Dolly Parton’s Last Message to Her Broadway Team: ‘You’ve Got to Keep Going!’

Dolly Parton had one last message for the team bringing her life story to Broadway: Keep going.

About 10 days before her death on Aug. 25, the country legend spoke with the creative team behind Dolly: A True Original Musical about her hopes for the production.

Her words were simple, but they carried the determination that helped make her one of country music's most beloved stars.

Dolly Parton's Final Words to Her Broadway Team

At Variety's Business of Broadway event in New York City, lead producer Adam Speers shared what Parton told him and director Bartlett Sher during their final conversation with her.

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“The last conversation that Bart and I had with her, which was about 10 days before she passed,” Speers recalled. “She was very open with us both: ‘You’ve got to keep going! This is the show that I want to be on Broadway!’”

Parton was deeply involved in the musical, which traces three stages of her life. Carrie St. Louis, one of three actresses portraying the singer, said Parton was “very, very involved” in the production.

She was the first person in the building in the morning and the last person to leave. Even during breaks, Parton would make a point of speaking with the actors one-on-one. If someone was playing guitar, she'd join in and start singing.

The musical will begin performances Dec. 7 before its official opening Jan. 19 (Dolly's birthday).

Dolly's New Song for the Musical

Sher also revealed that Parton wrote a new song called “Mountain Girl” for the production.

Read More: How Dolly Parton's Real-Life Husband Inspired 'Jolene'

The director noted that Parton had written more than 10,000 songs throughout her career and described how songwriting was woven into her daily life.

“She wrote a song every morning when she prayed,” Sher said.

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Parton had a routine for bringing those songs to life, either taking them to her team to record or calling them up to meet her at the studio.

The Broadway musical follows Parton's journey through three stages of her life, with St. Louis, Katie Rose Clarke and Norah Nunes portraying her at different ages. Gabriel Ebert plays her early music collaborator Porter Wagoner, while John Behlmann portrays her late husband, Carl Dean.

Even as the production moves forward without her, Parton's message to the team remains a fitting reminder of the determination behind her extraordinary career: Keep going.