To say that Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, simply sets out to tell the tale of Carole King, from selling her first song to releasing her first album, would be doing a grave injustice to the supremely talented cast of actor / singer / dancers who bring to life the incredible story of the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century – a woman who wrote or co-wrote no less than 118 pop hits.
After two and a half years in the West End and a full national tour in 2017, the massive stage of the Congress Theatre Eastbourne is home to this wonderfully huge production filled with some of the greatest songs, performed by some very powerful singers.
Carole’s partner, both musically and romantically, Gerry Goffin, played with serious conviction by Adam Gillian, is as handsome as he is fickle and, using the fact that they married so young as an excuse, he soon tells Carole (the truly superb Daisy Wood-Davis) that he feels trapped in their marriage and that he wants to have an affair.
But this is not just the story of one woman and her struggles, the production highlights the contrast between two couples, Carole and Gerry being one with Cynthia Weil (Laura Baldwin) and Barry Mann (Cameron Sharp), the competitors for the song that would reach number one. There are also moments of unexpected comedy, provided by Oliver Boot as record producer Donnie Kirshner and by Susie Fenwick as Carole’s mother, Genie Klein.
It’s an incredibly well performed and portrayed musical, helped by a simple but terrifically versatile set, with an orchestra and a large company of performers who are all fantastic. The breadth of Carole’s talent is highlighted by emphasising the number of songs she wrote for other artists, including The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Vee, The Shirelles, The Drifters, Little Eva and The Monkees.
This production chronicles, warts and all, the songwriting success and marital failure of Gerry and Carole – which finally results in her writing her timeless album, Tapestry, the longest album at number one by a female artiste for over 20 years.
Each song is reproduced as faithfully as possible to the original with million-sellers like It Might As Well Rain Until September, Take Good Care Of My Baby, Up On The Roof, On Broadway, You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling, One Find Day and You’ve Got A Friend just a few highlights from the list of over two dozen hits that appear in the show.
Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, reflects, honestly, the emotional turmoil and the terrific highs and terrible lows of Carole’s roller-coaster life and is an absolute must-see show for fans of the artist, and lovers of music in general.
***** Five Stars