Ahead of its September premiere at the newly refurbished Sydney Lyric Theatre, Producer Michael Cassel has revealed the full company of the Australian production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical charts the true story of the legendary singer’s journey from teenage songwriter to international superstar, including her relationship with husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin and their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
Joining previously announced Esther Hannaford as Carole King are Green Room Award winner Josh Piterman as Gerry Goffin, accomplished musical theatre star Amy Lehpamer as Cynthia Weil, singer songwriter and The Voice favourite Mat Verevis as Barry Mann, along with with stage veterans Mike McLeish as Don Kirshner and Anne Wood as King’s mother, Genie Klein.
The cast also includes Jason Arrow, Stefanie Caccamo, Doron Chester, Barry Conrad, Andrew Cook, Marcus Corowa, Julia Dray, Akina Edmonds, Nana Matapule, Cameron MacDonald, Lorinda Merrypor, Joseph Naim, Ruvarashe Ngwenya, Naomi Price, Rebecca Selley, Sean Sinclair, Angelina Thomson and Chloé Zuel.
“In the three years since we opened on Broadway we’ve taken Beautiful to London and toured across the US, finding some remarkable performers to bring this story to life, ” said director Marc Bruni of the Australian cast. “We’re proud to grow our family with this phenomenal Australian company – superb actors with exceptional voices who really did make the earth move under our feet in the audition room!”
Long before she was Carole King, the chart-topping music legend, she was an ordinary girl with extraordinary talent. She sold her first hit, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, at 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, becoming the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century with music that would become the soundtrack of a generation.
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 currently wowing audiences throughout the country.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical plays the Sydney Lyric Theatre from 17 September. Tickets are now on sale with the season extended until 12 November 2017 – new seats will be released on Monday 8 May. For more information, visit: www.beautifulmusical.com.au for details.
Image: Esther Hannaford, Josh Piterman, Amy Lehpamer, Mat Verevis, Mike McLeish and Anne Wood feature in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical