Here You Come Again

Well, Hello Dolly! The Tennessee Queen of Country is in Norwich all this week. To be more correct, it is the spirit of Dolly Parton, fully embodied in the shape of actor Tricia Paoluccio, who is appearing on stage at Norwich Theatre Royal, starring as Dolly in the touching and tender tale of super-fan Kevin (Steven Webb), who is hunkered down in his parent's attic during the 2020 lockdown, having split from his boyfriend Jeremy.

But, out of adversity comes strength and, in 'Here You Come Again', a gloriously empowering musical co-written by Paoluccio with husband Gabriel Barre, and Bruce Vilanch, it is the spirit of 'What Would Dolly Do?' that helps see Kevin through his meltdown lockdown crisis. Making her spectacular appearance from the life-size poster on Kevin's wall, Paoluccio, as Dolly, grabs the metaphorical bull by the horns, pulls Kevin up by his bootstraps, and keeps the magic maintained until his confidence and self-esteem are restored via the power of song.

But 'Here You Come Again' is so much more than just a jukebox musical. It is a story of despair and uncertainty, set against hope in a time not so long ago, but which, in many ways, now seems a lifetime away. Little moments, like Kevin's triumphant return from the supermarket with three large packs of toilet paper; and the saucepans hanging from the open window, ready to bang during the 6 o'clock applause for the NHS, are neat touches added by writer Jonathan Harvey in his UK adaptation of the original American script. Even Boris Johnson (in life-size cardboard cut-out form) makes a brief appearance during a lockdown 'work event'.

Kevin's desperation and frustration is sensitively captured by Webb as he wrestles with his personal predicament and career self-doubts, and turns, as he always does in moments of crisis, to the comfort and reassurance to be found in the music and songs of Dolly Parton. And from 'Here We Come Again' to 'Love Is Like A Butterfly' in Act 1, and from '9-5' to 'I Will Always Love You' in Act 2, Tricia Paoluccio is fabulous in managing to look, sound, and move just like his musical hero.

In fact, the entire show depends so much on the chemistry between Paoluccio and Webb - their characters of Kevin and Dolly are together on stage for almost the complete two hour duration. Kevin's mother and father make brief appearances, and the four-piece band and their two backing singers occasionally venture down from the roof of the house, but it is the magic spark that ignites and exists between these two main characters that enraptures the audience from start to finish.

As the stage set peels back for the grand finale, and Dolly and Kevin are joined by the full band for a spectacular and glittering final two songs, we are invited to turn on the torches on our mobile phones and participate in the wonder of Dolly's songs, and to show our appreciation and celebrate the music of the true queen of Country Music.

Fabulous show. Fabulous cast. Fabulous songs. Now, that's what I call a jukebox musical.