The 1891 Fredonia Opera House will present Dolly Parton impersonator Sandy Anderson in concert on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 7:30 p.m.

Anderson traded in working 9 to 5 for singing “9 to 5” when she began her award-winning tribute to Dolly Parton a decade ago. The Las Vegas-based entertainer has even performed a duet with Dolly herself – the two of them charming fans at Dollywood with a sassy version of “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better.”

Anderson truly “becomes” Dolly when she performs. Her glamorous costumes and wigs create a striking visual resemblance to the country music icon, and her singing voice is a dead-ringer for Dolly’s, setting the stage for a very memorable performance. She even includes the trademark Dolly comedy routine, which begins with, “it costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”

A native of Sacramento, Anderson was working at Walt Disney Imagineering when, on a whim, she entered a lip-sync contest through a local radio station. She won the contest, lip-syncing a song by Barbara Mandrell, whom she had always been told she resembled. The judges encouraged Sandy to enter the celebrity impersonation field portraying Mandrell, but soon a photographer told her, “it’s really Dolly Parton you look like.” She put on a big blonde wig and a low-cut dress, and saw the likeness herself. Within months, she answered a classified ad from Legends in Concert looking for a Dolly impersonator. She was invited for an audition that week, and hired on the spot.

Since then, she has performed through Legends in Concert at prestigious venues as The Imperial Palace and Harrah’s in Las Vegas, The Grand Palace in Branson, and the Legends Theater in Myrtle Beach. Anderson most recently returned from Berlin where she performed through the “Stars in Concert” show. She’s traveled the world and taken dream gigs on cruise ships. She has taken her “Tribute to Dolly” on tour to Australia, Sweden, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines. She’s lived in Tennessee, performing at Dollywood and in surrounding areas where Dolly fans flock. She has performed with (the real) Kenny Rogers, singing “Islands in the Stream,” and served as the opening act for comedian Rich Little.

Anderson has been voted top Dolly Impersonator in the United States. She is a three-time winner of the “Country’s Hottest Hitter” Award, an award voted on by her peers. She has appeared on Cable TV networks CMT, MTV and VH-1. She has even been memorialized at the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society in Las Vegas, where her likeness, costumes, wigs, and interviews have been on display. But her proudest moment would have to be when Dolly Parton said in an interview in “Q” Magazine “the best (Dolly impersonator) is Sandy Anderson, she even fools my family.”

Tickets to Sandy Anderson’s Tribute to Dolly Parton are $17 ($15 Opera House members) and may be purchased in person at the Opera House Box Office or by phone at 716-679-1891, Tuesday-Friday, 1-5 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at www.fredopera.org anytime.

The event is sponsored by Midtown Realty and Fredonia Plumbing & Heating. The performance also is presented, in part, with support from the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. A complete schedule of Opera House events is available at www.fredopera.org.