The multi award-winning Broadway hit musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will make its Australian premiere at a newly refurbished Sydney Lyric Theatre from September 2017.
Long before she was Carole King, the chart-topping music legend, she was an ordinary girl with extraordinary talent. She fought her way into the record industry as a teenager and sold her first hit, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, when she was just 17.
By the time she was 20, she was writing number ones for the biggest acts in rock ‘n’ roll, including The Drifters, The Shirelles, Aretha Franklin and The Monkees. But it wasn’t until her personal life began to crack that she finally managed to find her own voice and step into the spotlight.
Beautiful is the the inspiring true story of King’s journey from schoolgirl to superstar; from her relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, to her remarkable rise to stardom. Along the way, she became one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history – and her music became the soundtrack to a generation.
With a book by Tony and Academy Award-nominee Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni, and choreography by Josh Prince, Beautiful will feature a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil.
Hits include Will You Love Me Tomorrow, It’s Too Late, Take Good Care of My Baby, Locomotion, You’ve Got a Friend, (You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman, So Far Away, One Fine Day, Tapestry and I Feel the Earth Move along with chartbusting Mann/Weil tunes such as You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, On Broadway and Uptown.
“I am very excited to bring this sensational show to Australian shores,” said Australian Producer, Michael Cassel. “Carole King might be a native New Yorker but her music is loved the world over and her story is universal. Carole King wrote the soundtrack to a generation and I can’t wait for Australian audiences to experience this smash-hit production in Sydney.”
Beautiful opened on Broadway in January 2014 at the Stephen Sondheim Theater, where it won two Tony Awards and the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The Broadway production has broken every box office record at the theatre, recently becoming the highest grossing show in the venue’s history. The London production opened in February 2015, winning two Olivier Awards and the US touring production is current wowing audiences throughout the country.
King, who famously didn’t see the show on Broadway until a surprise visit three months after the official premiere said: “It took me a long time to see Beautiful when it opened on Broadway in 2014, but once I did, I became an instant fan. I’m thrilled to see it travel across the world to Australia, where I hope audiences down under will treasure it as much as I do.”
Following a transformational refurbishment of the Sydney Lyric Theatre, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will open in September 2017. Casting for the Australian production will commence later this year. Ticket waitlist is now open. For more information, visit: www.beautifulmusical.com.au for details.
Image: Chalina Kennedy as Carole King in the Broadway production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – photo by Joan Marcus