Venue: Theatre Royal (Sydney NSW), Sep 12 – Oct 18, 2025
Creators: Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre, Tricia Paoluccio
Director: Gabriel Barre
Cast: Laura Joy Bunting, Bailey Dunnage, Dash Kruck, Tricia Paoluccio, Kellie Rode, Andrew Worboys
Images by Cameron Grant
Theatre review
Kevin is down in the dumps—a middle-aged man stuck in his parents’ attic during the Covid lockdown, broke, and reeling from a breakup as his boyfriend calls it quits. Just when things couldn’t feel bleaker, his lifelong idol Dolly Parton materializes like a rhinestoned fairy godmother, offering comfort and counsel. Here You Come Again strings together Parton’s beloved hits—including classics like Jolene and 9 to 5—but while the music delights, the thinness of the narrative leaves us on the outside looking in, never quite drawing us into Kevin’s emotional journey.
Tricia Paoluccio proves herself a first-rate Dolly impersonator, embodying both the sound and sparkle of the country icon with uncanny precision. Even when the narrative drifts, she remains magnetic, a joy to behold as she brings Dolly to life before our eyes. Dash Kruck throws himself into Kevin with admirable energy and commitment, and although the role offers little to draw us in, his performance never lacks sincerity.
The production benefits from Paul Willis’s colourful sets and costumes, which provide a welcome visual lift, while Jason Bovaird’s lighting works earnestly to energise the stage. James Maxfield’s choreography, though conventional, maintains an appropriate sense of levity in keeping with Dolly’s signature style. Andrew Worboys’s musical direction too colours inside the lines, but in this case predictability proves a strength, allowing the songs’ familiarity to carry much of the show’s appeal.
Dolly Parton remains one of the most inspiring figures of our time, a beacon of kindness and generosity whose philanthropy has touched countless lives. For decades she has shone with unshakable dignity, never wavering in her integrity, always choosing to stand with the right causes, from the defence of queer rights to the battle against vaccine scepticism. More than anything, she has embodied the spirit of female emancipation, refusing to surrender the glamour and sensuality for which she was once mocked, and transforming them instead into instruments of power. Through talent as vast as her ambition, she has built a career of astonishing scope and wealth, yet still radiates the brilliance that first made her unforgettable.
Suzy Goes See 