Loretta Lynn - Zooey Deschanel To Play Loretta Lynn On Broadway

The 80 year old singer has been working on a Broadway show based on her 1976 autobiography Coal Miner's Daughter, which became a 1980 biographical film and won an Oscar for its star Sissy Spacek.

Lynn has tapped Deschanel for the lead role in the new stage project and she made the big announcement by bringing the actress/singer on stage with her during a concert in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday night (10May12).

The move mirrored the moment in 1979 when Lynn brought Spacek up on stage to go public with her film role.

Lynn told the audience at the Ryman Auditorium, "I have a friend here tonight. I don't know if ya'll remember when Sissy Spacek was with me. I brought her out here with me. She about fainted. We both fainted. She went on to do the Coal Miner's Daughter, and you know from there. Well, there's a little girl back stage that's going to do the play of Coal Miner's Daughter on Broadway... Zooey, where you at honey? Are you going to help me sing (hit song) Coal Miner's Daughter?"

Deschanel then said, "I'm going to help you sing. This is a great honour for me. This is my hero," before duetting with Lynn.

A statement posted on the Broadway show's website reads, "Country music legend Loretta Lynn... has chosen Grammy and Golden Globe nominated actress... Zooey Deschanel to portray her in an upcoming Broadway-bound stage adaptation of Coal Miner's Daughter."