Bruce Vilanch Archives - North West End UK

4Dec

By Manda ElizabethNo Comments

North West

Here You Come Again – Liverpool Empire

Dolly Parton’s hits such as “9-5" and “Islands in the stream” grace the stage of Liverpool’s Empire Theatre this week for a wacky and wonderful comedy take on a diehard fan's troublesome times, and the dreams that see him through “when reality and fantasy intertwine” - as Paul Wills (set & costume designer) says. This is “Here you come again”. Immediately the story begins and we meet Kevin Rutter played by Steven Webb, in his attic kitted out in shrine for Dolly. He takes us back to Covid-19 pandemic times… very controversial I thought given the elapsed time and a somewhat dare we say distant memory, but the political humour as the story went on was a real trust the process and something that I felt worked to a high degree. Kevin is a struggling comic awaiting his break, and albeit ...

Here You Come Again – Sheffield Lyceum

Dolly gives Sheffield a sprinkling of fabulousness as she comes to town! With 15 for Dolly Parton’s well-known songs used to offer hope and joy even if her genre of music is about tragedy! This musical is a far cry from the expected sprawling life story of the Tennesse Icon but instead is a simple heart-warming story of belief of one’s self and the magic of a ‘cup of ambition’! Written during the 2020 global pandemic and lockdown, writers Bruce Vilanch, Gabriel Barre and Tricia Padluccio (the cast’s very own Dolly Parton) mused what it would be like hunkered up at that time with Dolly Parton and thus the idea was born. Directed by Barre and primarily a two-handed piece of theatre, Kevin is a 40 something whose life is a mess, he is on an enforced ‘break’ from his partner Jeremy and subs...

Dolly delights in Spring/Summer season at Leeds Playhouse

For the first time ever all of Dolly Parton’s biggest hits can be heard together in a new musical comedy, Here You Come Again, which is then cornerstone of the Spring/Summer 2024 season at Leeds Playhouse before it heads off to the West End After a successful US tour, the show is packed with the country legend’s iconic songs, including Jolene, 9 to 5, Islands in the Stream, I Will Always Love You and Here You Come Again. It’s the story of a diehard fan whose fantasy version of international icon Dolly Parton gets him through trying times, but the wit, humour and charm in her songs teaches him a whole lot about life, love and how to pull yourself up by your sequinned bootstraps. It was originally written by two-time Emmy award-winning comedy writer and songwr...