Here You Come Again 👢

#PRInvite #Gifted | Here I Come Again with the latest review of a new musical containing all of Dolly Parton's biggest hits. Hoping to take the show from Wild West to the West End - 'Here You Come Again' embarks on a UK Tour before seeking residency in London.

Star rating: ★★★

Well, I tumbled out of bed and stumbled to His Majesty’s Theatre last night for ‘Here You Come Again’ - part of its UK Premiere. Like the title suggests, coated in an abundance of pink sequins, this is a brand new musical comedy with Dolly Parton’s biggest hits, and it arrives in Aberdeen ahead of a potential West End run. ‘Here You Come Again’ is not the only musical to exist in the Dollyverse, having penned ‘9 to 5’ with original songs - a classic that has gone on to have great success internationally. Recently announced, too, is another new musical slated ‘Hello I’m Dolly’ due to open on Broadway in the coming years. Though I’m a firm believer that you can never get enough of Dolly Parton, this is becoming a competitive climate for Dolly musicals - so does it get the ‘blood pumpin’? In all honesty, I’m still mulling it over.

Perhaps the most surprising part of this production is that ‘Here You Come Again’ is not really about Dolly Parton at all. With the team hailing this new show as ‘The New Dolly Parton Musical’, and with no real show synopsis, audience members would be excused thinking that they had booked tickets for a biographical musical about Parton’s stardom. Instead, the show is set in the thick of lockdown in 2020, and is centred around the Dolly Parton-obsessed character of Kevin: a 40-year old man who has broken up with his boyfriend and is forced to move back to his family home and childhood bedroom. The show is not set in Nashville either; instead, the audience are treated to the sights of Halifax in London - paving way for some very funny references to the British experience during the pandemic. As the show continues developing though, I have noticed a shift in gears from the creative team recently trying to make their line of thought more obvious via the show’s marketing. The poster now contains Kevin, but he is still covered up by Dolly’s face - so the mantra of this show remains vague and potentially misleading. This is strange considering shows such as the recent and upcoming tours of ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ and ‘& Juliet’ handle this effortlessly. Although it is Kevin taking centre stage in this Dolly Parton musical, Dolly appears throughout as a figment of his imagination and can only be seen by those who ‘need her the most’. Here, she offers her advice to get Kevin through his rough patch in a sort of mid-life crisis, as well as fix his relationship woes.

Writers Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre and Tricia Paoluccio have got a cracker on their hands when it comes to the script. Fuelled by the hysteria and panic-buying behaviours of 2020, it is almost surreal that we have a musical theatre piece covering these themes already. The book is injected with jokes about Carol Baskin, banana bread, toilet rolls - and one which really made me belly laugh about clapping for the NHS. The show is able to transition between witty humour to poignant moments, where Kevin’s lack of self-esteem in tandem with the pressures of the pandemic take hold - and this was particularly effective. There were some small pacing errors which could be ironed out, knitting the songs and dialogue a little tighter is one, so that it feels less clunky. Barre directs the piece, and at times, the staging of characters is slightly odd too. Despite the interesting concept, and well-known music, the show has some major flaws which had lots of patrons checking the time on their watches throughout. The characters are, however, very engaging and include the audience at all times. The audience are very much in the room with Kevin and Dolly, and not just looking in. The audience actually are the shining lights in one of the numbers - if you know, you know.

The set and costume design by Paul Wills was effective in the main and a real mix of concepts which work in harmony. Dolly’s costumes are nostalgic and well-crafted; matched with her band and backing singers who look like they’ve been plucked straight out of Nashville. That’s not to forget Kevin’s lockdown outfits either - I’m sure you can picture what these entailed! The show was fully set in Kevin’s parents home, where he isolated from them in his attic bedroom. The set was intricately detailed with lights, mini fridges and microwaves; as well as the odd mask, and in true Kevin fashion: it was plastered with Dolly Parton memorabilia. I particularly liked how Wills included the attic in his set design with lots of old childhood toys, and how this became involved with the storytelling in the second act. Wills has created a real fusion of London Halifax and Nashville and this looks really appealing together.

Musically, you can expect Dolly Parton’s greatest hits, as they should sound. Musical Director Jordan Li-Smith has done a tremendous job recreating the magic of Dolly with a four piece band and some lovely harmonies. ‘Here You Come Again’ does not follow the trend of recent jukebox musicals which recreate iconic songs with new vocal and orchestral arrangements. The show’s creative team rely on impressing audiences with the gentle, sweet and delicate performances of Dolly’s music - including the title song, as well as ‘Jolene’, ‘Islands in the Stream’, ‘I Will Always Love You’ and of course, ‘9 to 5’.

While the book is funny, the set and costumes are impressive and the songs reminiscent of the originals - there is something missing. I felt that a fully-fledged two act show was ambitious and it never really found its momentum. Though there is a bit of tension towards the end of the first act as you head towards the interval - the show is rather plateau throughout. This isn’t helped by the lack of dynamic with the music and the absence of supporting cast members. And in true Covid fashion, the audience were stuck in Kevin’s bedroom which became a bit tiresome over the course of the show. Charlotte Elisabeth Yorke as backing vocalist was a much necessary new body on stage at times to break up the show and impressively alternated between a few characters throughout at a distance, but was never fully integrated into the show.

Wallowing through lockdown and on a journey of self-discovery is Kevin, played by understudy Aidan Cutler for the evening. Cutler was a fantastic energy throughout, raising spirits with his comedic timing and he really handles showcasing a raw and emotional Kevin when the time comes. Cutler has an impressive voice, too, but his character is not given much vocal material which is a real shame and underutilisation. Singing for the Common Man is Tricia Paoluccio as Dolly Parton - and it is clear that this show is written by her and written for her. Paoluccio comes from California, with Broadway credits, and is the perfect Dolly in every sense. I imagine Dolly Parton is a difficult character to impersonate - but there is no impersonation here, as Tricia Paoluccio just is Dolly. Due to Paoluccio singing most of the show’s score, this limited the show’s integrity as a musical in my opinion and it felt to be more of a very impressive tribute show instead. The chemistry between this pair was a joy to watch though - and symbolic of the assumed friendship many fans can have with their idols.

At its core, ‘Here You Come Again’ is a touching love-letter to Dolly’s music, life and icon status, and the message of the show is clear and moving - telling us to stop looking in mirrors, and to start looking through windows. Even when Kevin is at his lowest, and feels he is nothing; Dolly shows him that he is still something - and that is special. Whilst I appreciate its difference from other jukebox musicals which have come before, I do struggle to see how this might translate from Nashville’s Wild West to London’s West End. London is already hosting a few similar shows including ‘Tina’ and new-hit ‘MJ’ - there is no competition between these musicals and ‘Here You Come Again’ if I am totally honest. I think above all, the team needs to really think through how they are marketing the show, as it feels it is yet to find itself - though I am glad to see revised iterations of the design to gesture towards what the audience are going for. I can see this working well in a small theatre, or even as a film, but at this stage - I’m left considering its merit as a musical and how it may go on to succeed.

Credits

Instagram links: @theatregramuk, @aberdeenperformingarts, @hereyoucomeagainmusical

Review by Joel Simpson cc: theatregram@gmail.com

Production photos supplied by Aberdeen Performing Arts