9 TO 5 UK tour dedicates Worthing opening to Dolly Parton after her death

Before the first Worthing performance of the current UK tour of 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL on Tuesday 25 August 2026, Karla Tracey told the Pavilion Theatre audience that Dolly Parton had died. Tracey, who plays Doralee Rhodes, announced that the 7.30pm performance would be dedicated to the show’s composer and lyricist. The news was therefore acknowledged in the theatre where a stage work carrying Parton’s music and lyrics was about to be performed.

Parton’s death had been announced earlier that day, linking a fast-moving news event with the opening of the production’s Worthing engagement. Footage carried with The Independent’s report records audible gasps and exclamations from multiple audience members as Tracey speaks. TheWrap also reported the reaction. The recording supports a description of surprise among audience members, but not a claim that every patron was learning the news for the first time or reacted identically.

In her brief address, Tracey thanked Parton for the music, laughter and joy associated with her work. She said that evening’s performance would be dedicated to Parton.

The timing gave the tribute a particular live-theatre context. The audience had assembled for a musical carrying Parton’s songs, while the cast was preparing to begin the Worthing run. By addressing the room before the performance, Tracey connected the day’s news to the work being presented and made the dedication, rather than the recorded reaction alone, the central event.

Parton died in Nashville on 25 August, aged 80. Associated Press later reported that she died of cancer, while her representatives described a brief battle with the disease. That confirmation came after AussieTheatre’s separate report on 26 August, which said no cause had been disclosed at the time of publication. The later cancer report is an update to that earlier account, not a contradiction of what was then known.

Parton’s connection with 9 TO 5 began with the 1980 film, in which she starred and served as a songwriter. For the stage adaptation, she wrote the music and lyrics. Patricia Resnick, a co-writer of the original film screenplay, wrote the musical’s book. The stage work therefore has distinct songwriting and book credits: Parton was its composer and lyricist, while Resnick was responsible for the book. Production credit is separate again; Parton was not the stage musical’s sole writer or original producer.

The stage adaptation first opened on Broadway in 2009, and a later production opened in London’s West End in 2019. The current UK production is presented by Landmark Theatres by arrangement with Music Theatre International. Worthing Theatres and Museum describes it as Landmark’s first in-house production to tour nationally. Those earlier openings establish the musical’s Broadway and West End history, but the 2026 company is a touring Landmark production with its own cast and creative leadership. The tribute occurred in Worthing, not at a London West End venue.

Paul Jepson directs the tour. Its principal cast includes Jade Marvin as Violet, Kayla Carter as Judy and Tracey as Doralee. Tim Rogers plays Franklin Hart Jr, with Jessica Martin as Roz. The Worthing engagement runs from 25 to 29 August, with evening performances as well as Thursday and Saturday matinees.

The musical also has a direct Australian connection through the major 2022 Australian production of 9 TO 5, previously covered by AussieTheatre and ABC News Australia. This Worthing development is distinct from AussieTheatre’s 26 August report that DOLLY: A TRUE ORIGINAL MUSICAL would proceed on Broadway after Parton’s death. That report concerned the continuation of Parton’s autobiographical stage project; it did not cover the live announcement or dedication in Worthing.

No official change to the remaining UK tour schedule has been announced. Nor has the production confirmed that later performances will repeat the Worthing dedication or include a further memorial alteration. The confirmed programme remains the practical guide: official tour listings next place the production in Coventry from 1 to 5 September, followed by Hastings from 8 to 13 September.

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