Here You Come Again – The Alexandra, Birmingham and Touring

Here You Come Again was reviewed at The Alexandra, Birmingham where it continues until 14 September 2024. The tour continues until 7 December 2024.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

The notion of “a Dolly Parton musical” carries with it certain assumptions and imagery, namely rhinestones, cowboy boots, big hair and a healthy dose of country songs from one of the most prolific songwriters in music history.

What audiences may not necessarily imagine is a story of a forty-something gay man’s mental health battles set at the height of the pandemic, who’s carried the legendary Parton as his spirit guide throughout his life, and who now appears to him at his time of need. But musical theatre lives to surprise us all, so let’s go with it. Following some US runs, Here You Come Again made its UK premiere at the Leeds Playhouse back in May, and is now halfway through its UK tour, playing this week at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre.

Back in summer 2020, Kevin (understudied on press night by Aidan Cutler) has been forced to move back in with his parents, living on the top floor of their house while Covid ravages out the outside world. Having recently been dumped by ex-boyfriend Jeremy and drifting through an unfulfilling career as a waiter, Kevin finds himself in a slump which begins to affect his mental health, leading to day-drinking and binge-eating.

With his isolation and loneliness being exacerbated by the pandemic, he reaches out to his beloved Dolly Parton and takes comfort in her music, only for the superstar to manifest in front of him. After showering her with adoration, Kevin begins to open up to her about his life and his insecurities, and Dolly attempts to get him back on track with her seemingly-endless positivity, and of course, her back catalogue of hits.

Originally written by Bruce Vilanch with Gabriel Barre (who directs the show) and Tricia Paoluccio (who plays Dolly), Here You Come Again has been adapted for the UK run by Jonathan Harvey, who audiences will know from Beautiful Thing and Closer to Heaven, as well as 1990s sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme.

Harvey’s adaptation lacks his usual bite, relying too heavily on stereotypes of gay men, and along with Barre’s direction, brings the show dangerously close to pantomime territory at times. The recurring fourth wall-breaking and wry audience interaction seem at odds with the piece of musical theatre it’s presenting itself to be.

Somewhere in here there is a crackingly playful little show perfect for a Fringe setting where it can really let itself go, but instead here it feels tonally uneven and unsure of what it’s ultimately trying to be. Setting the show during Covid times also feels like a fatal flaw, not only in giving the show an ultimately short shelf life in which it will date incredibly quickly, and also reminding us of a time that surely most of us want to forget. There would’ve been other ways to illustrate Kevin’s disconnection from the world rather than taking us back to a world of banana bread, sanitising our shopping and banging saucepans for the NHS.

The show is also somewhat hampered by its idol of choice; Parton may be an icon, but in truth she only has five songs that the majority of people know. Obviously these are included, but it also means that the rest of the score is made up of far more obscure songs that only diehard fans will recognise. It does stand as a reminder of Parton’s songwriting prowess which of course should be celebrated, but it doesn’t culminate in the rocking night out that the idea might first suggest.

The production looks great, with a fantastic house set design by Paul Wills which is used cleverly, and great costumes for Dolly (again by Wills). There are some nice lighting choices (design by Tim Deiling), and keeping the small band visible and included in the show is a nice touch. They bring Parton’s songs to life dynamically and create a great sound for just three talented musicians, under the supervision of Richard John and direction of Jordan Li-Smith.

For all its marketing as “a Dolly Parton musical”, this is actually a very small intimate show, and largely a two-hander, making the central performances crucial. Fortunately these are very strong, and keep the audience engaged. Cutler manages to play beyond the script’s two-dimensional caricature of Kevin and brings levels and nuance to his performance, fully getting the audience on his side and rooting for him to overcome his demons. And as Dolly, Paoluccio is exceptional, delivering not just vocally but also giving a completely pitch-perfect replica of Parton’s irrestistible persona that rings utterly true, even down to that endearing laugh.

Here You Come Again defies its description and primarily offers an insight into one man’s inner struggles, underscored by some massive country hits and a star turn from Paoluccio. It doesn’t quite hit the mark, but scores points for trying to be something different than another generic bio-musical.

Rob Bartley