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Boost your immunity against winter blues with a powerful dose of Vitamin Dolly.Summary
Rating
Excellent
Taking the tube to Riverside Studios to see Here You Come Again, a new musical based on the songs of Dolly Parton, I heard so much coughing and sneezing I couldn’t help but reach the conclusion that a massive dose of vitamin D would do everyone in London the world of good right now.
My mood wasn’t made any more optimistic when I arrived and read the programme to discover that this new jukebox musical, adapted for the UK by celebrated writer Jonathan Harvey (Beautiful Thing), is set during the first Covid pandemic lockdown. So far, so gloomy.
The show centres around the woes and the journey of forty-year old Dolly Parton fan Kevin, confined to his parents’ attic during lockdown and feeling lonely and disillusioned. His idol visits him and imparts advice by digging deep into her 3,000-song back catalogue. On paper, this sounds like standard jukebox musical material, but put into the hands of writers Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre and Tricia Paoluccio (who also stars in the show as Dolly Parton) and with Harvey’s UK adaptation, this is a script with fizzes and sparkles from the off.
Of course, having a character playing Dolly actually singing the songs also allows the production to showcase the other attributes of her personality: she has become almost as famous in recent years for her humility and humanity. If you don’t know why Dolly Parton is an all-out modern day legend you will by the end of this show.
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.
The script that puts the words into Kevin’s mouth is highly relatable and packed with warmth, poignant detail and vibrant humour. By the time we got to the line about the NHS I was helpless, and this big-hearted show had totally won me over. My only criticism is perhaps that the songs were chosen because of being recognisable hits rather than for fitting the narrative, but Harvey’s script even includes a funny and knowing reference to deal with that doubt in the second half
All of this is gift-wrapped and presented to the audience in a set that embodies perfectly the warmth and humanity of the two main characters. The finishing touch is the glamour and glitz of the costumes by designer Paul Willis.
Such was the vibe after the show I concluded that it’s not vitamin D we all need right now, but Vitamin Dolly. Shake off your winter woes and get yourself down to Riverside Studios before Saturday 18th January to get your dose.
Written by: Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre and Tricia Paoluccio
Additional material by: Jonathan Harvey
Directed by: Gabriel Barre
Here You Come Again plays at Riverside Studios until Saturday 18th January. Further information and booking details can be found here.
