Last night, we tumbled out of bed and stumbled down to The Alexandra in Birmingham to watch Here You Come Again, a new musical featuring songs made famous by Dolly Parton. After a successful few runs in the US, it is now gracing British soil for a big tour.

The story centres itself around Kevin, an aspiring comedian who has moved back in with his parents, due to the pandemic, and isolated in his treehouse, which is the most delightfully queer Dolly Parton shrine you'll ever see, Kevin is going through a crisis that even an extra-large tub of cheese balls can't fix. Right at the beginning of the show, Kevin gets dumped by his agonisingly toxic boyfriend Jeremy. Unhappy at work and unlucky in love, lonely, depressed and on the brink of a breakdown, Kevin turns to the one person that could help; “I need you Dolly” he whispers, and hearing his call, the country music deity that is Dolly Parton appears, and throughout the show imparts her wisdom to help get Kevin through this problematic period.

Aidan Cutler is an absolute star as the heartbroken Kevin. He commands the stage throughout and weaves between silly comedy and gut-wrenching emotion effortlessly. If you’ve not seen Cutler before in a show, you won't forget him after hearing his beautiful voice. Some performers have that dreamy tone when, as soon as they open their mouth, they have the audience hooked; Cutler has that by the bucketful, by the extra-large cheeseball tubful... our only wish was that the character got more songs so we could hear his vocal talents showcased more.

Tricia Paoluccio is every particle the perfect impression of Dolly Parton. If you close your eyes, you truly believe you are listening to the real Dolly Parton. Paoluccio is also most commendably one of the writers of the show and a lifelong fan of Parton. This really shines through in her performance; you can see how much she loves Dolly and how much it means to her to be playing the world-famous icon, and it makes her infectiously likeable.

The ensemble in this show is small, last night made up of Charlotte Elisabeth Yorke and Austin Garrett. They multi-role a few times in the show and serve as backing vocalists to some of the songs. Both are great actors and singers, and we would love the show to utilise the ensemble members and their talents more to bring some more dynamics to the story.

Paul Wills’ set is highly effective, the treehouse/Dolly shrine gives plenty of eye candy for the audience, and nooks and crannies for bands members and ensemble singers to appear from, and whilst we stay in the treehouse for the duration, the way it is designed opens itself up in such a way that we never tire of the setting.

Whilst we love the themes of the show and its message, we struggled a bit with the book which is why our star rating isn’t higher. Without being presumptuous, it feels very much like an American comedy has then tried to translate itself into a comedy for a British audience and at times, the comedy feels like it is in the style of a pantomime. Kevin’s opening monologue is more than verging on panto dame and Dolly quite literally announces the interval to the audience after a quaint end of act number. Perhaps this is the intention? We love the interaction with the audience but we would much prefer the characters to take the crowd on the journey with them. However, for us, the style of comedy and breaking the fourth wall didn't feel seamless and sometimes feels jarring.

We think with some reworking this show could absolutely soar. Currently, it is very much ‘The Dolly show’ and whilst we realise that's kind of the point, we would love the songs to be divvied out more, giving other members of the cast more moments to shine.

This is a marmite show, and whether you love it or hate it all depends on if you want to suspend what you would usually expect from a large scale touring musical and get on the Dolly Express. If you are wanting to see huge choreographed numbers and soaring ensemble vocals, this isn't the show for you. However, if you want to watch an intimate, sweet and heartwarming show, and most importantly listen to a plethora of well known (and lesser known) Dolly Parton songs, sung with an astounding likeness to the Queen of Country herself, then grab a friend and make up your own mind.

Even if this show isn’t every critic's cup of tea, we're not sure it needs to be, because we believe it will be every ounce a success with the general theatregoer. People laughed, they cried, they joined in on the silly fun and had a great night out. The story is not perfect, but the message is strong. Grab your cowboy hats and go!

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: James Edge

Here You Come Again plays at The Alexandra until 14 September, with tickets available for Birmingham and other select touring venues here.