'Beautiful – The Carole King Musical'

Category: Activities, Performances, & Events


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Beautiful – The Carole King Musical is nothing short of fabulous. The staging is brilliant and the story is heartfelt as audience members watch the story of songwriter Carole King’s rise to stardom from a teenager to her iconic album “Tapestry.”

Carole Klein, aka Carole King, was – and is – a musical genius. She sold her first song when she was a teenager. She then married the man of her dreams and the two became a successful songwriting team. While Carole and Gerry Goffin seemed to have the perfect professional and personal life together, it later unraveled.

During their time as a songwriting team with chart topping hits for some of the biggest names in the music business at the time, they also began a friendship with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, another songwriting team. While their friendship blossomed, the competition between the two teams spurred on their professional lives.

The two writing teams wrote much of the soundtrack for a generation, with “So Far Away,” “It Might As Well Rain Until September,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” “Up on the Roof,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “The Locomotion,” “On Broadway,” “Chains,” “One Fine Day,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “Walking in the Rain,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Beautiful,” and many more.

The Righteous Brothers, The Monkees, The Drifters, The Shirelles, and Little Eva who are portrayed on stage as the story unfolds and the songs are written recorded these songs.

The play is not only musically exciting, but it is also cleverly staged, witty, and shows the talent and charisma of Carole King. The story of this formidable woman is awe-inspiring. She has talent, intelligence, and humor and her experience is a story that is inspiring, entertaining, and fascinating. She was definitely a great songwriter in your younger days, but when her personal life hit rock bottom her talent never faltered and she went on to write some of her best songs and record her iconic “Tapestry” album.

I remember the first time I heard the “Tapestry” album. It was memorable and I have been a fan of her ever since.

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical opened on Broadway in 2014. It won the Tony Award for Best Sound Design and Jessie Mueller won for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Now her sister Abby takes center stage in the lead of the touring production, which is showing at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through July 17, 2016. This is a must-see musical that will put a smile on your face (as it did mine) from the moment the curtain opens until the end.

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical is for ages 11 and up.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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