And they will always love her.
A group of Brooklyn entertainers is throwing a big bash at Littlefield in Gowanus on Sept. 5 to celebrate everything they love about Dolly Parton.
“I grew up attracted to her over-the-top, high-glitz femininity,” said show organizer and emcee Bevin Branlandingham. “Dolly Parton is her own gender.”
“Dollypalooza” will be a variety show featuring drag acts, burlesque, and live music inspired by the iconic country diva. But it is not just a look-a-like contest, said Branlandingham.
“I did not want to aesthetic of everyone to be a blonde bombshell who is 5’ 1” with huge breasts,” said Branlandingham, who is also the brains behind queer events company Rebel Cupcake. “I wanted people to be bombshells in whatever way connects to them, whether it is gender bending or otherwise pushing the envelope.”
Branlandingham was inspired to put on the all-Dolly show went she went to Tennessee to visit the Dollywood theme park and ended up at a “Night of 1,000 Dollys” show at a Knoxville gay bar.
Bedford-Stuyvesant singer Camille Atkinson plans to perform acapella versions of two Dolly Parton songs on the night. Right now, her frontrunning choices are “Jolene” and “Light of a Clear, Blue Morning.”
“When she was a little girl, she went into town and saw a woman with a small waist and big hair and high heels and said, ‘I want to be that when I grow up’,” said Atkinson. “I can definitely identify with that.”
The show will also feature a raffle of Dolly-related items, with the proceeds going to Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that promotes early literacy.
Dollypalooza at Littlefield [622 Degraw St. between Fourth and Third Avenues in Gowanus, (718) 855–3388, www.littlefieldnyc.com]. Sept. 5 at 11pm. $15–$20.
