Here You Come Again

Knowing only the title, I visited Leicester’s Curve for opening night of Here You Come Again on Tuesday 11 June, and I haven’t seen anything quite like it before.

Surprisingly for a musical, it’s a two-hander with musicians. We have Kevin – a northern forty year-old Dolly superfan struggling with self-confidence, played by Steven Webb – and Dolly needing no introduction, played by Tricia Paoluccio. Dolly ‘comes to life’ from a historic poster of herself contained in Kevin’s parents’ attic (his childhood bedroom) where the story takes place following his return from London during the pandemic.

The set was incredibly busy with props, bringing back fond memories of the 80s/90s including Zippy, Sooty, a Spiderman duvet and a Big Yellow Teapot – which a lady behind me proudly exclaimed she had one too. I also enjoyed the pre-show country music, setting the scene as audiences shuffled in.

The plot follows Kevin as he is given guidance from Dolly to improve his confidence and follow his passion for stand-up comedy, with a romantic sub-plot as Kevin progressively takes control with refreshed hope. The plot is thin and certainly predictable, but this didn’t matter. The line between traditional musical theatre and jukebox musicals can be blurry, but this show is so far into jukebox territory that traditional rules of theatre are out the window.  This starts a few minutes into the show, when Kevin suddenly ‘spots’ the audience and introduces himself. As a rule I don’t enjoy breaking the ‘fourth wall’ but oddly, it was justified due to the ‘stand-up’ nature of Kevin’s delivery which is really helped by audience engagement.

This audience engagement continued throughout, even extending to Dolly when a comedic mishap led to her breaking a prop skeleton and asking the audience ‘not to tell Kevin’. I was less convinced by Kevin inviting the audience to use their phone torches for ‘Islands In The Stream’, losing the magic as we swapped the theatre for a make-shift concert. Overall though, the engagement was used effectively – accentuating audience enjoyment rather than hindering it.

It’s clear that Tricia is the centrepiece of the production, despite having fewer lines than Steven. The programme explains she is one of three writers, the others being her husband Gabriel (also Director) and Bruce Vilanchi, arguably much more well known across the pond than little Blighty.

In fact the production originates from the USA, with Kevin’s attic dynamically set in New York, Texas, or for the UK tour, Northern England. And that’s where the magic of Jonathan Harvey comes in, credited as providing ‘additional material’ – his adaption of this American script is a masterpiece. He hasn’t just converted place names and terminology, he’s made it feel like an entirely British production.

Steven portrays Kevin excellently, making the character likeable and relatable – although the softer sides struggled with authenticity, largely due to the flippancy from happy-go-lucky to serious signs of depression and anxiety within a scene. To his credit, Steven worked hard to bridge this gap, using long periods of silence to signal his mood transitions which helped settle and prepare the audience. Even this wasn’t quite enough sometimes though, as the change in pace was so pronounced I started to wonder if he’d simply forgotten his lines.

As for Tricia, her Dolly was smooth, polished and believable. This extended to mannerisms, facial expressions and of course her voice – she even perfected the uniquely-Dolly inflections. Her portrayal made you feel it could have been Dolly in the room, a wonderful combination of writing and delivery. Tricia should also be celebrated for her incredible singing ability, not just to sound like Dolly but to deliver a beautifully soft vocal performance.

In terms of direction, there was a tendency to overuse ‘stage right’. This did improve in the second act but, with a functioning desk positioned stage-left throughout, more movement could have been shifted stage-left away from the bed. This aside, direction was good and I particularly appreciated the repurposing of a set piece as a breakfast table during Act 2.

Choreography also worked very well, with a particularly fun and attention-grabbing rendition of ‘Jolene’ where Kevin seemed to utilise every inch of the stage at an impressive pace.

A well-received feature of the show was the subtle use of illusions on stage. I won’t spoil anything here – but they were more sparse in Act 2 and I’d have loved to have seen more.

The final piece of unexpected ‘magic’ was the set rotating away for the finale. Despite being impressive, this was unnecessary, especially as the small ensemble were then ‘lost’ in the great expanse. This resulted in the finale being underwhelming, especially to the track ‘Light Of A Clear Blue Morning’. Whilst it did fit the storyline, it’s not well known enough to deserve being the closing number.

However, I enjoyed hearing Dolly’s classics alongside tracks I hadn’t heard before – this was a perfect recipe and were laced into the story perfectly. I was disappointed not to hear ‘Coat Of Many Colors’ – in fact in one scene, Dolly acknowledged she hadn’t always enjoyed success and it would have been a lyrically perfect addition.

The post-bows closing medley was a wonderful collection of songs and had (almost) the entire audience on their feet, celebrating not just an enjoyable evening for all, but also – as indicated by the cast’s closing gesture to an oversized ‘Dolly’ sign during bows – the life and contributions of the one and only Dolly Parton.

This show was reviewed on the 11th June 2024 at the Curve, Leicester where it runs until the 15th June 2024.  Tickets available here: Here You Come Again: The New Dolly Parton Musical – Curve Theatre, Leicester (curveonline.co.uk)

Full tour details can be found here: Here You Come Again – The new musical featuring the hits of Dolly Parton

**** stars

Steve Cutler

Join Steve every Sunday at 2pm for ‘Show Stoppers’ here on Box Office Radio

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Photo credit: Hugo Glendinning