Review: DOLLY OG MEG at Christiania Teater – Hanne Sørvaag Gives a Truly Impressive Power Belting Love Letter to Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton's huge catalogue of music, and her larger than life personality got to shine on the stage at Christiania theatre last Thursday. But it was presented not by Dolly, but by one of Norway true talents. Hanne Sørvaag. To my foreign readers I feel the need to give some facts about Hanne Sørvaag. She has been an established performer in Norway for almost 20 years, at the same time she has an impressive songwriting career, writing songs for both Norwegian as well as International Artists such as Katharine McPhee (Waitress) who reached number two on the billboard charts with the song "My Destiny". She is currently working at Universal Music Group Stockholm, writing songs for various artists. In 2012 and 2015 she has been a judge/mentor for the popular television show The Voice.

Sørvaag has conceived a love letter to her big inspiration, Dolly Parton. A show performed by her along with a band made up by five very talented musicians (who sings great by the way). The stage design is minimal, with three platforms with a small staircase in the middle, along with a huge LED screen in the back, used to great effect. Sørvaag is not the tallest artist around, and even though is sporting high heels (Dolly Parton style) and a dress sown by Dolly's mother she can disappear a bit at times, since the theatre does not have elevated seating and there was no spotlight on her, something an artist of caliber deserves! But for the most part it worked fine.

Since the world has been in some sort of lock-down for what feels like an eternity, Sørvaag was visibly moved when she entered to thunderous applause from the first night audience, and this made her a little uneven for the first couple of songs, until she relaxed into it and the sense memory kicked in. She was back at last, doing what she does best - belting her heart out, while at the same time connecting with the audience. At the beginning I was a little fearful that this show would just be about Dolly and not so much about Sørvaag's own life and how Dolly Parton has inspired her. The first portion felt a little scripted, but suddenly it merged into a heartfelt show where we got to know Dolly Parton from Sørvaag's perspective, and then it all felt real and not scripted at all. Director Ivar Tindberg has done shaping this into something where his work isn't noticable.

As well as giving us the hits we all came to hear. "Islands in the Stream", "Jolene", "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You" were all there. She had also selected songs that was not so well known, but obviously meant a lot to her. It could become a little ballad heavy at times, but mostly the flow felt real and whole-hearted. In a way Sørvaag's own career has mirrored Dolly Parton's career. They are both blond (although according to Parton's own words she is not), both a serious female contenders in a male dominated industry and they both don't shy away from speaking their minds (which they apparently they both got from their mothers). Also there are noticeable sings of Parton in Sørvaag's own music. She even played one of them during this performance called "Det har eg glemt" (That I Have Forgotten). A very welcomed addition. She bookmarked the show with two versions of "Here You Come Again" which I felt was the perfect way to both start and end the show. The first was a soft acoustic version made by band leader Lars Erik Dahle. The second was the full blown version and the audience was at their feet. As a side note is was fascinating to sit almost next to Inger Lise Rypdal, who made the Norwegian version of Harper Valley famous forty years ago. It was obvious she loved it, and at the very end she was the first in the audience to give Sørvaag a standing ovation.

Sørvaag's voice is wonderful. She has magnificent technique and controls her voice at all times. She has an impressive belt and breath control, and does this non-stop for close to ninety minutes. As a musical theatre aficionado I would love to see her doing a musical in the future, cause that voice would suit the material really well. I know who my casting suggestion would be if the Broadway musical "Nine to Five" ever came to Norway. She would make a great Doralee or even Judy.

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