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Dolly Parton<\/a> has been spending a lot of time with the cast of her new musical, Dolly: A True Original Musical<\/em>, and she has even opened up to them about her private life.<\/p>\n Carrie St. Louis, who plays a version of Parton in the new musical (opening in Nashville\u00a0on Aug. 8), stopped by the Taste of Country Nights<\/em><\/a> studio to talk all things Dolly.<\/p>\n St. Louis got to spend\u00a0nearly every single day with Parton as they were rehearsing \u2014 until one day the legend didn’t show up.<\/p>\n “She wasn’t at rehearsal, which is kind of unlike her, but I was like, ‘She probably has a hundred million other things going on,'” the actress recalls.<\/p>\n Then, the cast received a letter from Parton herself.<\/p>\n “She wrote a letter to the cast apologizing for not being there, on the day that her husband passed away<\/a>,” St. Louis tells Taste of Country.<\/p>\n Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, died on March 3, 2025.<\/p>\n “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy,” Parton told fans via social media at the time.<\/p>\n The next day, Parton was back on the set of\u00a0Dolly: A True Original Musical,\u00a0<\/em>St. Louis says.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n “The next day, she was there \u2014 I’m doing some scenes where it’s … they’re meeting for the first time. That was a heartbreaking week,” she remembers.<\/p>\n In the days following Carl Dean’s death, Parton opened up to the cast about her love, including details that were not known to the public.<\/p>\n She wanted to give them more insight into who\u00a0Carl was as a person \u2014 he was notoriously private and out of the spotlight \u2014 so they could better\u00a0emulate\u00a0her relationship with her husband in the musical.<\/p>\n Parton apparently told the cast, “‘He was so shy but he was so funny.'”<\/p>\n St. Louis had to keep most details to herself, since they’ll be revealed in the musical.<\/p>\n “That’s something that’s really special about the musical, is that she’s sharing a little bit more of their relationship,” she explains.<\/p>\n So, since it has been overseen by Dolly herself,\u00a0Dolly: A Truly Original Musical<\/em>\u00a0is as authentic as it gets.<\/p>\n The musical<\/a> opens on\u00a0Aug. 8 at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville. It will head to Broadway next.<\/p>\n Dolly Parton and Carl Dean were married for 58 years.<\/p>\n They met almost as soon as Parton arrived in Nashville in 1964, when they were both standing outside of a laundromat and struck up a conversation that would last almost six decades.<\/p>\n Dolly Parton has been a fixture in country music and really, all of entertainment, since the 1960s. The only thing that has changed about the icon is her age \u2014 she’s as radiant as she’s ever been! Check out these pictures of a young Dolly Parton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Evan Paul<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dolly Parton’s surprisingly humble former home in Nashville has finally sold, after many years on and off the market. Parton and her husband, Carl Dean, purchased the 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom home in 1980, and they owned it until 1996. It’s been on and off the market for 12 years, finally selling for $849,000 in December of 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhen Did Dolly Parton’s Husband Die?<\/h3>\n
Where Can I See ‘Dolly: A True Original Musical’?<\/h3>\n
How Long Were Carl Dean + Dolly Parton Married?<\/h3>\n
30 Photos of Dolly Parton Young<\/h2>\n
PICTURES: Look Inside Dolly Parton’s Longtime Nashville Home<\/h2>\n