PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — Dolly Parton had an odd request for the audience.
“Act like you never saw me,” she said.
She flubbed the lyrics to a song she was performing for her latest cable special, “Dolly Parton Celebrates 25 Years of Dollywood” (airing at 8 p.m. Saturday on the Hallmark Channel).
So Parton did the song again and asked the audience, seated outside during a recent afternoon at Dollywood, to pretend like the next take was all-new to it.
With enthusiastic applause, it did.
In two days, Parton, with the help of guests Kenny Rogers, Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus, was able to record the hourlong program, which is packed with musical numbers, views of the theme park and chitchat between the stars.
Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney — both got work at the theme park in their early days — pass along their best to Parton during the special.
“A few years back, we knew we wanted to do a TV special about the 25th anniversary, and we knew we wanted to get people who had performed here at Dollywood over those 25 years,” Parton said during a break in the taping. “Just so happens we could get Kenny, Billy Ray and Miley.”
Parton and Billy Ray sang “Daddy Was An Old-Time Preacher Man.”
With Miley, Parton reworked her signature tune “Jolene” — with the twist being about “an older woman and a younger woman fighting over the same man,” Parton told the audience.
The “Jolene” re-imagining turned out to be an audience favorite, with Miley’s husky voice adding an aggressiveness against Parton’s high-pitched pleading.
Rogers sang “I Will Always Love You” and “Islands in the Stream” with Parton.
Parton and the Cyruses played guitar and reminisced in an attic above Dollywood. They sang “Romeo,” a 1994 hit for Parton and Billy Ray. Parton asked Miley if she’d ever heard of the song since she was not yet 2 years old when the song was a hit.
“Oh, yeah,” Miley said to Parton. “I used to dance to the video all the time when I was a kid.”
Later, in front of the audience, Parton took notice of Miley’s shopping spree at Dollywood.
“I’ll give you a discount on that since you’re a guest,” Parton said. “On second thought, you should pay full price. You can afford it.”
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