The Role Of A Lifetime – Carrie St. Louis On Playing Dolly Parton In New Musical

Carrie St. Louis portrays a young Dolly Parton arriving in Nashville to pursue her music dreams – in Dolly: A True Original Musical.

Credit: Matthew Murphy

When Dolly Parton announced plans to tell her life story in a Broadway musical – one of the first questions that came to mind was, “Who would play Dolly?”

Dolly and director Bart Scherer launched a global search to find not one, but three people who would play the music legend at different points of her life.

It was an extensive process, but the roles were filled and now, after months of production, script revisions, and rehearsals, it’s opening night for Dolly: A True Original Musical.

Carrie St. Louis portrays Dolly during the singer/songwriter’s early years in Nashville.

St. Louis is a seasoned actress who grew up in California, then headed to New York where she made her Broadway debut just three months out of college. The auditioning process for the Dolly role was a lengthy one with St. Louis attending back and forth from New York to Nashville to attend different workshops as the script and story evolved. She also worked round the clock studying Dolly’s voice. She was elated when she got word she had the part.

“It’s just such a dream and something I almost couldn’t imagine for myself,” she says. “My mom keeps saying, ‘Can you believe Dolly Parton picked you to play her?”

The show heads to Broadway next year, but Dolly wanted it to debut in Nashville first. It’s a way to give back to the city that’s given her so much. The musical runs now through the end of August at the Fisher Center For Performing Arts at Belmont University.

Actress Quinn Titcomb plays the young Dolly growing up in the Smoky Mountain community of Locust Ridge, St. Louis picks up the story when the singer leaves East Tennessee and heads to Nashville to pursue her music dream, and Katie Rose Clarke portrays Dolly after the singer leaves Nashville and heads to Hollywood.

While the world knows much of Dolly’s rags-to-riches story, the musical delves into parts of Dolly’s life she’s kept private until now.

Dolly co-wrote the musical with Martha Schlatter, handpicked the stories she shares, and is doing the music, so it’s truly intimate look at her life.

“She’s showing a side of her life we really haven’t seen,” says St. Louis. “There’s a lot about her and Carl Dean, her husband who passed away earlier this year. It was a very private relationship which is part of what makes it so beautiful. You get to see them meet and watch things progress. You learn about her relationship with her best friend, Judy Ogle. And you learn a lot about Porter Wagoner and her early start in country music. A lot of people know Dolly for “Jolene’ and “9 to 5,” but she had a whole life before that.”

One of the greatest challenges to playing Dolly in a musical involves singing her iconic songs. St. Louis has a wide and varied music background.

“I majored in opera in college,” she explains. “Then just out of college I auditioned for Rock of Ages. I figured there was no way it was going to happen, but I ended up getting Sherrie, the lead role, and making my debut on Broadway. I did Wicked which is very classical music theater, then Kinky Boots which is 90s, Cyndi Lauper pop. And the last show I did was Titanique which was Celine Dion’s music.”

Still, Dolly Parton is a category all her own.

“It’s a lot of pressure to sing someone’s songs in front of them every day,” St. Louis admits. “But Dolly has been so supportive and very, very kind to me. And any advice she’s given me has been along the lines of trusting my instincts and trusting what feels right to me. Dolly’s so selfless in that way and has been like, if it feels right for you, that’s what I want, as opposed to that’s not exactly how I did it.”

The goal is not to do a Dolly impersonation, but sort of tap into Dolly’s essence. St. Louis says she got great advice from a vocal coach who pointed out one of the things that has always made Dolly’s music unique.

“He said, just remember Dolly sings to serve other people. It’s not ego, it’s not about her, she’s telling stories for us. And as long as you just tell the story and serve the music, you can’t go wrong.”

In the musical, St. Louis sings Dolly’s signature “Coat of Many Colors.” St. Louis says before she sang it for Dolly the first time, Dolly sang it for her.

“I came in and Dolly was sitting at the piano and the director said we’re going to have Dolly sing the song, then you sing it right after her. This way you can get a feel for her phrasing. So, Dolly started singing and I completely forgot I was supposed to pay attention to phrasing. I just had this moment of – she’s singing “Coat of Many Colors” to me! It was so beautiful, her voice is amazing, and I just started sobbing.”

When it was St. Louis’ turn to sing, she broke into the song, then looked up to see Dolly now had tears in her eyes. The two hugged in one of the many special moments St. Louis has experienced while working on the show.

She says Dolly is everything you think she is, and so much more.

“She is there every day and she’s very hands on. She’s even better than we think she is. She makes a point of speaking to everyone in the room and always makes you feel seen and heard.”

St. Louis pauses, then with a smile adds, “And she’s head-to-toe glam with six-inch heels. She’s very unapologetically Dolly Parton!”

For Dolly, who has famously made so many of her own dreams come true, the musical is just the latest. She wanted to tell her story in a way that would allow her honor and thank those who’ve supported through the years.

“It’s about all of the people in her life who have built her up and helped her through her incredible journey,” St. Louis says. “She just released a song called ‘If You Hadn’t Been There’ after her husband passed. And it’s a good way of saying what the show’s about. There’s a famous quote that says it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. But then someone expanded upon that to say, no, it’s actually about the company you keep. It’s about the people who go with you along the way.”

Even though St. Louis still can’t quite believe she has a starring role in Dolly’s musical, she says she’s always leaned into “faith over fear” in pursuing her own dream of becoming an actress. In an industry so full of rejection, she constantly reminds herself if something’s meant to happen, you need to trust it won’t pass you by.

She has an interesting story along those lines about her initial trip to Nashville for the auditioning process. In fact, it was the first time she would sing for Dolly, and she was extremely nervous. As soon as she boarded the plane, she looked down and saw something shiny on the floor.

“At my feet there was a little broken necklace, and I picked it up and it was a diamond “D.”

D as in Dolly.

“I feel bad for whoever lost it, but I felt like it was meant for me! So, I grabbed it and put it on a bracelet I already had. I didn’t want to lose it.”

She would later tell Dolly about finding the necklace.

“When I told her, she looked down at the “D,” then right at me and said, ‘That’s a Godwink. It’s a wink from God letting you know you’re in the right place.”

It’s become a good luck charm St. Louis will hold close as the show opens tonight, and throughout the remainder of the Nashville run, as she and the rest of the cast and crew bring Dolly’s incredible story to life.

For tickets to see Dolly: A True Original Musical visit:

DOLLY: A True Original MusicalDOLLY: A True Original Musical | Nashville World Premiere 2025