Nunes will each play Parton at different stages of her life. Parton died in August, just months after the musical premiered in Nashville. At the opening night of Other Desert Cities, Sher and John Behlmann, who plays Parton’s husband Carl Dean in the musical, spoke to Broadway.com about rehearsing for DOLLY in the wake of the beloved songstress’ passing.
“We miss her a lot," says Sher of Parton. “We have a new opening, there are a lot of new things. So that's been fun to explore. [Parton] wrote us at least two or three new songs since we were in Nashville. Maybe four. We had been working with her consistently on the script and on the whole structure of it ever since Nashville. So she's just been immensely close to us all the way from the beginning to end.”
Reflecting on the bittersweet nature of the project, Behlmann says, “It's very emotional being in the room with everyone and working on it. But it's also just incredibly joyful and really fun and we all feel really grateful.”
The Great Gatsby alum looks forward to audiences “seeing the parts of her life that they may not know. I mean, I play Carl Dean, her husband [who was] famously out of the spotlight. I don't think he's ever been portrayed in any form. So it's a real privilege and an honor and a bit terrifying to be the first one. She told me a lot about him and their relationship. I remember being thanked by her for giving a little bit of him back because when we started rehearsals in Nashville, he had just passed away,” reveals Behlmann. “It'll make me emotional talking about it now. Being able to do that for her, that's always in there.”
Get tickets to DOLLY: A True Original Musical!
