UnCovered: The Music of Dolly Parton - reverential reinterpretations that are spectacular
27 Nov 2021

by Drew Rowsome - Photos by Dahlia Katz

"Even people who hate each other love Dolly Parton," is one of the only quotes in UnCovered: The Music of Dolly Parton that isn't directly from the divine Dolly's mouth. But as Fran Lebowitz is essentially the anti-Dolly, and the quote encapsulates the entire evening, it makes perfect sense. The quotes, described as 'postcards from Dolly,' are on cue cards that the cast pick up, read and discard, in order to give a form to the selection of songs. This semblance of structure, and the theatrical backgrounds of the performers, give this UnCovered a momentum somewhere betweeen a jukebox musical and a tribute concert. Either of which is a good thing because, as Lebowitz decrees, everyone loves Dolly Parton. And because the calibre of the artists interpreting Parton's music is so extraordinarily high.

The UnCovered series from The Musical Stage Company picks an artist, or a pair of artists, and explores their catalogue through the prism of the musical artists performing and musical director Reza Jacobs (Caroline, or Change, UnCovered, UnCovered, Fun Home, The Wizard of Oz, Falsettos, London Road, Assassins, Same Same but Different), searching for insight and new ways of experiencing the music and lyrics. Parton is a good choice as her oeuvre is rich and familiar. Parton is an unusual choice as she is a singular artist who has already deconstructed her songs and image in her own inimitable way. Parton is all about artifice and celebrating that artifice in order to reach emotional truths. I have had the good fortune of seeing Parton's act twice, almost 40 years apart in a stadium and then in a casino, and it was the exact same show with slight variations. But not in the least insincere despite its immutibility and careful rehearsal to appear spontaneous. Many of the postcards consist of Parton's between song patter and, while the cast tries valiantly, it is impossible to replicate the magical wonky sense of humour and sincerity that Parton exudes. 

But when it comes to the music, the versions are reverential or reinterpretations or just simply spectacular. The choices are slanted towards the hits and just hearing them sung by such great voices would be enough for an entertaining evening trying to listen instead of singing along. After a toe-tapping, heavily harmonized take on "9 to 5," the artists begin to veer off in intriguing directions without ever losing the heart and soul of Parton's creations. Hailey Gillis (Ghost Quartet, Rose, Onegin) slows down "Here You Come Again" before turning it into an explosive depiction of erotic obsession. Beau Dixon (Ghost Quartet, The Father, Harlem Duet, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Hamlet) bites into the first line of "Islands in the Stream" before the entire company turns the hook "we rely on each other" into an anthem of solidarity and the power of love. Sara Farb (Fun Home) tells the story of "Coat of Many Colors" with deceptive simplicity that crescendos into cathartic despair and defiance. 

Andrew Penner (Ghost Quartet) tears through a stomping version of "Mule Skinner Blues" before teaming up with Dixon for a revamped "Joshua" that plumbs the disturbing undertones of the song, before emphasizing its theme of not judging by appearances. Kelly Holiff rides the simple melody and lyrics of "Here I Am" into a roller coaster cascade of notes and craving. Dixon sinuously slides himself into the party happening "Two Doors Down" with such lubricious glee that it is incomprehensible why he wasn't invited in the first place. And of course, Jully Black (Caroline, or Change). Her take on the most covered of all Parton's songs, "Jolene," adds atonal accents that emphasize the aching feral intensity that radiates from Black. It is breathtaking. Black has the most fun with the standard the audience has been waiting to hear her tackle, "I Will Always Love You." Yes, she begins with the Whitney version. Balanced on precarious stilletos, Black is effortlessly duplicates Houston's tones, smiling at the ease with which she does so. It would already be a showstopper but Black is not a hologram, so she grips the song and wrestles it into a heartfelt lament with limitless grace. All the bombast replaced by exquisite harmonies.

Last year's UnCovered was completely digital, a series of streaming videos. UnCovered: The Music of Dolly Parton is a hybrid, one streams what was a live, socially distanced, concert at Koerner Hall. All of the performers know how to woo, move and dazzle an audience, but they are hampered by the sparse crowd, the choppy editing and (at least in my case) forcing their powerful voices into the constraints of a television's speakers. The close-ups help, as the cast has wonderful faces that are not only expressive, but full of the joy they are experiencing in performing. It is contagious. A continual series of winks and sly smiles that invite the audience in, even through a digital divide, to share the playful ecstasy of creating art, subtext be damned. It is very Dolly. 

And everyone loves Dolly.