Beautiful follows Manhattan-born music icon Carole King (played by Molly-Grace Cutler) on her journey to stardom, topping the charts in the 60s and 70s with her heart-warming songs and enchanting vocals. The show explores the ups and downs of love and fame as she creates new songs with her song-writing husband Gerry Goffin (Tom Milner), alongside her musical friends Cynthia Weil (Seren Sandham-Davies) and Barry Mann (Jos Slovick).
King’s musical genres range from Soul to Pop and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Her first song, ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’, was written at the age of 17, skyrocketing her into the entertainment industry before her and Gerry developed songs for major contemporary artists like The Drifters, Aretha Franklin, and The Righteous Brothers.
King has been inducted into Rock & Roll’s Hall of Fame twice and continues to receive awards and recognitions. She shaped the music of the era, with songs that still prevail in popular culture today, including ‘It’s Too Late’, ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’, ‘You Got a Friend’, ‘Locomotion’, and ‘Up On the Roof’. These songs have constantly resurfaced in films and TV shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, Shrek Forever After, You’ve Got Mail, and more.
I am extremely excited to be watching Beautiful, knowing several of King’s songs but wanting to get a clearer insight into her life and relationships. It will be amazing getting to see King’s life brought into effect by all the glitz, glamour and emotion produced by the medium of musical productions.
Beautiful plays at the Palace Theatre from 11th t 15th October and tours the UK until late November.
