The music and life story of beloved country music icon and legend Loretta Lynn will be celebrated and depicted in a new stage musical COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER starring Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster.
The production is in development under the direction of Tony Award-winner Sam Gold. Music Production is by Tony Award-winner Jeanine Tesori. Gold and Tesori last worked together on the Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home.
Loretta Lynn's manager, producer, and daughter, Patsy Lynn, and longtime adviser, Nancy Russell, will act as consulting producers.
Inspired by the award-nominated 1980 film and autobiography by Loretta Lynn and George Vecsey, Coal Miner's Daughter chronicles Loretta’s rise from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to country music legend. The stage adaptation will include songs from Loretta’s career and share stories from Loretta’s life beyond the film’s ending.
Loretta Lynn, one of country music’s most iconic figures, left an indelible mark on the genre with a career spanning over six decades. Known for her powerful storytelling and unapologetically honest lyrics, she sold over 45 million records worldwide and earned numerous accolades, including multiple Grammy Awards, Country Music Association (CMA) awards, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her legacy includes timeless hits such as “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” and “The Pill.” Lynn’s career, which began in the early 1960s, was marked by its longevity and influence. She passed away on October 4, 2022, at the age of 90, leaving behind a profound impact on music and culture.
"We are so grateful to see that our mother's life story and music will continue to touch the hearts of audiences and remain an important statement of the American dream,” said the family of Loretta Lynn. “As one of the last creative projects our mom was so passionate about, we are thankful that she had the opportunity to experience the initial stages of Sutton's sincere portrayal of Loretta. Mom absolutely fell in love with her and thought she was just the right person to play her onstage. The family is moved by this incredible team's commitment to her legacy."
The producing team committed to bringing the iconic story of Loretta Lynn’s life to the stage include Broadway veterans Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Bee Carrozzini, and ATG Entertainment.
Released on March 7, 1980, Coal Miner’s Daughter received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Writing and Sissy Spacek won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Coal Miner’s Daughter was also awarded Best Motion Picture by the Golden Globes, National Board of Review, National Film Preservation Board and the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Loretta Lynn’s Family Statement and Obituary
Photo Credit: Russ Harrington
Country superstar Loretta Lynn passed peacefully in her sleep early this morning, Tuesday, October 4, at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Lynn was 90.
Over the course of her 60-year career, the famous native of Butcher Hollow, Ky. amassed a staggering 51 Top 10 hits, garnered every accolade available in music from GRAMMY awards to induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and broke down barriers for women everywhere with songs like “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind),” “Fist City” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”
Thanks to the Oscar-winning 1980 film Coal Miner’s Daughter starring Sissy Spacek, Lynn’s story and songs were brought to an even wider audience, amplifying her impact on several generations of songwriters and artists in various genres including Jack White, with whom Lynn made the GRAMMY-winning 2004 album Van Lear Rose.
Throughout her 80s, Loretta continued to write new songs and, in 2016, returned to the charts with the GRAMMY-nominated Full Circle, the first in a series of critically acclaimed albums produced by her daughter, Patsy Lynn Russell, and John Carter Cash at Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tenn. She followed up with the seasonal classic White Christmas Blue (2016) and 2018’s GRAMMY-nominated Wouldn't It Be Great, a combination of newly written songs and fresh interpretations of her catalog. In 2021, the American music icon released Still Woman Enough, a celebration of women in country music; her 50th studio album (not including her ten studio duet collaborations with Conway Twitty), Still Woman Enough featured a title track co-written with Patsy Lynn Russell and a deeply emotional “Coal Miner's Daughter Recitation,” commemorating the 50th anniversary of the release of Lynn’s signature song (October 5, 1970) and album (January 4, 1971).
Lynn’s music and achievements were repeatedly recognized by all of the major awards bodies. She joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1962, won four GRAMMY awards, seven American Music Awards and eight Country Music Association awards. She was the first woman to win the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards for Entertainer of the Year. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008, and was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. She sold over 45 million albums worldwide.
Lynn was pre-deceased by her husband of 48 years Oliver Vanetta “Doolittle” Lynn, her daughter Betty Sue Lynn and son Jack Benny Lynn. She is survived by her daughters Patsy Lynn Russell, Peggy Lynn, Clara (Cissie) Marie Lynn and her son Ernest Ray Lynn as well as grandchildren Lori Lynn Smith, Ethan Lyell, Elizabeth Braun, Tayla Lynn, Jack Lynn, Ernest Ray Lynn Jr., Katherine Condya, Alexandria Lynn, Jasyntha Connelly, Megan Horkins, Anthony Brutto, Jason Lynn, Wesley Lynn, Levi Lynn, Emmy Rose Russell, David Russell, Lucca Marchetti and step grandchildren David Greer, Jennafer Russell, Melody Russell and Natalie Rapp, and her great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to the Loretta Lynn Foundation. Information about a memorial service/celebration of life will be made available at a later date. For more information, visit LorettaLynn.com.
“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home at her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills.”
– The family of Loretta Lynn
The family has asked for privacy during this time, as they grieve. An announcement regarding a memorial will be forthcoming in a public announcement.