Show guide
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical traces singer-songwriter Carole King's path from teenage hitmaker to the solo artist behind the landmark album Tapestry.
- Broadway premiere
- 2014
- Music by
- Carole King
- Genre
- Jukebox
- Setting
- 1960s
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical: quick answers
What is Beautiful: The Carole King Musical about?
- Beautiful follows Carole King from her start as a teenage songwriter at Aldon Music in 1958, through her marriage and partnership with Gerry Goffin and her friendship with fellow songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, to her solo stardom.
When did Beautiful: The Carole King Musical open on Broadway?
- Beautiful opened on Broadway on January 12, 2014, at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre and ran 2,418 performances until October 27, 2019. Jessie Mueller won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical as Carole King.
Is Beautiful: The Carole King Musical a jukebox musical?
- Yes. Beautiful is a biographical jukebox musical built from existing hits, mostly songs Carole King wrote with Gerry Goffin plus songs by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, with a book by Douglas McGrath.
Where and when is Beautiful: The Carole King Musical set?
- Beautiful is set in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and later Los Angeles, from 1958 to 1971, ending with Carole King's concert at Carnegie Hall.
Has Beautiful: The Carole King Musical played in London's West End?
- Beautiful opened in the West End on February 25, 2015, at the Aldwych Theatre and ran until August 5, 2017. Katie Brayben won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical as Carole King.
Is there a Beautiful: The Carole King Musical movie?
- There is no film version yet. Sony Pictures announced a film adaptation with Tom Hanks's Playtone company in 2015, but it has not been released.
The story of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Beautiful follows Carole King from her start as a Brooklyn teenager selling songs to publishers, through her marriage to lyricist Gerry Goffin and their years as one of the most successful songwriting duos of the early 1960s, to her eventual emergence as a performer in her own right. Their professional and personal life is shadowed by Goffin's infidelity and mental health struggles, which strain the marriage even as the hits keep coming.
Running alongside their story is the friendly rivalry and friendship between King and Goffin and fellow songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, all working under music publisher Don Kirshner. The show builds toward King stepping out from behind the piano as a songwriter for others to become a solo artist, culminating in the songs that would define her 1971 album Tapestry.
The music and the makers
Beautiful is a jukebox musical built entirely from the real songbook of Carole King and her collaborators, with a book by Douglas McGrath weaving together decades of hits into a linear biographical narrative. Rather than an original score, the show relies on the pop and R&B standards King wrote or co-wrote across her career.
Numbers like "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "One Fine Day," "You've Got a Friend," and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" trace the evolution of American pop songwriting through the 1960s and into the singer-songwriter era of the early 1970s, giving the show a score audiences already know well while still functioning as connected storytelling.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway
Beautiful opened on Broadway in January 2014 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, with Jessie Mueller originating the role of Carole King, a performance that won her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The production received strong reviews for Mueller's performance and for the way it reframed a familiar song catalog as character driven storytelling.
The show ran for nearly six years, closing on October 27, 2019, after 2,418 performances, and spawned successful productions in London and on tour. Its success helped fuel continued interest in jukebox musicals built around a single songwriter's catalog rather than a mixed compilation of hits from many artists.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical: frequently asked questions
When did Beautiful: The Carole King Musical open on Broadway?
Beautiful opened on Broadway in January 2014 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
Who composed Beautiful: The Carole King Musical?
The show is a jukebox musical built from songs written by Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil.
What is Beautiful: The Carole King Musical about?
Beautiful traces Carole King's rise from teenage songwriter to acclaimed solo artist, set against her marriage to Gerry Goffin and their circle of fellow 1960s songwriters.
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