Live theatre is back and better than ever. The Tony award-winning musical “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” spent a weekend at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre from May 20 through the 22nd and it was nothing short of show-stopping.
“Beautiful” tells the story of Carole Klein, a young woman from Brooklyn with a big dream to write music. After finding her way into the record business as a teenager, she and her husband Gerry Goffin go on to write some of the biggest hits of their time, often for iconic groups like The Shirelles and The Drifters, who make continual appearances on stage to perform the songs Carole and Gerry wrote for them.
However, just down the hall was another songwriting duo, consisting of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. They also wrote Billboard charting hits, so a wonderful rivalry emerged that eventually developed into a friendship between the two duos. It’s dynamic, toe-tapping and feels like a slice of the American music scene in the late 60s and early 70s, with harmonizing quartets and synchronized dance moves.
But at this show’s heart, it’s a story rooted in human connection. Throughout the show, the audience gets an up-close and personal view of King’s married life, parenthood and the desire to dream big. These moments of raw human emotion are then used as the artist’s muse to create incredible music. The most notable example of this is one of King’s most popular songs, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” Once the audience gets to see the context of how that song was created, it makes the song even more powerful.
The rise to stardom is never easy, but watching King’s journey to become the songwriter and performer the world knows her as is one of true inspiration. It’s a story of rivalry, friendship, romance, humor and chasing dreams. And of course, with excellent music at every pivotal moment in the story.
But here is the real testament of this show’s success. Carole King is not a musician I was very familiar when I walked through the theatre doors and they scanned my ticket. There were only two songs I recognized when I was flipping through the playbill before showtime. On top of that, every member of the audience was at least 30 years older than myself.
And yet, when the lights dimmed at the start of the show, I was mystified. Completely captivated by this inspiring woman’s climb from spunky teenager songwriter, to joyous mother performing at Carnegie Hall. It’s a show you can’t help but get invested in and root for King’s success.
But the very best part of the show had to be the ending. After the actors take their final bows to the standing ovation, King grabs a microphone and starts singing “I Feel the Earth Move.” The actors and audience members sing along and dance to the real finale as this wonderful celebration of her music, complete with a short post-show dance party. It’s the song every audience member will be singing on their car drive home.
