Dolly Parton Birthday Trivia

Rebecca Varidel
19th Jan 2022

The legendary Dolly Parton is celebrating her 76th Birthday today! So what better way to celebrate with her than to share these five fun Dolly Parton facts!

* 9 to 5 was Dolly Parton’s theatrical film debut, and the lead roles were written for Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin
* Dolly agreed to star in the film 9 to 5 as long as she could write the theme song
* The first time Dolly showed the song to the team, she sang acapella and played it on her acrylic fingernails, which provided that distinctive opening to the song. On the final version of the track, you can also hear Dolly's acrylic fingernails as part of the percussion section.
* Dolly once entered a Dolly Parton lookalike contest. She lost to a drag queen.
* If you play 9 to 5 at any moment in time, it’s guaranteed to lift your mood and get people singing or bopping along.

And don't we all need some of that right now more than ever! Speaking of 9 to 5 the Australian premiere of 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL Dolly Parton’s smash-hit West End musical, which will open in February at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney.

The producers have assembled a top line cast to inhabit these iconic and much loved roles.

Marina Prior will play Violet Newstead, a smart, sassy and efficient woman who has worked all her life at Consolidated Industries. She has all it takes to run the company but there is one small issue … her boss! Marina gained prominence as Cosette in the Australian premiere of Les Misérables and Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera, and has grown to become one of Australia’s most accomplished leading ladies, playing lead roles in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, The Secret Garden and countless other productions.

Casey Donovan will be Judy Bernly, a newly separated, never worked before young woman who finds more than just a job at Consolidated Industries. Casey shot to stardom after winning Australian Idol as a 16 year old in 2004, and has since become an audience favourite in concert and in musical theatre. Most recently she played Matron Mama Morton in the smash hit musical Chicago, and has performed in The Flower Children, The Sapphires, Rent and We Will Rock You.

Erin Clare will play Doralee Rhodes, a ‘don’t mess with me’ well-brought-up, bright and beautiful country gal. She may look like a push over but is anything but! Following her first starring role as Scaramouche in The Gordon Frost Organisation’s national tour of We Will Rock You, she has featured in Heathers the Musical, American Psycho, High Fidelity, American Idiot and Merrily We Roll Along.

Caroline O’Connor plays busy-body Roz Keith, the administration assistant who is fiercely - and unrequitedly - in love with her boss Franklin Hart Jnr. Most recently seen in Melbourne Theatre Company’s Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Caroline has played lead roles on Broadway, in the West End, France and across Australia, including Chicago, Anything Goes, West Side Story, On The Town, Man of La Mancha, Bombshells, A Christmas Story and Anastasia to name just a few. Caroline also created the role of tango dancing Nini Legs in the Air in Baz Luhrmann’s Academy Award winning film Moulin Rouge.

Eddie Perfect will play the controlling boss Franklin Hart Jnr. One of Australia's most respected and prolific writers and performers, Eddie is perhaps best known as all-round nice guy Mick Holland on Channel 10’s hit series Offspring, and has been seen in Kath and Kim, Spicks And Specks and numerous comedy shows including ABC TV’s Stand Up, The Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala and Good News Week. On stage Eddie performed in Keating! The Musical, Misanthropology, The Threepenny Opera and Shane Warne The Musical, which he wrote himself. In 2019, Eddie wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway premiere of Beetlejuice, for which he was nominated for Best Original Score at the 2019 Tony Awards.

Completing the cast are Lily Baulderstone, Ana Maria Belo, Zoe Coppinger, Mia Dabkowski-Chandler, Ben Gillespie, Emma Hawthorne, James Haxby, Emma Johns, Jay Johns, Ethan Jones, Antonia Marr, Josh Mulheran, Tom New, Jake O’Brien, Matthew Prime, Jackson Reedman, Jordan Tomljenovic and Jessica Vellucci.

“I am so excited that Marina, Casey and Erin will be playing Violet, Judy and Doralee alongside Caroline and Eddie in the Australian cast of 9 TO 5,” said Dolly Parton. “The response to 9 TO 5 from around the world has been incredible so far. I can't wait for everyone down under to have a fun (and funny!) night out at 9 TO 5.”