Here You Come Again
★★★☆☆ Unexpected
Playhouse: Tue 23 – Sat 27 Jul 2024
Review by Hugh Simpson
If you think you know what the Leeds Playhouse’s touring production of Here You Come Again will be like, think again. This is no standard jukebox musical and – while it does not all come off – it is a heartening and surprisingly emotional affair.
Some of the publicity for this tour bills it as ‘the new Dolly Parton musical’ and it must be stressed that this is very different from 9 to 5 (although that song makes an appearance, along with 14 others of hers). It is also quite definitely not the long-rumoured biographical musical Parton has reportedly been working on for years.
Steven Webb and Tricia Paoluccio in Here You Come Again. Pic: Hugo Glendinning.
It is often relatively easy to guess what the set-up for a jukebox musical will be; great credit to anyone who predicted that this particular one would be the story of a 40-year-old man called Kevin (played by Steven Webb), frustrated in his career and ditched by his boyfriend, holed up in his parents’ Halifax attic during COVID lockdown in 2020. At a low ebb, he is visited by a vision of his idol Dolly, who sets about putting his world to rights.
The original US-set production, written by Bruce Vilanch, director Gabriel Barre and Tricia Paoluccio (who also features as Dolly herself), has been given a UK spin by Jonathan Harvey’s additional dialogue.
The result is essentially a two-hander, although backing vocalists Aidan Cutler and Charlotte Elisabeth Lewis do provide occasional dialogue as other characters. The story of isolation and finding yourself is surprisingly intimate, undoubtedly humorous and really rather sweet, with Parton’s songs – both the obvious ones and some more left-field choices – providing colour, spectacle and some fairly cheesy life lessons.
endearing
Webb’s portrayal of lost soul Kevin who is constantly stuck in a ‘p-hole’ (that’s p for pity) is an endearing one. Perhaps the character’s status as a failed stand-up comedian is reflected a little too accurately with some truly terrible jokes, but otherwise the performance is sympathetic, humorous and expansive enough to keep the momentum going when the story threatens to stretch a little thin.
Tricia Paoluccio in Here You Come Again. Pic: Hugo Glendinning.
Paoluccio’s Dolly, meanwhile, is not only a highly effective tribute act, but also functions well as a character in its own right. There is an apparently effortless rapport between the performers that keeps things ticking along nicely, and Barre’s direction is full of life and colour.
Paul Wills’ set, with its huge junk-filled attic and chimney-pot skyline, is excellently used, Tim Deiling’s lighting design and Tom Marshall’s sound provide plenty of animation, and there are a couple of nifty low-key illusions from Richard Pinner.
Lizzi Gee’s choreography is well-judged, and MD Jordan Li-Smith and his fellow musicians (Alex Akira Crawford, Ben Scott and Kevin Oliver Jones) prove once again that there is no substitute for a live band.
significant songwriter
At time the levels of camp, generally well calculated, do threaten to overwhelm some of the musical numbers. Just because Jolene is a strong enough song to withstand being undercut by comedy staging doesn’t mean that it should be.
On the whole, however, the songs just remind us of something that shouldn’t need stressing – what a significant songwriter Parton is.
Steven Webb, Tricia Paoluccio and band in Here You Come Again. Pic: Hugo Glendinning.
Of course, some of her biggest hits were written by others, notably the title song – an apposite choice for a Dolly musical since it was the one that really sealed her crossover from the country world to mainstream success.
Such considerations are tantalisingly hinted at in a production whose portrayal of the singer rarely strays beyond the cliché or the best-known facts. Occasional hints of more profound revelations from either character are soon sidelined in another production number.
Which is a shame when the focus of the story is so resolutely and surprisingly personal and domestic – which is both the production’s greatest strength and its greatest weakness. The whole thing is decidedly refreshing, but also comes across as far too long for its plot.
This would have been ideal at the 55 minute length of one of those Play, Pie and a Pint ‘mini musicals’; at two acts of an hour each it is really pushing it. However, a one-hour show probably wouldn’t cut it for a national pre-West End tour.
It is difficult to imagine audiences being disappointed, however, with the quality of the performances, the vibrancy of the staging or the feelgood energy of it all.
Running time 2 hours 20 minutes including one interval
Playhouse, 18-22 Greenside Place Cambridge St, EH1 3AA
Tuesday 23 – Saturday 27 July 2024
Daily at 7.30 pm; Matinees Wed, Sat 2.30 pm
Tickets and details: Book here
Glasgow King’s Theatre, 297 Bath St, Glasgow G2 4JN
Tue 1 – Sat 5 Oct 2024
Evenings: 7.30pm; Mats: Wed, Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
The cast of Here You Come Again. Pic: Hugo Glendinning.
ENDS
