The Dolly Parton musical was suspended after the entire cast walked off stage in protest of homophobia. Stevie Webb, one of the musical's actors, revealed how some disrespectful audience members caused homophobic commotions nearly every week.
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Many viewers of the show had been "disgusted by a gay character" and threw slurs during the musical. This caused the cast and crew to suspect last Wednesday's show in Manchester at the Opera House.
Homophobic Audiences Cause Dolly Parton Musical Suspension
"The amount of audience members that we have had to eject from our show due to homophobia is insane," Webb revealed in a TikTok video. "Just this week, in Manchester alone, last night we had to eject someone who was shouting out slurs."
It may be a surprise to many as fans have known for quite some time that Dolly Parton has supported the LGBT community. Despite this, numerous audience members have disrupted the show due to their homophobic views.
Webb then detailed how they stopped the musical last week because of these antics. A woman in the audience couldn't handle a gay character being on stage. The actor described it as a "massive ruckus" after she began shouting, causing the cast on stage to shout back at her.
"She was eventually ejected and we could start again but we were stopped for 15 or 20 minutes," he continued. Webb said it blew his mind that this was happening nearly every week. "This is a Dolly Parton musical, first of all. It is just me and Dolly Parton on stage."
Webb then recalled London being the worst as one man yelled the f-slur. "He was like 'I'm not here to watch some f*****g f****t talk about his boyfriend, I'm just here to see Dolly Parton,'" he added.
These outcries and disruptions opened Webb's eyes as he described them being "in such a bubble in this industry." When they began traveling the country to perform the musical, he began to realize how many people couldn't handle seeing "a gay person depicted on stage."
We don't yet know how the cast and crew will handle future disruptions. The musical's story depicts a fan of Dolly Parton envisioning an imaginary version of Parton helping him through life's tough times.
