Here You Come Again Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh 23rd July 2024 Review
“Here You Come Again” is at the Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh until Saturday 27 July and this production is a jukebox format musical clearly targeted at a very specific audience demographic. If you are going to create this type of show, then you really have to select an iconic performance artist with a solid back catalogue of instantly recognisable and much loved songs, and Dolly Parton certainly meets both criteria. If you are a fan of Dolly Parton and her music, then this show probably has a ticket with your name on it already booked.
Taking the idea of Dolly Parton (Tricia Paoluccio) becoming almost a guardian angel to Kevin (Steven Webb), a troubled lifelong fan of her music, and through her words, music and helping him to put his life in order, believe in himself and that people around him do really care about him has the potential to raise this production above simply a tribute show level. For some reason though, I could not get overtones of the classic film, “It’s a Wonderful Life” out of my head for much of this show, although there is no comparison between how wonderful one of these stories really is.
Sadly though, for me Kevin is just not well enough defined as a character, and even a rewrite to transfer this story to the UK instead of the USA during the Covid isolation months (the show was originally conceived at this time too) and adding some instantly recognisable moments and a few visual sight gags does nothing to help here. Kevin is sad and full of self-pity for himself in this story, but he is also a collection of so many stereotypes of a gay man in his 40s that there is little else that Steven Webb can do here than to play up to the campness of Kevin.
Instead of the opportunity to really explore the psyche and emotions of a clearly troubled man, we are instead taken back all too often to the dark days of how 1970s and 1980s British television comedy portrayed gay men. To make matters worse, Kevin’s drag act show number just reminded me of some of the worst of the old Kenny Everett television show characters.
For me, Kevin is not working here as a character and what we are left with is a Dolly Parton tribute show, and to be fair, Tricia Paoluccio is a very good Dolly Parton, both performance wise and how many of us imagine her to be in real life. There is also of course the problem that Dolly is in Kevin’s head, this is his cry for help through a Dolly Parton of his own imagination, so we can forgive there being a surreal mix here as he shelters from Covid in his parents’ home, tucked away in the safety of his boyhood room in their attic. A very good attic set (designer Paul Wills) also gives Kevin’s isolated world the authenticity that it needs here.
This production has some very well-established creatives involved in its production and also has the full approval of Dolly Parton herself, and there are some very clever little in jokes as to her life and music along the way. Ultimately, however, this is a show for the fans and although clearly not ticking many boxes with me personally it is hard to deny how popular this show was tonight with its targeted audience. They were here tonight to hear Tricia Paoluccio pay tribute to Dolly Parton in mannerism, words and song and to hear much loved songs like “Jolene”, “9 to 5”, I Will Always Love You” and “Here You Come Again” performed (with a live band), and that is exactly what they got.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Taking the idea of Dolly Parton (Tricia Paoluccio) becoming almost a guardian angel to Kevin (Steven Webb), a troubled lifelong fan of her music, and through her words, music and helping him to put his life in order, believe in himself and that people around him do really care about him has the potential to raise this production above simply a tribute show level. For some reason though, I could not get overtones of the classic film, “It’s a Wonderful Life” out of my head for much of this show, although there is no comparison between how wonderful one of these stories really is.
Sadly though, for me Kevin is just not well enough defined as a character, and even a rewrite to transfer this story to the UK instead of the USA during the Covid isolation months (the show was originally conceived at this time too) and adding some instantly recognisable moments and a few visual sight gags does nothing to help here. Kevin is sad and full of self-pity for himself in this story, but he is also a collection of so many stereotypes of a gay man in his 40s that there is little else that Steven Webb can do here than to play up to the campness of Kevin.
Instead of the opportunity to really explore the psyche and emotions of a clearly troubled man, we are instead taken back all too often to the dark days of how 1970s and 1980s British television comedy portrayed gay men. To make matters worse, Kevin’s drag act show number just reminded me of some of the worst of the old Kenny Everett television show characters.
For me, Kevin is not working here as a character and what we are left with is a Dolly Parton tribute show, and to be fair, Tricia Paoluccio is a very good Dolly Parton, both performance wise and how many of us imagine her to be in real life. There is also of course the problem that Dolly is in Kevin’s head, this is his cry for help through a Dolly Parton of his own imagination, so we can forgive there being a surreal mix here as he shelters from Covid in his parents’ home, tucked away in the safety of his boyhood room in their attic. A very good attic set (designer Paul Wills) also gives Kevin’s isolated world the authenticity that it needs here.
This production has some very well-established creatives involved in its production and also has the full approval of Dolly Parton herself, and there are some very clever little in jokes as to her life and music along the way. Ultimately, however, this is a show for the fans and although clearly not ticking many boxes with me personally it is hard to deny how popular this show was tonight with its targeted audience. They were here tonight to hear Tricia Paoluccio pay tribute to Dolly Parton in mannerism, words and song and to hear much loved songs like “Jolene”, “9 to 5”, I Will Always Love You” and “Here You Come Again” performed (with a live band), and that is exactly what they got.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com