Curits&CortPhotography
Elyse Bell looking into the camera with her hair slightly blowing in the wind.
Dolly: An Original Musical, written and composed by Dolly Parton herself is coming to life on Broadway and will be premiering at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville, Tennessee on July 18 – August 17, 2025. The musical will then premiere in New York City on Broadway in 2026. Dolly: An Original Musical will be a story of Dolly Parton’s life, detailing all the way back to her childhood of growing up in East Tennessee to her rise to fame under the bright lights of Hollywood.
On December 5, 2024, Dolly Parton took to social media to announce an open casting call for her musical, Dolly. In the post, she announced that anyone can audition by uploading an audition tape to dollymusical.com and are encouraged to post their audition tape to social media as well with the hashtag, #SearchForDolly.
Then, on February 13, 2025, Dolly Parton announced the 15 finalists for the role of Dolly Parton on the Dolly: An Original Musical Instagram page. These finalists were invited to an in-person audition in front of the creative team of Dolly. Dolly Parton posted snippets of each finalist on Instagram, and one of the finalists is our very own YLHS alumni, Elyse Bell (A).
I got the amazing privilege to ask Elyse Bell a few questions about her audition experience and all the emotions surrounding her audition opportunities in New York City. Elyse decided to audition for the Dolly musical because of her mom, saying “She’s always emphasizing how important it is to put myself out there,” and that, “Because there’s so much out of my control in this industry, posting my work is one way I can take charge!” Elyse also noted that she has always loved Dolly Parton and saw this as a perfect opportunity to study her and her music.
Shortly after Elyse posted her audition tape to her TikTok page, her audition quickly blew up! With over 7 million views and over 600k likes, Elyse garnered a lot of positive attention for her performance. Many people have taken to social media to praise Elyse, and have commented that she has the spirit and mannerisms of Dolly perfectly down. What many people on social media have praised her about is that she made Dolly Parton her own, yet still perfectly encapsulated her spirit and personna while still having a little bit of Broadway spark in there. I asked Elyse if she expected her Dolly audition to blow up on social media, and she said that she did not expect it at all, but, “[She is] so, so grateful for all the support,” saying, “It’s always super validating to receive positive feedback.”
Because of her very impressive audition that garnered a lot of praise and positive feedback, I asked Elyse how it felt to be one of the 15 finalists out of thousands of auditioners to be invited to an in-person audition for the role of Dolly in Dolly: An Original Musical. She said she was beyond excited, emphasizing that, “Any time getting in the room is a privilege. Self tapes can only communicate so much, and I look at auditioning in-person as another chance to perform for an audience!”
As a YLHS student in musical theatre myself, I find it so inspiring that she is doing well as an aspiring actor in New York City. While at YLHS, Elyse Bell excelled in the shows here, one of her high school highlights being winning Best Actress at the MACY Awards for her performance as Jo March in Little Women at YLHS and getting to have her Broadway debut at the Jimmy Awards for her fantastic performance. So, I asked Elyse how YLHS theatre prepared her for her musical theatre career. Elyse holds much love for YLHS, saying that YLHS gave her such a strong foundation, and she will never take it for granted. She especially praised her YLHS theatre teacher, Ms. Petz (who is still the current theatre teacher at YLHS), saying that “[Ms. Petz] uplifts her students and addresses what they need; whether it was constructive feedback or genuine encouragement, it always felt like she saw my potential more than I could.” In musical theatre at YLHS, Elyse felt she was taught the necessary skills needed as an actor, and she cherishes that deeply and carries it all with her every step of the way.
Lastly, I asked Elyse what life is like as an aspiring actor and recent Pace University graduate in New York City. Her immediate response was that it is super exciting, but also very humbling, saying that with every hundred “no’s,” there is only one “yes.” She said that being an actor “is a balancing act between maintaining your craft, making a living, keeping up with friends, and taking care of yourself–there’s always something to be done!” Elyse has said that she has sometimes had to learn the hard way that staying organized is the best way to put her best foot forward in all of her endeavors in New York City, emphasizing that, “At the drop of a hat, you can be called in for your dream role, so it’s best to be as ready as you can be!”
Many students in our YLHS Theatre program have been truly inspired and amazed by Elyse Bell’s audition and are in awe of her continuous talent ever since she graduated from YLHS. Miss Petz (T), the current musical theatre teacher is very proud of her former student, saying that, “Elyse has always been a force to be reckoned with. Not only is she incredibly talented, but you can absolutely see how much she loves performing when she is on stage.” Ms. Petz went on to further praise Elyse, saying that, “From the moment [she] met her, she always brought such talent and passion to every performance.” Ms. Petz is incredibly proud of Elyse, “for not only being a finalist, but for being such an awesome role-model for [her] current students…many of whom are huge fans of hers!”
We are very proud of our very own YLHS alumni, Elyse Bell, for pursuing her dreams as an actress in New York City, and we wish her the best of luck in all her future endeavors! YLHS is confident we have a future Broadway star in our hands. Good luck (or Break-A-Leg) Elyse!