Every day is opening night.

Contact for Dolly: An Original Musical:
Rick Miramontez / Aaron Meier / Briana Sanchez / Morgan Zysman
rick@omdkc.com / aaron@omdkc.com / briana@omdkc.com / morgan@omdkc.com
212-695-7400

Contact for Dolly Parton:
Marcel Pariseau
marcel@truepublicrelations.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 AT 12 PM ET, PLEASE

THE NEW DOLLY PARTON MUSICAL
“DOLLY: AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL”
ANNOUNCES
“THE SEARCH FOR DOLLY”

A NATIONAL CASTING SEARCH
FOR THE CHANCE TO AUDITION IN NEW YORK CITY
FOR A ROLE IN THE NEW MUSICAL 

New York, NY (December 5, 2024) – Today, Dolly Parton, Danny Nozell, and ATG Productions, announced that Dolly: An Original Musical, formerly titled Hello, I’m Dolly, has launched a national casting search “The Search for Dolly,” which will give those chosen a chance to travel to New York to formally audition for a role in the new musical. The musical is searching for performers of all ages to portray Parton at different stages of her incredible life.

In the video released today on her social media, Parton said, “We’re looking for talented performers who can capture the spirit of my journey, whether you’re an experienced theater professional or an undiscovered gem with that little special something. So, what are you waiting for? This might be your moment to take center stage and step into the spotlight. Break a leg!”

The video can be viewed on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Applicants are asked to capture a video of them singing one minute of their favorite Dolly Parton song, upload it to the social media account of their choice, and tag #SearchForDolly. In addition, applicants must also fill out the application form www.dollymusical.com to be fully registered.

For applicants under the age of 18, a parent or guardian can upload a one-minute video of the candidate singing a Parton song to www.dollymusical.com and complete the application including granting permission and submitting the candidate’s date of birth.

All applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on Sunday, January 12, 2025. After the application closing date, the show’s casting team will review all submitted videos with accompanying completed application and invite anyone who they feel could be a part of the cast to participate in the formal audition process in New York City.

More information on submission timelines and rules and regulations can be found at www.dollymusical.com.

Dolly: An Original Musical will feature a score by Parton that will include some of her biggest hits as well as new songs she has written especially for the musical, a book by Parton and Maria S. Schlatter, and will be directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher. Jim Carnahan and Carrie Gardner serve as casting directors for the musical.

For news and updates on Dolly: An Original Musical, please sign up at www.dollymusical.com

BIOGRAPHIES

Dolly Parton is the most honored and revered multi-hyphenate of all time and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her recent album Rockstar made history by scoring the biggest album debut sales week of her seven-decade career and earning her six #1s on the Billboard charts – Top Rock Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Country Albums, Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, and Independent Albums. The landmark album also claimed the #3 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, her highest position ever. Achieving 27 RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, she has had 26 songs reach #1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist. Parton is the first artist to have topped Billboard’s Adult Contemporary, Christian AC Songs, Hot Country Songs, Bluegrass, Christian Airplay, Rock Digital Songs, Country Airplay, and Dance/Mix Show Airplay radio charts. Parton became the first country artist honored as Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year given out by NARAS. She has 49 career Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 120 career-charted singles over the past 50+ years. In October 17, 2023, she released her second New York Times Best Seller coffee table book in a trilogy called Behind The Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. The first of the series was the bestselling coffee table book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. In September 2024, Parton with her sister Rachel George Parton co-authored the cookbook Good Lookin’ Cookin’ which premiered at #1 on New York Times Best Seller list and remained #1 for 3 weeks.

In 2014, the RIAA recognized her impact on recorded music with a plaque commemorating more than 100 million units sold worldwide. She has amassed 11 Grammy Awards and 52 nominations, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, 10 Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year; five Academy of Country Music Awards, also including a nod for Entertainer of the Year; four People’s Choice Awards; and three American Music Awards. In 1999, Parton was inducted as a member of the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame.

Parton has the largest fan base of all measured music artists in the YouGov database at #1 with 198 million. She has the #1 Q Score of all performers, solo and group. She is one of only 25 celebrities in the E-poll database to have an E-score of 100 and has maintained that perfect rating for eight years. She recently won Best Brand Award, Celebrity, Influencer and Fashion at the 2023 Licensing International Excellence Awards.

To date, Parton has donated over 255 million books to children around the world with her Imagination Library. Her children’s book, Coat of Many Colors, was dedicated to the Library of Congress to honor the Imagination Library’s 100 millionth book donation. In March 2022, Parton released the book Run Rose Run which she co-authored with James Patterson which sat at # 1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List for five weeks, a record for this decade. She also released an accompanying album of the same name with original songs inspired by the book which reached #1 on three charts simultaneously – Country, Americana/Folk, and Bluegrass Albums. From her “Coat of Many Colors” while working “9 to 5,” no dream is too big and no mountain too high for the country girl who turned the world into her stage.

Bartlett Sher (Director). The New York Times has praised Sher as “one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but also in the international world of opera.” Nominated for the Tony Award nine times, he took home the prize in 2008 for his powerful revival of South Pacific.

Sher’s early career included residencies all over the world, under the guidance of such extraordinary artists as Garland Wright, Robert Woodruff, and Peter Hall. In 2000, he arrived at the Intiman Theater in Seattle, where he served as the Artistic Director until 2009.

During his time working in a regional theater, he directed over twenty plays by Shakespeare, and immersed himself in the classics. His Cymbeline was the first American production of a Shakespeare play presented at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Sher’s first Broadway production was the 2005 world premiere of The Light in the Piazza, by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas, which garnered him his first Tony nomination.

Soon after, he became the Resident Director of Lincoln Center Theater, a position he has held ever since. While at LCT, Bart has received Tony Award nominations for his productions of My Fair Lady, Oslo, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I, Golden Boy, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Awake and Sing!, and The Light in the Piazza. His other LCT productions include Corruption, Lerner & Lowe’s Camelot, Intimate Apparel, Blood and Gifts, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

On Broadway, Bart has directed such shows as Pictures from Home, Fiddler on the Roof, and The Bridges of Madison County. In 2018, he directed Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway, which became the best-selling American play in Broadway history.

In the world of opera, Bart has directed both new work and classics at some of the most prestigious opera houses in the world, including La Scala, the English National Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Chicago, Seattle, the Berlin Staatsoper, Baden Baden, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He will direct the world premiere of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay for the Met in their 2025-2026 season.

His film of Oslo premiered on HBO in 2021 and was nominated for two Emmy Awards and won a Critics Choice Award.

His most recent works are the hit world premiere Ayad Akhtar play, McNeal, starring Robert Downey Jr. at Lincoln Center and the acclaimed revival of Kiss Me, Kate, which recently ended an acclaimed run in London at the Barbican Theater. Upcoming work includes the stage adaptation of the movie-musical La La Land.

Danny Nozell is a titan of the entertainment industry; his bold, jovial personality accompanies his well-known reputation for high profit margins, long-term client retention, and progressive diversification of revenue for clients and his own companies. His most notable achievements have been with cultural icon and global superstar Dolly Parton as her manager of 20 years. Nozell and his team at CTK Enterprises have a diverse roster of talent, spanning a spectrum of genres: Megadeth, Kenny G, and KC and the Sunshine Band, to name a few. Nozell masters every facet of the industry – including music, TV, film, branding, publishing, touring, and record deals – through awe-inspiring innovation and spotting new trends ahead of the curve. Nozell is credited for rebuilding Parton’s global touring career, revitalizing her recording career, and overseeing her vast business empire. He expanded her branding globally, including hundreds of product lines, and produced her portfolio of television, film, and stage productions. His own businesses have redefined the modern-day entertainment industry. Nozell’s companies – including CTK Enterprises, NOZ Entertainment, and Nash Aviation – employ a 50-plus team of experts who deliver revolutionary ROI for clients and partners.

ATG Productions is the award-winning producing and general management arm of ATG Entertainment. Dolly Parton first collaborated with ATG and Adam Speers in 2019 when she entrusted them to develop a new version of her musical 9 to 5 which became a hit in London’s West End and subsequently had successful UK and international tours. Current and upcoming productions: the Tony Award-winning production of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club now starring Adam Lambert and Auli’i Cravalho and the record-breaking, seven-time Olivier Award-winning, West End production now starring Adam Gillen and Katherine Langford; the seven-time Olivier Award-winning Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger (Savoy, West End and St. James Theatre, Broadway), A Streetcar Named Desire starring Paul Mescal (Phoenix Theatre, West End; Noël Coward Theater, West End; and BAM, New York); The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Ambassadors Theatre, West End); and Dear Evan Hansen (UK tour). Recent productions: Player Kings starring Ian McKellen (Noel Coward Theatre, West End); Plaza Suite starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick (Savoy, West End and Hudson Theatre, Broadway); Harry Clarke starring Billy Crudup (Ambassadors Theatre, West End); and A Doll’s House starring Jessica Chastain (Hudson Theatre, Broadway).

# # # #

www.dollymusical.com
www.instagram.com/dollymusical
www.tiktok.com/@dollymusical
www.facebook.com/dollymusical
www.x.com/dollymusical

www.omdkc.com
www.instagram.com/omdkc
www.facebook.com/omdkc
www.x.com/omdkc