Theater Review: 'Here You Come Again' at The Terris Theatre in Chester

By Nancy Sasso Janis

The title of the new jukebox musical that is running at The Terris Theatre pretty much says it all: “Here You Come Again How Dolly Saved My Life in 12 Easy Songs." The new work is part of the 2023 season at Goodspeed Musicals and is presented on their second stage in Chester, which has reopened after a three-year closure.

Tricia Paoluccio and Matthew Risch Photos by ©2023 Diane Sobolewski

This is a rollicking yet touching new musical that tells the story of a diehard fan whose imaginary version of Dolly gets him through the very trying time of the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic. With her down-home wit, humor and charm, Dolly teaches Kevin a whole lot about life, love and how to pull yourself up by your bootstraps…even if they don’t have rhinestones.

The script written by Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre (“Billy Elliot,” “Amazing Grace” at Goodspeed) and Tricia Paoluccio cleverly finds the humor in the weeks when everyone was in quarantine. You may remember Emmy winner Vilanch as a Hollywood Square and he was the writer of “A Sign of the Times” at the Terris Theatre.

The action is set in May of 2020 in Longview, Texas. Kevin climbs a ladder in order to enter his attic “treehouse” room without any physical contact with his parents. The 40+ son uses a fishing pole to bring up the basket of food and mail via a dumbwaiter.

Although I wore a mask to the press night performance, I felt that enough time has passed since the scariest days at the beginning of COVID that I was able to fully enjoy the comedy that runs throughout the story that holds together the selected songs. There are references to endless hand washing, Lysol, banging on pots, and finding toilet paper.

The show features songs written or recorded by Dolly Parton and a few others. There are some that are very familiar, like “Two Doors Down,” “9 to 5,” Jolene,” “Islands in the Stream,” the title song and Parton’s composition “I Will Always Love You.” Numbers that were new for me included “Light of A Clear Blue Morning,” “God’s Coloring Book,” “The Seeker,” and “Hush-A-Bye Hard Times.” The song “Coat of Many Colors” was cut from the performance I attended.

Tricia Paoluccio plays Dolly Parton. Her Broadway credits include “Fiddler on the Roof,” her television credits include a recurring role on “Saint X,” and she will appear in the upcoming film “Portrait of a Young Man.” The Equity actress always had dreams of following in the musical footsteps of her lifelong inspiration and now she is literally wearing her big shoes.

Equity member Matthew Risch is perfectly cast as Kevin Risch was most recently seen in Hulu’s “Saint X,” and also played Carlos in the original company of “Legally Blonde” on Broadway. He does so well with the comedy in his character a

The first production of this show was both directed and choreographed by Barre with a clear understanding of what goes where. Eugene Gwozdz is in charge of music direction of the (slightly more than) a dozen Dolly songs. He plays keyboard as he conducts the other three musicians, with Marty Wirt on percussion, Jeff Carlson on guitar and Sean Rubin on bass. The last two musicians come onstage with the actors for the final number, watching Gwozd on the monitors for the cutoff.

The scenic design by Anna Louizos is so much fun to experience. It takes almost the entire time that patrons are in the theater to catch all of the details that are evident in the set decoration that Dolly describes as “early American clutter.” Louizos has brought Kevin’s attic room to the stage so effectively that the audience feels like they are in the room with the two characters.

Photos by ©2023 Diane Sobolewski Tricia Paoluccio and Matthew Risch

The costumes designed by Bobby Pearce are spot on for the two performers. The four changes for Dolly are perfect for the iconic singer. The first act opens with Dolly in a sparkly butterfly dress that shines for the first act closer “Love Is Like A Butterfly.” The second change is a “Nine to Five” suit, followed by a sparkly blue dress and a silver gown for the finale. The big Dolly wig stays in place perfectly, as I am sure is true wherever she appears in public.

Kevin is dressed in stay at home outfits, except when he channels his idol in one scene.

Michael Misko served as the magic consultant, but I won’t spill the beans about the reason that he was needed. There is some magical lighting, including a disco ball, designed by Alyssandra Docherty, that adds to the charm.

As a reviewer, I had fun noticing all of the lines pulled from Broadway shows. Audience members are invited to use the flashlights on their cellphones for a song late in the second act, and are given permission to video some of the final musical number, so have your phone ready.

The show has a PG age rating and is just about guaranteed to make audiences smile, whether they are fans of Dolly or not, for even she acknowledges that there may be a few who are not.

Nancy Sasso Janis is the membership chair of the Connecticut Critics Circle. For the first time in the history of the Terris Theatre, critics have been invited to review the productions.