It goes without saying that Dolly Parton is a beloved humanitarian, actress, performer, and author. While we know so much about Parton’s life, we’ve never had it revealed in a splashy big screen biopic; although it looks like that is about to change. Earlier this week during a conversation on Mr. Nashville Talks (link below), Parton revealed that “We were talking about doing my Broadway musical and we were really, really far out ahead of that, and then Covid hit and that changed my mind about a whole lot of things.” She went on to say that “I do intend someday to be on Broadway, but I’m thinking now that I might do my life story as a feature,” she disclosed, then adding “Maybe possibly even a musical feature, so we’re in talks about that”.
The reason I am who I am today ❤️ I love you so much, @DollyParton. Thank you for everything. #ImStillCrying #ForTheGirls #CMAawards @CountryMusic pic.twitter.com/meMVEVzBQU
— Kristin Chenoweth (@KChenoweth) November 19, 2019
After the Cher & Tina Turner musicals were critically and commercially hugely successful, a Dolly Parton musical would surely be a home run. While the casting for these shows is always carefully watched (and subsequently critiqued), Parton herself seems to have already hand picked who she would like to portray her on the stage (or screen). “I love Kristin Chenoweth,” Parton said. “She’s just absolutely fantastic.” There may also be opportunities for other actresses, Parton added. “We’d probably have to have-as long as my career has been-like a little Dolly and a middle Dolly and then the older one,” she said. Already a lifelong fan of Parton herself, Chenoweth is on-record about her adoration for Dolly herself, with her duet dreams being realized when she worked with Parton on a duet of the iconic song “I Will Always Love You” on her album “For The Girls”. Chenoweth also showed off her impressive impression of Parton herself during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show (check her extremely Dolly-esque singing in the clip below).
Thankfully, we won’t have to wait for Parton’s biopic to see the country icon on the big screen once again. Parton will be featured in the upcoming big-screen adaptation of the novel “Run, Rose, Run,” which she co-wrote with noted author James Patterson. The book tells the story of Rose, a young woman who has dark secrets of her own, as she arrives in Nashville with the intention of becoming the next country music star. Parton has released a companion album through her imprint Butterfly Records (also titled “Run Rose Run”) and Parton & Patterson are teaming up with Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter (of Hello Sunshine) to bring the story of Rose to life as a feature film. Additionally, the Netflix series Grace & Frankie recently announced their April 24th premiere for their final season, and it has already been confirmed that Dolly will be joining her 9 to 5 colleagues Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin on the final season in a (thus far) unconfirmed role on the groundbreaking Netflix show.
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