Review Roundup: Dolly Parton Musical HERE YOU COME AGAIN at Riverside Studios

Here You Come Again is playing limited festive season at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith where the show will run to Saturday 18th January.

For the first time ever, all of Dolly Parton’s biggest hits are brought together in a rollicking and joyful new musical comedy, fully authorised by Dolly herself. Packed with iconic songs like Jolene, 9 to 5, Islands in the Stream, I Will Always Love You, Here You Come Again and more, this lively and touching new musical tells the story of a diehard fan whose imagined version of international icon Dolly Parton gets him through trying times. 

Originally written by multi-Emmy award-winning comedy and songwriter Bruce Vilanch with Gabriel Barre (who also directs) and writer and actor Tricia Paoluccio (who co-writes and stars as Dolly). Acclaimed British TV and theatre writer Jonathan Harvey (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme and Coronation Street) provides additional material for the production's UK run. See what the critics are saying...

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: There is plenty of dazzle here but sadly it all emanates from the rhinestones on Dolly’s dresses. There is little spark to the production itself, which has been authorised by the real-life Dolly. Directed by Gabriel Barre, it might have gathered traction if the script were stronger, but the plot segues into Parton’s best known songs in strained ways. All the oldies but goodies are there, including Jolene, 9 to 5, Islands in the Stream, I Will Always Love You, and on.

Daz Gale , All That Dazzles : Frequently laugh-out-loud funny and full of the kind of joy you long for in this season, there is also a deeper message hidden deep underneath the rhinestones of Here You Come Again with a surprising element to the story that connected with me and my own personal situation. I long for any form of connection when it comes to theatre, and sometimes it can be found in the most unlikely of places – I didn’t expect it in a Dolly Parton musical but here we are.

Anya Ryan, The Times: So, mega-fans of Parton might still find some pleasure in hearing Paoluccio perform Parton’s country and western classics. And the doll’s house-like set, designed by Paul Wills, is constructed with such extreme detail, it is a sight to behold. But really, this is a shallow concert rather than intelligent drama.

Simon Finn, Everything Theatre: Paoluccio, a lifelong Dolly fan, is clearly the driving force behind this production as she conceived it and is essentially its star. She is utterly amazing and you will leave the theatre feeling that you’ve been in the presence of the real thing. But Steven Webb is both the glitter and the glue: his energy and relatability making him the engine of the entire production. Is the timing right for a show about Covid lockdowns? Webb’s performance makes the answer to this a resounding yes. You will laugh, sigh and cry with his simultaneously physical, comical and touching performance; a performance so authentic that there are times that you forget that he is not just a real person named Kevin that decided to write a show about his experiences.