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‘DOLLY’ at HULL NEW THEATRE. 3/6/08.
A ‘Rockman Music’ production, this grand old celebration of the glamourous life and times of Country legend Dolly Parton pulls out all the stops to entertain. Even on the opening night of its debut UK tour, the show drew a huge crowd of Dolly fans who were in the mood for singing and clapping along to all her best-known hits.
Featuring a divine cast of singers, dancers and top musicians, ‘Dolly’ utilizes the incredible talents of two main singers, with Emily Clark (of ‘Vampires Rock’ fame) gliding onto the stage first of all to get the crowd into the spirit of affairs with an energetic rendition of ‘9 to 5.’ Acknowledging Dolly’s roots in America’s Appalachian Mountains, she proceeded to trade the Pop element of ‘9 to 5’ for a royal Country hoedown with ‘Applejack,’ the backing band reproducing the music perfectly.
‘Here You Come Again’ satisfied lovers of Dolly’s catchier numbers, proving that Dolly Parton did indeed pave the way for legions of female popstars without even realizing it. Similarly, many people don’t realize that Dolly actually wrote ‘I Will Always Love You,’ even if it was Whitney Houston who came to make a global smash-hit of the song via the movie ‘The Bodyguard.’
Backed by a sumptuous stage-set, every aspect of the show’s production complemented the conviction with which all the songs were performed, with Manchester lass Emily Clark proving to be a shooting star in a league of her own, even if her turn in the show came as something of a surprise when she’s usually acting a misbehaving vixen in Steve Steinman’s shows ‘Vampires Rock’ and ‘The Bat Trilogy.’ In her new role, Emily was a revelation, both looking and sounding the part.
Dolly Parton might have been releasing studio albums since 1967, but she still possesses what it takes to captivate an audience with her charisma and songwriting. Likewise, all cast members of ‘Dolly’ ensured that the spirit of her songs retained that vital spark that made them so special in the first place. ‘Love Is Like A Butterfly,’ ‘Me And Bobby Magee’ and ‘Little Sparrow’ also encouraged audience members to participate, yet the biggest and best sing-a-longs unsurprisingly came courtesy of ‘Islands In The Stream’ and the huge hit ‘Jolene.’
The quality of Dolly’s music metaphorically did the talking throughout the show, though fascinating insights into her hard life in the Appalachians were also proffered on a few occasions, too. Still, the strength of ‘Dolly’ stemmed from the fact that this bright and breezy production is so much fun, with the extraordinarily energetic Shereen Webb strutting her stuff to the music as and when she – as choreographer – best saw fit. What’s more, there must have been more costume changes than in a Kylie and Madonna show combined, ensuring that the show was a spectacle in all senses.
And it wasn’t only Emily Clark showing what her vocal chords are made of, because Jeanne Jordan led many of the songs. Like Emily, she’s a seasoned professional, having sung since the age of thirteen. Coincidentally, Jeanne was actually present at the recording of ‘Islands In The Stream’ when Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers went into the studio. Clearly a huge fan of the song, she beckoned her husband – BJ Thomas – onto the stage to perform it with her, and it went down a treat as they sat beside one another and crooned their hearts out. BJ has also been involved in Country music from a young age, and, like Jeanne, he possesses a great voice. As for the backing band, John Pettifer on guitar whipped up a veritable storm with some rollicking guitar solos, slyly incorporating Blues and Rock influences into the fold. Luke Thomas also proved he could play a mean guitar, allowing keyboardist Iain Bradshaw to wend a legion of world-famous melodies around his riffs, while drummer Nigel Bromley kept the beats with precision.
Many of the show highlights occurred when Jeanne and Emily duetted, their sensational voices sounding divine when heard together. To say it was the very first show of the tour, all cast members put on a superb performance and clearly enjoyed being a part of the show. Steve Steinman, the show’s producer, also did a grand job doing the lights and production. When I caught up with him in the theatre’s foyer he was overjoyed at how smoothly things had gone. ‘I’m very proud of them all,’ he grinned. Such an admission was understandable.
Let’s just hope the show returns to Hull again at some point in the future for all those Dolly fans who failed to see the beauty this time around…
For more information and tour dates, please visit www.dollypartonshow.com
(Steve Rudd)
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