Review: Here You Come Again at the Theatre Royal

Review by Carly Fisher

There’s something about Dolly Parton’s music that is just timelessly loveable…there’s something about Dolly herself too. Honest, generous, charitable and extremely talented, Dolly Parton is a celebrity that you can truly be proud to say that you are a fan of! And I certainly am!! 

So, with my fandom in check and knowing the lyrics to almost all of her hits, of course I couldn’t miss the opportunity to go and see ‘Here You Come Again’ on Sydney’s opening night. Touring the country after sell out US and UK seasons, the show has been ‘Australianised’ but I imagine the the crux of the story remains much the same. 

Featuring some of Dolly’s biggest hits like Jolene, 9 to 5, Here You Come Again, Islands in the Stream and more, the soundtrack to the show was, as promised, fabulous - like a Dolly karaoke night! Tricia Paoluccio is great as Dolly - a beautiful voice and great impersonation of the larger than life star, Paoluccio really shines in this production. 

In fact, the cast and band as a whole really have great opportunity to show of their musical chops through this show. Dash Kruck as the show’s protagonist, Kevin, is a strong choice and a great partner for Paoluccio as they lead the production. It was wonderful to see Kellie rode back on stage after being SO impressed with her performance in Come from Away! Kellie is such a delight to watch and alongside Bailey Dunnage and Laura Joy Bunting, the three made up a beautifully talented ensemble.

I will say, with that much talent evident in your ensemble, it is frustrating for the audience to see their involvement so limited - we wanted more from each of them because you could just see how much they each had to give. Bunting was new to me in this production and is one that I will absolutely, like Rode, be watching out for more of - she had such a presence onstage! One to watch for sure. 

Equally, the band led by Musical Director Andrew Worboys, was note perfect and wonderfully dynamic to watch on stage. I really enjoyed the unconventional use of the band in this show - rather than just relegated to a pit, the band was part of the action in many scenes and the show was stronger for it. Tina Harris on Bass, Luke Herbert on Drums and Ash Murdica on the Guitar, with Worboys on Keys, were together a formidable quartet. 

The talent was more than there (with Lisa Campbell at the helm as Casting Director this is no surprise really - always right on the money!), Paul Wills’ design looked great on the Theatre Royal stage - a chaotic attic bedroom fit even with a small pit for the band in the roof and Jason Bovaird’s lighting design was strong and emotive. 

So, where did this show go wrong? The beyond cringey script. 

A down-on-his-luck middle aged man who is back in the attic bedroom of his parent’s house during Covid listens to Dolly Parton records and stares longingly at his childhood posters on his wall. When life gets just too hard, Dolly appears to guide him through with songs and spouts of wisdom in what almost seems like a 2 hour long hallucination we are there to play privy too. The writing is pedestrian and the Covid storyline is honestly grating at this point for those that frequent the theatre. 

With no real stakes, the show struggles to crescendo at any point and as such, unfortunately flat lines early. There was no need for a second Act, this show could easily be consolidated into a 90-100 minute show without an interval and I definitely feel that the audience would be more engaged if this choice was made. As a juke box only musical, we are missing the pivotal moments in a musical that would make the character of Kevin more palatable - an ‘I want’ moment for example. There is also no real conflict that leads to any sort of resolution…a breakup is as far as we get with this (but the breakup is one of the first things we learn about the world of the character so this is no surprise…). 

A fun night to sing a along in your seat to Dolly’s music but a night at the theatre distracted by a painfully thin plot and a hard to like protagonist character. 

Despite the faultless cast and band, ultimately, this was a show that I really wanted to like but just couldn’t get there on. 

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