Who doesn't love a bit of Dolly.
Lit By, So just use your mind then never give you credit. A love for service and revolution.
That it was a good movie too. Ninety five comes across the desk and I go yeah, And I said to Jay, we're going to see we can talk to somebody from this getting underway. From here you come again, the dazzling musical comedy pat with Dolly Partner's greatest hits. Why would you not? It's fantastic from all reports, it's so just wonderful. It's put together by a couple of great producers, and audience is right across Australia from a
think twelve July. Have I've got that right? The national tour at Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Newcastle, Camera, Adelaide and everywhere in between, playing the role of the keV. Sheould be called Kevin the Musical. It says he Kevin the Musical. We're playing the role of Kevin in the musical is a dash crook dash good morning.
Good morning. Thank you for that uput the on the title and I'll take that to the producer.
I think you should Ken. Let's do it. Let's call it Kevin the Musical. There's a if you get somebody to write that for you, there's a big hit just there.
I think I think leaning on Dolly might be the stronger, stronger call card.
There, but it is when I saw this come across the desk, because I don't know what age demographic you are approximately, dash, but there's not too many of us who don't have some level of affection for a Dolly partner. And what she's meant, what she's done over many many years.
Yeah, I mean, she's had an incredible career and her catalog of song speaks for itself, and and and the great thing about this show is that we've managed to get so many of her big hits in there for the people who are you know, Dolly of Fishinado's, but also some some ones that maybe the big fans will know but other people don't. That really kind of drive this story forward.
This has been put together by a couple of the Emmy Award winning writers I think Bruce Valanche and Gabriel I mean, they've been around for a little while so when they do this, so it's going to be more than just presenting the music, presuming it's weaved a story, weave through it.
It's been Yeah, it's an incredible piece itself. I had the chance to see it over in London when I was over there recently, and it's just it's beautiful. The good thing about this I mean Bruce Valances, he's a bit of comedy writer for years and years. He wrote for the Emmy or for the for the Oscars for fourteen years. He's an Emmy Award winning runner and will be Goldberg's writer. But Medlay he's got such a legacy, so it's got his humor and wittne it. But Gabriel Barry,
our code writer and director. He brings this beautiful empathy to this show. So you get to follow my character Kevin on this journey through one of the darkest times that we all kind of relate to, which is COVID recently, which was a time where I guess we all had to kind of reevaluate what we were doing and where
we were at. And in the middle of all this chaos comes this angel, I guess in the form of Dolly Putt, who co guided my character through this kind of redemption arc of kind of trying to found out who we are and what we're here for and what we actually care about, which.
Is an ongoing investigation for many of us.
Oh indeed, I don't think anybody could not relate to that.
Tell me about your start where you grew up with.
I grew up in Brisbane actually and started out in theater up there, and then I've just been lucky enough to kind of gods doing this job.
And was it all about performing, singing and dancy. You didn't go to one of the big word opera or anything like that.
I didn't go to opera. I did study, but I started up in Queensland. I did a couple of degrees in theater, in making theater and then acting as well. So I've been lucky enough to kind of work in all different fasts in the industry and directing and writing and performing. So it's been a really, a really exciting career that's taken me all over the place.
You talk about those COVID years, I mean we will always talk about that, often be referred now to wonder it is the so called COVID years been tough, I would have thought for a young working performer.
Well, yeah, I mean everything right up. I mean it's tough for everyone. It kind of puts a I guess it paused your life in a way where you just had to sit in it for a while and evaluate what it was that you were doing and why you
were doing it. And in that sense, for me, it kind of made me shift a little in terms of I took a little step away from performing for a while and moved back into other the creative side of things, in directing and things like that, so that I could have a bit more controllable what I put out into the world. And this show was so wonderful and so joyous.
And the producer I'd worked with previously, elas and Kaine, She's just such a wonderful producer and such a wonderful human And I knew that she doesn't take on things that she doesn't really believe in, and when I saw this show, I understood why, because it's just such a gorgeous, heartfelt joyous so that it was it actually pulled me back into the world performing and I'm so excited jump into it.
And these things are very important dash I think for a range of reasons, the least of which A provides hopefully some work for some very great, wonderful younger artists. And it's the exposure around Australia. A for people who already know the work of Dolly. This is one of the previous courses. It's not necessarily great fan but it's really hard to deny what she's done over as I said earlier, many many decades, and exposed that to a new gen, yet another new gen.
Absolutely, the thing about Dolly is that she she is fastidious in how she has created her brand and her business and how she's created her self. She she is so intelligent and so tenacious, and she will not let anything go out unless that has her name on it, unless she's one hundred percent on board with it, and thankfully she has. She's given her blessing for this show.
She actually had to approve it herself personally, and she's on top of everything, and she has made these decisions throughout her career that kind of went against the mainstream in a lot of ways. She knows who she is and she's very confident in that, and she's very confident in telling other people that the best way forward and the best way to create your your future is to really lean in to the things that make you who
you are. And I think that's a it's a it's a really incredible message, and it's something about you know, she was a feminist before feminism, she's she's an incredible intelligent woman. So yeah, there's a lot lot to be gained from her.
How hard is there somebody to learn this those songs when you're doing a show like this, to learn the lyrics and learn and embrace yourself in everything Dolly?
Well, I mean it's not hard because she's she's such a joy.
But it is.
Yeah, Like these songs are songs that you know, for me, I grew up kind of listening to or hearing on the radio. Wherever I went, there was always a Dolly song around, and you know that there was a time there where you couldn't you couldn't go anywhere without hearing Hearing Islands and the Dream with her and Kenny Rot. So it's really been part of my DNA growing up, I guess. And so then to kind of put it into this context and put it in a story that when I read the script is the very first time
I really saw myself in this character as well. You know, getting to a certain age and questioning where you've come in your life and where you're going and what's important. I was probably in a very similar place, so it really resonated with me. And then through the lyrics of these songs and through the music, I've just found a new appreciation for all of these songs that have kind of grown up loving.
The islands in the stream. You know, I've heard it as zillion times, We've all heard it as zillion times written by the Beg's, but arguably one of the best songs of all time. They're not everybody's going to necessarily agree with that, but in terms of airplay and a great you know, it's a wonderful stable of radio stations around the world to this day.
It is still to this day the most successful duet record a duet of all time, so it's quite a legacy. Yeah.
The show itself runs for what I'm thinking up to ninety minutes.
Yeah, so it's it's actually to actually get a nice little break in the middle as well. But yeah, it's if we put the entire Dolly catalog in there, we'd be there all week. But I think you're in and out just haveing ninety minutes.
Yeah, in ninety minutes, it's incredible, I guess from a producer's point of view. What do you put in and what do you what do you not use?
Well, this is where I think the writers and the creators have really been wise in that they put in all of the hits that you know and love. You know, you're nine to five joel Aine Islands in the Stream, I will always so many hits, but there's all these other songs that are woven in there that have been very carefully picked to drive this emotional journey forward. It's a I think it's sums it up. When I saw it in London, a woman came up to me in
the four Yer. She didn't know that I was about to come over here and be that role in Australia, but she just grabbed me. She was just so thrilled after the show, and she said, wasn't that wonderful? She said. I came in here just because I love Dolly Parton, she said, but this isn't a show for Dolly Parton fans. This I just feel so joyful and so hopeful, and I can walk out into the world feeling like I know who I am and what I've got to do, and I just think, wow, that's a great review. I'll
take that. And she doesn't know that, but that's that's driving this over here in Australia. I've just I've thought about her so many times and I'm just like, that's the experience that I hope people get over here as well.
You play the role of the keV and in his Wonnerful show, and I've got a couple of texts saying, what was Kevin in the role of Dolly Parton?
Well, Kevin. Kevin is kind of just an every man really, He's this guy during covid'. He's kind of followed his dreams. He was a country boy growing up. He moves to the big city to try to make it big and
it doesn't necessarily go quite according to plan. His love life has been on the rocks, his career has been on the rocks, and then he's been thrust back into his childhood home living with his parents, and it's really put him in a place where he's just questioned what his decisions have got him in his life and who he truly is. But the one stable in his life from a child to an adult, is that he always loved Dolly Parton. He's he They call his bedroom the
Dolly Parton Palace. He's got posters on his wall and whatever. So in this, in this particular show, Dolly Parton kind of comes to him in a vision. He gets to spend this time and learn about what's important to him through her music and through the way that she kind of talks about life. If you've ever seen her in an interview or you know, you can see that she's so grounded into nation. She only exists in this world to bring other people hope and joy, and she never
kind of waivers from that. Even during the COVID crisis, you know, like she put in so much money to she was one of the people that really drove the vaccines. She funded one of the main vaccines that has saved you know, millions. She did.
She's incredibly in many many ways. Well, she's going to tell you. Over the years, I've interviewed two point eight million people who have been involved in these programs and nobody has been better than you in terms of just talking about a show like this, And I congratulate you on that. It comes up on I think it's Melbourne Comedy Theater, The Beautiful Comedy Theater in Melbourne. I think that's from twelfth July Ticketek Perth beautiful Regal Theater. I
don't know if you've played over there. It's great, the ticket takers well from twenty second of August and in Adelaide, Her Majesty's Theater. Out of the places around the world, I think you're doing Newcastle, canber and Sydney as well, but Melbourne from the twelfth of July. And Dash it's great to talk to you on the program Australia overnight.
It's been my pleasure. Thank you so much for having.
Me in a wonderful dash Cook have a look at it. It is called Simply Here You Come Again. The Australian cast has been announced. Dolly's Greatest Hits takes to the stage.