Photo by Joan Marcus
Having now played over 3 years at Broadway's Stephen Sondheim Theatre, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a bio-musical that is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down and we have a feeling that it will be feeling the earth move on Broadway for a long time to come! Beautiful is once again our #ShowOfTheWeek!
From March 7, the Broadway production will also welcome Abby Mueller to the title role. She is both the sister of Jessie - Broadway's original Tony-winning actress to play Carole King - and the original Carole in the First National Tour of the show. Chilina Kennedy will be taking time out from the Broadway production to open the Toronto version in her native Canada.
Still regarded as one of the most iconic albums in music history, the global impact of Carole King's "Tapestry" is the original catalyst for the making of this Broadway musical. Released in 1971 with hits such as "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "It's Too Late," "You've Got a Friend," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?," "I Feel the Earth Move," and "Beautiful," the album "Tapestry" earned Carole King four Grammy Awards, including "Album of the Year." In the United States alone it has sold over 10 million copies, receiving a 10x platinum certification. Naturally, folks want to learn about how this album came to be and about the woman's life, responsible for it.
The beauty of Beautiful is its simplicity and authenticity. It depicts Carole's life - warts and all. The musical does not shy away from the hardships she endured in her relationship with Gerry Goffin and there is an interesting angle explored in terms of her friendship and song-writing rivalry with Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. This also opens the musical to a wider back catalogue of hits outside of King's own collection, including Weil and Mann's "On Broadway" (performed by The Drifters) and "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" (performed by The Righteous Brothers). Appearances by The Shirelles and Little Eva also add a spice of variety to Act I.
Beautiful has now established itself as a long-running smash hit on the Great White Way and carries the flag for credible bio-musicals that was long held proudly by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' Jersey Boys.
Click here for tickets to Beautiful: The Carole King Musical for performances through to September 3, 2017 at Broadway's Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
Chilina Kennedy in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical More Production PhotosOriginally published on