A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Broadway is about to sing a different version of this tune.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "HELLO, DOLLY!")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing) Hello, Dolly.
MARTÍNEZ: But not that Dolly.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Dolly Parton dropped a video Tuesday on social media about a project she's been working on for a while.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DOLLY PARTON: I can officially announce that "DOLLY: A True Original Musical" is coming to Broadway, and you're invited.
MARTÍNEZ: Broadway has had success with what it called jukebox musicals - big stage shows with songs from the pop charts, sometimes telling an artist's life story.
MARTIN: So many of Dolly Parton's songs are already autobiographical. She wrote this one about her decision to go solo and leave her professional partnership with her mentor, Porter Wagoner.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU")
PARTON: (Singing) And I will always love you.
MARTÍNEZ: Whitney Houston's version made that song iconic, but Dolly Parton wrote it and she sang it first.
MARTIN: But she did love Whitney Houston's version, it has to be said.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
MARTIN: But Dolly's song "Coat Of Many Colors" was about growing up dirt-poor in Tennessee and her mother's creation from a box of old fabric.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "COAT OF MANY COLORS")
PARTON: (Singing) Mama sewed the rags together, sewing every piece with love. She made my coat of many colors that I was so proud of.
MARTÍNEZ: In the video announcement, Dolly Parton says she's written brand-new songs specifically for this musical.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PARTON: Now, this isn't about a story about sparkle and shine on the outside. It's about where I really come from, what I've lived, what I've lost, what I've loved and how I found my way and told it in my own words and through the music that's been part of me every step of the journey.
MARTÍNEZ: "DOLLY: A True Original Musical" will premiere at Broadway's St. James Theatre. Previews begin December 7, with opening night set for January 19, which also happens to be Dolly Parton's 81st birthday.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JOLENE")
PARTON: (Singing) Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I'm begging of you, please don't take my man. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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