LAST UPDATE | 26 Aug

GASPS COULD BE heard as an Irish actor informed the audience of Dolly Parton’s death before a performance of 9 To 5: The Musical in England.

The legendary singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist died at the age of 80 in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday.

Parton starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the 1980 film 9 To 5 and later provided the music and lyrics for the stage adaptation.

Irish actor Karla Tracey plays Parton’s character Doralee in the stage show at the Pavilion Theatre in Worthing, West Sussex.

The musical marks her professional UK debut.

Ahead of last night’s show, Tracey announced Parton’s death to the audience and paid tribute to her.

“Before we begin tonight’s performance 9 To 5, we would like to take a moment to remember the remarkable Dolly Parton, who has sadly passed away today,” said Tracey, to gasps from the audience.

She continued: “9 To 5 was originally written and produced by Dolly, whose extraordinary talent, creativity and spirit are woven into every part of this work.

“Tonight, we will perform the piece as she intended, with great respect and affection for the woman whose vision brought it to life.”

In a social media post, a member of the audience said it was a “shock finding that out just before the show”.

However, she added: “What a wonderful way it was to celebrate her life and some of her work.

“Huge kudos and love to the cast and crew for still absolutely smashing their performances.”

‘A moment in time’

The video of Tracey announcing Parton’s passing to the audience has gone viral and speaking to The Journal, she said “it’s been a bit of a whirlwind since the show” and that she didn’t expect it to receive this amount of attention.

The show started at 7.30pm and the cast and crew learned of Parton’s death at 7.15pm.

“We were all a little bit shell-shocked,” said Tracey, “because we all feel so connected to Dolly at the moment, being in the musical and singing her songs every night.

“I was kind of in a little bit of a tizzy, to be honest. I was really taken aback by the news.”

Karla Tracey Global Artists Global Artists

She said the show’s management were “conscious that people in the audience may not have heard the news” and decided that an announcement should be made.

“I just wanted to do the very best job I could with the show and with delivering that news to the audience,” said Tracey.

“But I really didn’t expect it to go so viral, because in my head it was about Dolly, I wasn’t thinking about anybody taking a video of me, that’s for sure.”

She added: “I think we all thought she was going to be here forever.”

Meanwhile, Tracey said she felt a bit nervous about delivering the news to the audience.

“It was such a mix of feelings, because it all happened so fast.

“The management came in and said, ‘we’re writing a piece we’d like you to speak’.

“I was really nervous, and I was trying to make sure to say it slowly so that people could understand what I was saying.

“It all felt a bit chaotic in a sense that there were so many emotions at the one time.”

Tracey added that it was an “emotional” show and “every lyric carried this extra weight of emotion”.

“Particularly when I was singing ‘Backwoods Barbie’, one of Dolly’s signature songs,” said Tracey.

“It’s all about her life and how she wasn’t taken seriously growing up because of how she looked, and it was just all so emotionally charged last night.

“It was a very unique experience to play that role on the evening of her passing, and it just meant so much.”

Tracey added that it was the “perfect way to honour her”.

“That’s a moment in time – anybody in that theatre last night, they will never forget where they were or what they were doing when they heard that Dolly Parton had passed.”

Meanwhile, Tracey’s show is eight weeks into its tour, with three weeks left to go.

“These final three weeks, we’re really going to savour them, and they’re going to mean an awful lot to us,” said Tracey,

“We’re really going to make the most of this wonderful experience and getting to sing her songs every night with the most incredible band, it’s an honour to do it.”

Meanwhile, a musical about Parton’s life, Dolly: A True Original Musical, is due to begin previews on Broadway later this year before opening night in January 2027, on what would have been Parton’s 81st birthday.

The show was the passion project of Parton’s final years.

Last month she said in a statement: “My whole life has been a musical. A grand ole opera really and I can’t wait to present it to you on Broadway. I hope you enjoy watching as much as I’ve enjoyed livin’ it.”