Dolly Parton’s ‘Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol’ to open in London

The Charles Dickens festive tale now takes place in East Tennessee.

Get ready for a combination of Charles Dickens and country music with the European premiere of Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol. The musical will run at the Queen Elizabeth Hall this Christmas, with previews from 8 December, an opening night on 13 December, and performances to 8 Jan. 2023.

Instead of setting the tale in Dickensian England, the story takes place in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee in the 1930s. Ebenezer Scrooge owns a mining town but fails to recognise his employee’s hard work. When a Christmas Eve snowstorm hits, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts who show him a new light.

The musical combines Charles Dickens’s characters and Dolly Parton’s music. “Bringing our reimagined Charles Dickens classic to London feels like a homecoming. My songs weave the music of my beautiful Smoky Mountains into this timeless Christmas story, and I can’t wait for London audiences to hear them as we tell that story, set in a place that is truly special to me,” said Parton.

Dolly Parton is an American singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist, who grew up in Tennessee, close by to the Smoky Mountains. She notably played Doralee Rhodes in the 9 to 5 film, which was later adapted into a musical. Parton also starred in the 1986 film, A Smoky Mountain Christmas.

Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol first premiered at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston in 2019. Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol is an adaptation by David H. Bell, Paul T. Couch and Curt Wollan. The musical features a book by David H. Bell and music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. Casting and a further creative team will be announced at a later date.

Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol is at Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Photo credit: Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol in Boston (Photo courtesy of production)