Dolly Parton Hopes Kristin Chenoweth Would Play Her in a Broadway Musical Version of Her Life

Greetings, fellow Dolly Parton superfans. You listen to her music. You read her books (we still can't stop poring over her latest book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics). You watch her movies. If you're anything like us, you basically live your life in the gospel according to Dolly.

If you're anything like us, you're also looking forward to the day when you can see Parton's life transformed into a musical movie or Broadway musical. Well, even though that day may still be a way's off — with no official plans announced — it appears that the Smoky Mountain Songbird herself has done plenty of plotting for it. "I'm still working on my life story as a musical, and so I'm not sure if I want to do it as a feature-film musical or if I do want to go ahead and do it on Broadway. But I do think that would make a good series," she said in an interview with RuPaul Charles in Marie Claire last December.

And who would be cast as the leading lady? It seems that Parton has her eyes on Kristin Chenoweth. "I love Kristin Chenoweth. She's just absolutely fantastic," Parton replied to Charles when he suggested that Chenoweth "would be a great Dolly for just the period of you deciding to leave The Porter Wagoner Show and branch out on your own."

For Parton, the seed for considering Chenoweth for the role had been planted some time back: "Years and years ago, when I was going to do the Broadway musical—I never can get it to how I want it, but I'm still working on it. But I thought she'd be an ideal person to do that," she said. "But we're all getting older now, so if we tell the parts...we may be able to have different Dollys. We'd probably have to have—as long as my career has been—like a little Dolly, and a middle Dolly, and then the older one. And she'd still be great for that."

During these strange times, knowing we had a Dolly Parton biopic musical to look forward to on the other end would sure get us excited. Rhinestones and butterflies and guitars are good for the soul.