‘Beautiful – The Carole King Musical’ is a Fun Ticket to the Past

By Francine Brokaw

Carole King has written some amazing songs and in a sense she has provided the soundtrack for many of our lives. The Broadway musical about her life is a sure-fire way to relive some past memories through her songs as well as learn about her amazing life and career.

Do you remember the first time you heard her iconic album “Tapestry”? I do. I was babysitting and after the baby went to sleep I thumbed through the record collection in the apartment. I had not heard about Carole King before so I put it on the player. From the first song I was hooked. I loved Carole King and have enjoyed her music ever since that night.

King was born Carole Klein and has had an extraordinary career in the music business. She sold her first song when she was a teenager, then went on to become a successful songwriting team with her boyfriend-turned-husband Gerry Goffin. As their story plays out on stage, the audience is privy to their “perfect” life together as a couple and a team. But that “perfect” life wasn’t to last and even though it unraveled, their songs remain and our memories of what we were doing when we heard them continue to bring joy and happiness to an entire generation.

The competition between King/Goffin and the songwriting team of Cynthia Weil/Barry Mann spurred on both couples as they churned out one hit song after another. “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 wonderful songs are part of the musical. The Righteous Brothers, The Monkees, The Drifters, The Shirelles, and Little Eva, recorded many of the songs and are portrayed on stage as the story unfolds.

With great music and wonderful staging, “Beautiful - The Carole King Musical” is well worth seeing either on Broadway or when the touring company comes to your town. And no matter what you think you know about this incredibly talented woman, you’ll learn a lot more. She has talent, stamina, a great sense of humor, and intelligence. And her music has been an inspiration to millions of fans.