A Dolly Parton biographical musical will be coming to Broadway in 2026. The show, Dolly: A True Original Musical, at the St. James Theatre, has its first preview on Dec. 7. The beloved star originally revealed the existence of the production on her social media pages on June 6, 2024, on what was the 50th anniversary of one of her most acclaimed songs, “I Will Always Love You,” reaching #1. Her recording of that song—a significant hit for Whitney Houston as featured in the 1992 feature film, The Bodyguard—was released in March 1974, and topped the Country chart in early June. The musical was originally named for her 1967 debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly.

The show is being directed by Bartlett Sher, a nine-time Tony nominee and winner of Best Direction of a Musical for the 2008 Broadway revival of South Pacific. Parton is collaborating with Maria S. Schlatter on the musical’s book. Casting news has not been revealed. Tickets are on sale now with dates currently into January 2028. Click here for details.

“Hello, I’m Dolly!,” she cheerfully—is there any other way for her?—wrote on her Facebook page when she announced the show in 2024. “I’ve been writing my life story as a Broadway musical for several years and I’m proud to announce we are finally developing [the show] for the Broadway stage.”

Parton, born January 19, 1946, has released over 200 singles during her extraordinary career. 1970’s “Joshua” was her first to reach #1 on the Country chart. Among the other songs she wrote are such classics as “Coat of Many Colors,” “Jolene,” “Here You Come Again,” “9 To 5” and “Tennessee Homesick Blues.” She holds the record for the most #1 Country singles by a female artist with 25.

Watch Parton introduce the musical

Related: When Parton wrote a song for Johnny Carson

In its original 2024 reporting, The New York Times noted in its coverage that Parton announced plans for the show in remarks to CMA Fest, a gathering of country music fans in Nashville.

“I just wanted to say that I wouldn’t be here, if you hadn’t been there, and I mean that — and that happens to be the name of one of the songs that’s going to be in my new Broadway musical,” she told the crowd. “I’ve written a whole lot of original songs for it, as well as all the hit songs that you know.

“You’ll get to know all of my life, up to now” and that “It really does have a lot of story, a lot of family.”

The much-beloved entertainer has earned virtually every accolade. In 2022, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.