Photo by Adam Brimer // Buy this photo
Dolly Parton sits for an interview at Dollywood Thursday, May 7, 2009.
Photo by Adam Brimer
Dolly Parton sits for an interview at Dollywood Thursday, May 7, 2009.
PIGEON FORGE - When Dolly Parton woke up in her Sevier County cabin Thursday morning, she looked out the window and felt a wave of euphoria.
"It was starting to get daylight, and I looked out to see the mountains. I thought 'I'm home! This is home. The trees are green, and the flowers are blooming,'" she said. "This is where I was born and raised."
Parton's deep love for the Great Smoky Mountains inspired her eight songs used in the new Dollywood musical "Sha-Kon-O-Hey: Land of Blue Smoke," which premieres at 7 tonight at the theme park. Parton had even more inspiration while working on the tunes. She was crafting numbers for the Broadway version of "9 to 5" at the same time.
"This is my year for musicals," Parton said. "It's exciting for me."
"Sha-Kon-O-Hey!" is the first time Parton has written numbers for a show at her theme park. The musical, which traces the history of the Great Smoky Mountains, pays tribute to the park during this year of its 75th anniversary. The story traces its early Indian culture to the arrival of European settlers who built log cabins there.
But unlike "9 to 5," "Sha-Kon-O-Hey" is a bit more of a personal investment for Parton.
"The songs came very easily," she said. "I knew what the story was, and I write best when it's about the kind of people I already know. (Dollywood) sent me the scripts and very good descriptions of what they wanted.
"They told me they wanted (songs) about the lumber men and (songs) about when (the settlers) were leaving. It was natural for me to write this. These are my people. It just came out. That's the kind of stuff I write best.
"This was easier for me to write than '9 to 5' because I understood the characters completely."
But "9 to 5" gave Parton an extra boost to "think big" in terms of the Dollywood production. She wants this new musical to be more than just another theme park production.
"I was already thinking 'Broadway' when I wrote these songs," she said.
"It opened a door for 'Sha-Kon-O-Hey.' I heard them rehearsing today, and the arrangements are beautiful, so much better than what I had (in my mind) when I writing (these songs) in my den."
The premiere show is a benefit for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tickets are available online at www.FriendsoftheSmokies.org for $75 each, which includes Dollywood admission and parking today. All proceeds benefit Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Terry Morrow may be reached at morrowt@knoxville.com or 865-342-6445.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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