Broadway’s About to Say Hello to a New Dolly

In addition to being a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, actor, author, lifestyle magnate, and all-around living legend, Dolly Parton is now a librettist. That’s right. A new Dolly is coming to Broadway.

Hello, I’m Dolly, a bio-musical about Parton’s rise to the top that will feature her hits (and what sounds like some new originals), will arrive in lights in 2026, as per an announcement on Thursday. Parton will not only write the music, but she’ll also co-write the book and serve as a producer. I mean, it’s Dolly…I’m of the mind that her power is so great that she could do anything all by herself.

“Hello, I’m Dolly, and I lived my whole life to see this show on stage,” she said in a statement detailing the show. She also reportedly clued in the crowd at CMA Fest. “I’ve written many original songs for the show and included all your favorites in it as well. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll clap, you’ll stomp, it truly is a Grand Ol’ Opera. Pun and fun intended. Don’t miss it!” Personally, I wouldn’t dare.

The show’s title, of course, is a direct callback to the name of Parton’s debut album released in 1967, which featured “Dumb Blonde” and “Giving & The Taking” aka two absolute bangers. Among other songs that really must be included: “Down from Dover,” “The Bridge,” and “Heartbreak Express.” What? You think the tried and true Doll-hards only want to hear “9-5,” and “I Will Always Love You?” We don’t! She was a lyricist before she was ever a living legend.

Surely, Parton has a lot of material to include in the show—from her breakout on the Porter Wagoner show to the creation of her acclaimed book gifting program, Imagination Library—but I must admit that I’m pretty curious about how involved Parton’s elusive husband, Carl Thomas Dean, is in this narrative. And who the hell could play a man who very few people but Parton actually know all that well? Jonathan Groff? Hugh Jackman? Lin-Manuel Miranda? Why not! Though casting and additional members of the production’s team have yet to be announced, I like to imagine Lea Michele is already angling for the titular role.

Among the other projects Parton has in the works per her appearance at CMA Fest? A hotel and wine. So, I guess we can go right ahead and add hotelier and vintner to her ever-growing list of titles.