New shows can occasionally be challenging things to navigate, new music, story you don’t quite get. In the case of HERE YOU COME AGAIN which opened last night at the Wales Millennium Centre, you don’t have those issues. The music is a Dolly Parton hit-filled treat and as for the story, well that is hilarious from start to finish and completely relatable to us all.
Needless to say we absolutely loved it, and why wouldn’t we, after all we all love a bit of Dolly and her incredible hits. The show is not so much about what Dolly has done over her incredible career but what would Dolly do if she was magically dropped into the everyday life of a down to earth, normal guy.
The show may be new to us but it has been a massive success in the States. Here You Come Again was originally written by two-time Emmy award-winning comedy and songwriter BRUCE VILANCH with GABRIEL BARRE (who also directs) and TRICIA PAOLUCCIO (who also plays Dolly incredibly – more of that soon). The production has been adapted for the UK by British playwright JONATHAN HARVEY (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme and Coronation Street).
First of all, here’s last night’s audience, along with the two main stars of the show (Tricia and Aidan), to give us their take on opening night…..
The story is set during the COVID lockdown (remember that?). Kevin played by AIDAN CUTLER, who is filling in for STEVEN WEBB (get well soon Steven) is like so many during that time, stuck in his parents attic, all by himself, having being recently dumped, with only his Dolly Parton posters to keep him company.
For many of us, Kevin is hugely relatable. Lockdown was a time where we all took a long hard look at ourselves as we tried to build our confidence to step back into the world, which is exactly what he sets out to do. Kevin is helped along the way with support from Dolly who eases him into a new future filled with confidence and emotional growth.
Although that’s the backbone of the plot, I can tell you it is a story filled with heart, fun and 15 of Ms Parton’s best songs – although how you choose from a career which has spanned 50 plus years heaven knows. But, if you come just for these country classics alone you won’t be disappointed, they’re all there.
Aidan is instantly likeable as Kevin and carries a lot of the story along from the start. He’s funny, engaging and a mighty fine singer in his own right. But the star of this show is Tricia. For those of us lucky to have seen Dolly perform, we have just seen her again on the Donald Gordon stage. Tricia’s take on Dolly is staggering, and a little scary it’s so perfect. At times you forget that this is a musical and felt like you were watching the Queen of Country herself performing. Yes, Tricia is that good, and incidentally, also the brainchild behind this whole project.
We don’t just get the blonde wig, sparkly dress and rhinestone heels Dolly, we see her through four stage Eras, each of them more convincing than the last. Honestly, the look and voice is every bit Dolly herself and worth the price of a ticket just to see Tricia’s performance.
You do have to suspend a bit of belief as Dolly steps from the poster right into Kevin’s ‘falling apart‘ life. But that is also the joy of this show. I’d like to bet there’s a moment when we have all looked at the poster on our walls and wished our idol could manifest themselves into our room. One woman we spoke to told us she wished Donny Osmond could have popped out of here thirty two posters back in the day! For me it would have been Marc Bolan from T.Rex, although I did get to interview him as a very young journalist, so that partly came true.
So what about those hits? At times we all had to suppress our urge to sing-a-long with ‘I Will Always Love You‘, ‘9 to 5‘, ‘Jolene‘ and a bit of a Welsh favourite ‘Islands in the Stream‘. All performed perfectly by Tricia. I couldn’t help but get a bit of a Kenny Rogers vibe as Aidan joined in.
Incidentally, Dolly Parton gave her blessing for the songs to be used in the show. I don’t know of she’s seen it but I’m sure she would be chuffed to see how they are delivered and fit so well into the story.
Kudos to the live band as well. JORDAN LI-SMITH, ALEX AKIRA CRAWFORD, BEN SCOTT and KEVIN OLIVER JONES move seamlessly from background to front of stage and blend perfectly into the story, giving it a real ‘concert’ feel, perfect for this show. transitioned from the background to the forefront of the action quite a lot in this show and this worked well with the style of this. Musicall however, they give these much-loved songs the respect and love they deserve.
The company is complete with CHARLOTTE ELISABETH YORKE, who, along with members of the band, inhabits a number of the other characters such as Kevin’s parents and his one time lover. They also add a lot to the songs with their backing vocals, although given half a chance, all of us in the auditorium could have taken on that role (we knew all the words).
Which brings me to our role in the performance. Yes, we do get a chance to have a sing-song, and not only at the end in the usual mega-mix finale. Don’t get me wrong, we shouldn’t be singing to every hit in the show, that’s the job of these fine actors, what they do however is invite us to join in, you’ll know when those moments happen cause they’ll tell you.
Our main characters do break the ‘fourth wall‘ quite a few times through the show, acknowledging where we are in Cardiff and spurring us on to clap, cheer and sing, where appropriate
If you’re going to the theatre expecting a story about Dolly Parton, that’s not what you’ll see. What you do get are all the elements of Dolly we’d love to be true (and I bet they are), but it’s also a story about us in many ways. The trials and tribulations of navigating our way through a once in a lifetime pandemic, and for that the story is pure genius.
You absolutely don’t have to be a Dolly Parton fan to get something for this production but I defy you not to be tapping, clapping and singing along to some of the greatest songs of our time.
HERE YOU COME AGAIN is making its way to the West End after this tour so I’d grab a ticket while you can, it’s always nice to see these things ahead of a London run. It’s here at Wales Millennium Centre through to Saturday 31st August. Performances are at 7:30pm each evening with a 2:30pm matinee on Thursday and Saturday. Tickets start at £18 and you can get more details HERE.
