Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

For anyone who loves the nostalgia of 'jukebox' musicals like "Motown: The Musical," I cannot highly recommend enough seeing "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical." Young or old, this music is the soundtrack to many a generation. What's wonderful is that it is not just of King's [[and Goffin's) music, but of the music of their fellow friends and competitors, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. From the early '60's through King's smash album, Tapestry, King's voice, talents, and warm, genuine personality is masterfully articulated by Chilina Kennedy [[originally portrayed by Jessie Mueller, who quite literally became Carole in every sense of the word).

Probably the most solid thing about this production is that it is not a typical 'jukebox' musical, in which classic songs are loosely strung together by a feeble plot line. The show's writer, Douglas McGrath, perfectly aligns Carole's life story alongside the musical, creating both a wonderful piece of entertainment and a strong piece of work with historical accuracy [[although some names and dates have been altered). Much like King's life, there are plenty of up's and down's, with a healthy balance of comedy and drama.

Reportedly, Carole King herself has said the show was so good that she could not watch the whole thing [[the show delves into her tumultuous on-and-off again relationship with Gerry Goffin). Personally, I have never been moved to tears by a show before - and I have seen quite a number of Broadway shows - until this one.

Musical numbers include "It Might as Well Rain Until September," "Take Good Care of My Baby," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "One Fine Day," "He's Sure the Boy I Love," "Walking in the Rain," "It's Too Late," "So Far Away," "Beautiful," and more.

Here's a clip of Chilina Kennedy and cast performing King's "Natural Woman."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVN4lwQ5vZ0

Go see this show if you have the chance. If not, at least get the soundtrack. It's one of the best cast albums and tributes to the 'beautiful' music of King, Goffin, Weil, and Mann I have ever heard.

Thank you for sharing your experience and posting this review. I agree with you 100%. I saw the show last year and fell in love with it. The songs were great combining the songs of two great song writing teams. But I especially liked that it had a strong book which was a love story and also an inside look at the music industry and Brill Building.

Co-incidentally, I saw the musical again this week and enjoyed it even more. The new Carol King is just as amazing as the original. Loving the Drifters and the Shirelles, it was nice to see them portrayed and singing their hits on stage.

I was also fascinated with the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, the newest theatre on Broadway. It was built on the site of the old Henry Miller[ Theater and kept the façade of the old theatre. When entering, you get the impression that you going into an old theatre, but once inside you get to see this stunning new state of the art Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

I join you in recommending this musical to the music lovers on this board.
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I join the ranks. Saw the show in March and was surprised at just how much I loved it.

I saw the show on Broadway last year with Jessie Mueller as Carole King. She truly did become Carole and thoroughly deserved her Tony Award. It was also nice to see Jarrod Spector get some recognition for his performance as Barry Mann. Jarrod had played Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys for over 1000 performances before joining Beautiful.