Dolly Parton's Love for Taco Bell Just Reached New Heights

Country music icon will star in TikTok production about fast-food chain's revived Mexican Pizza
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2022 8:38 AM CDT
From Country's HOF to Taco Bell Musical for Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton performs in concert on July 31, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn.   (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP, File)

Never did we think we'd be writing "Dolly Parton," "Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza," "TikTok," and "musical" in one sentence, but here we are, explaining just exactly how all those words are coming together. On the heels of the announcement that the fast-food chain is bringing back its much-beloved menu item, the new Country Music Hall of Fame inductee revealed Monday she'll be starring in Mexican Pizza: The Musical, a satire "based on the true story of the internet losing its mind" after Taco Bell yanked the dish from its menu in 2020, per NBC News.

It's not exactly clear what the musical—book by Hannah Friedman, music by Grammy Award winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear—will entail, but it was inspired in large part by two other entertainers. First, back in March, rapper and singer Doja Cat posted a TikTok in which she professed her love for the Mexican Pizza and crafted a jingle about it, complete with the famous Taco Bell bell clanging over the beats. Then came TikTok star Victor Kunda's adaptation of that song, depicting what the dress rehearsal of a musical based on Doja Cat's idea would look like.

Add to that Parton's own self-professed love for Taco Bell, and it all came together like Diablo sauce on top of a Nachos BellGrande. "I like soft-shell tacos," Parton (also a Mexican Pizza fan who prefers mild sauce) told Insider in January. "I like the others, but they fall apart so bad, especially if you're riding around. So I always get a Taco Supreme, with the sour cream and all that, in the soft shell. I love that." "#MexicanPizzaTheMusical is really happening. Let's do this!" Taco Bell tweeted Monday, along with a link to the live premiere set for May 26 at 8pm ET—exactly a week after the Mexican Pizza once more pops up on Taco Bell's menu. (More Dolly Parton stories.)

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