Local actor reflects on Dolly Parton's passion for spreading joy
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As people around the world remember Dolly Parton, Minnesotans are sharing their own memories of the country music legend, who died Tuesday at 80.
One of those memories begins on a St. Paul stage in 2018, when Parton came to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts for the premiere of "Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol," her musical reimagining of the Charles Dickens classic.
“I really felt inspired, and I really did draw a lot from my childhood and my upbringing,” said Parton in a 2018 interview with MPR News. “The thing we hope to put forth was about charity, hope, joy and redemption. All those wonderful things that we want to capture, all those emotions.”
Parton visited the Ordway for rehearsals and the pre-performance, interacting with fans and the cast members in the holiday musical.
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“It was magic,” said Ruthie Baker, who was playing the lead role of Parton in the Christmas Carol performance. Baker is an actor, singer, mother and real estate agent in Lakeville. MPR News host Clay Masters spoke with Baker about meeting one of country music's biggest stars.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity. Click the audio player above to listen to the conversation.
How did you land this role, and what drew you to Dolly Parton's music?
Well, I've always loved Dolly's music. I mean, who hasn't? I was born in the early 80s, and so I was a child of "Here You Come Again" and "Islands In The Stream.” I remember dancing around my living room when I was little, so Dolly's music has always been a part of my story and a part of the journey, and it's always brought me a lot of joy and comfort.
For this particular production, it was just a staged reading of “Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol.” And for those people who don't know, a reading is where actors stand at music stands and read the script aloud. It sounds boring — it's actually very exciting to see a new work be produced, and they were having auditions at the Ordway.
I sang a [The] Chicks song, then I sang a song from a musical called “Bright Star,” and they gave me the script, and they said, “Can you learn this? Just take a look at it; come back in a couple minutes.” I came in and gave my best charming self. They must have liked it.
You wrote a social media post in which you talked about meeting Dolly Parton. What's that story, and how did it happen?
We didn't know if she was going to actually come to see the show or not. It was a variable that was up in the air, and we got the word that she was going to be there. And I just thought, “This will be fun,” you know? Maybe she'll sit in the audience, and she'll just be there.
So Dolly came to our rehearsals — like, no pressure, but lots of pressure — but she was so lovely and so kind. She pulls in on her big gold bus and gets out in her sky-high wig and really teeny, tiny shoes that are, you know, a six-inch heel, and says hello to all of us backstage and was so kind and so lovely.
She greeted all of us by name, and when I first met her, I said, “Hi, my name's Ruthie Baker, and I'm playing the part that you played in Dollywood when you created this.” Because she was a hologram in the “Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol.” So she said, “Oh, you don't look like a hologram.” And I said, “Oh my gosh, this lady's so funny.”
The rehearsal continued; she was out in the audience watching, and we were on a five. I hear from the back of the very dark theater, “Ruthie Baker, Ruthie Baker,” and I just thought, “Oh my gosh, this is it; the pearly gates are opening — I'm having a stroke. Take me home, Lord. This is it.” Like, Dolly Parton's calling my name.
She came toddling down the aisle in her little heels and said, “I have someone here who knows you,” and I went, “Who knows me?” And sure enough, our babysitter comes trotting up behind Dolly, and I'm just thinking, “Oh no, did I forget to pay her? Like, why is she here?” Dolly said, “You two know each other; this is my manager's niece.”
Wild, right? So our babysitter is Dolly's manager's niece, and so that's the Minnesota connection there. She was so gracious and just as charming in real life as you would imagine.
What changed in your life from meeting and and talking with this superstar?
I think it just validated even more that she wanted us to all give our gift. She wanted us to shine as brightly as we could on that stage, and that was kind of her little pep talk before the show.
She just said, “You all just go out there and have fun and give your gift and enjoy singing this music. I wrote it to be enjoyed. I wrote it so that people could connect and resonate with the spirit of the holiday season.”
Your connection with Parton stems a bit further back than the 2018 musical at the Ordway. You had a role in ‘9 to 5: The Musical.’
Sure did. I played the Doralee [Rhodes] track, which is the secretary that says she's not going to put up with the boss's antics anymore, and that was really fun. I lived in New York City at the time — before I moved home to Minnesota — and I was auditioning out there and landed this part at the Tent Theater in Springfield, Mo. at Missouri State University.
They hired professional actors to come in and work alongside the college kids, but it was every bit as professional a production as I've ever been in, and that was a lovely experience. People responded so positively to the show, to my role, to the songs.
What do you want people to know about Dolly Parton having had this experience to actually meet her?
From what I was able to gather, in the very very short time we had together, was that she was so generous with herself, with her words. She truly spoke from her heart. Sometimes a lot of filter, but it was always from a genuine, kind place.
She wanted to spread joy, and I think that that is the ultimate message in her music. I think it's the message in her the way that she lived her life, with creating the Imagination Library, with funding certain vaccines that saved all of us a couple years ago, and, just generally, she put her money where her mouth was.
She chose to spread joy very quietly, without a lot of pomp and circumstance.
