Loretta Lynn and Sissy Spacek present CMA Female Vocalist of the Year at in 2010.

Two of country music’s iconic women will get the Broadway treatment (not on Lower Broad)

We’re just two months into 2025, and already two different stage musicals inspired by country music icons have made news.

Last week, “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was announced, a production that’s based — like the Sissy Spacek-starring biopic before it — on Loretta Lynn’s 1976 autobiography.

And at a January press conference Dolly Parton laid out plans for a Broadway treatment of her life and songs, “Dolly: An Original Musical,” whose mononymic title nods to her nearly universal fame.

The producers of Parton’s project are currently in the casting phase, after a social media call for auditions last year (#SearchForDolly). And as with most of her myriad projects, the artist herself is heavily involved. She co-authored the musical’s libretto, and the production will premiere in Nashville at Belmont University’s Fisher Center this summer, four months after the orchestrated treatment of her repertoire, “Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony,” has its own premiere with the Nashville Symphony.

Because Lynn passed in 2022, her daughter Patsy Lynn and former manager Nancy Russell will both serve as consulting producers on “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” But they’ll be able to draw on how Lynn refined the telling of her life story over years in the country spotlight.

Country music and Broadway musicals are certainly separate art forms, but they’re sometimes combined to great success. Think: “Oklahoma,” and “Annie Get Your Gun,” whose revival even starred Reba McEntire. And more recently, “Shucked.”

And one of the predecessors of Lynn and Parton, Patsy Cline, inspired a successful jukebox musical in the ‘80s, “Always … Patsy Cline.”

Their enduring songs and popular personas, along with the ways they kept their humble roots ever present as they became country royalty, make for show-stopping material.

More from WNXP

SPRING FUND DRIVE

With the recent loss in federal funding, WNXP needs your support now more than ever. Give by 6pm CT on Friday, March 27 to be automatically entered to win a mini vacation for two at Wildwood Resort!

You aren’t required to make a donation to enter the drawing, but we hope you will support WNXP. Read drawing rules.

SPRING FUND DRIVE

With the recent loss in federal funding, WNXP needs your support now more than ever. Give by 6pm CT on Thursday, March 26 to be automatically entered to win two tickets to see The Black Keys on August 6 at The Pinnacle + an overnight stay with breakfast for two at the Omni!

You aren’t required to make a donation to enter the drawing, but we hope you will support WNXP. Read drawing rules.

SPRING FUND DRIVE

With the recent loss in federal funding, WNXP needs your support now more than ever. Give by 6pm CT on Wednesday, March 25 to be automatically entered to win a pair of tickets to see Paul Simon at FirstBank Amphitheater July 15 and a $200 gift card to Etch.

You aren’t required to make a donation to enter the drawing, but we hope you will support WNXP. Read drawing rules.

SPRING FUND DRIVE

With the recent loss in federal funding, WNXP needs your support now more than ever. Give by 6pm CT Tuesday, March 24 to be automatically entered to win sailing or powerboating lessons for two from Sail Nashville!

You aren’t required to make a donation to enter the drawing, but we hope you will support WNXP. Read drawing rules.

SPRING FUND DRIVE

With the recent loss in federal funding, WNXP needs your support now more than ever. Give by 6pm CT today (Monday, March 23) for a chance to win two tickets to David Byrne at Ascend Amphitheater on May 9 plus a $75 Acme Feed & Seed gift card

You aren’t required to make a donation to enter the drawing, but we hope you will support WNXP. Read drawing rules.