Review - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (UK and Ireland Tour)

Following an impressive run on the West End, which finished in February 2017, just shy of it's 2 year anniversary, the Broadway smash hit jukebox musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is now touring the UK. With actress Bronté Barbé taking on the mantle of the eponymous Brooklyn born singer-songwriter, the touring production is as fresh and energetic as ever.

Bronté Barbé and the cast of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

With more than a couple of embellishments here and there, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical tells the story of Carole King's life and career, from her early days writing music with classmate and childhood sweetheart Gerry Goffin to her first ever concert at Carnegie Hall in 1971. There's love, friendship and heartbreak, and of course, plenty of brilliant music to tie everything together. Admittedly, the plot is not the most exciting or groundbreaking one, but King's impressive back catalogue provides more than enough enjoyment to fill a couple of hours.

It's impossible to resist the bouncy melodies of It Might As Well Rain Until September and Take Good Care Of My Baby. The end of act 1 also packs a punch, with King unveiling some dramatic news about her relationship with the conflicted Gerry Goffin, and joining in with fictional girl group modeled on The Shirelles, as they sing One Fine Day, voice cracking as she reels from the news. King's discomfort with her surroundings is signified through her slightly frumpy clothing, which contrasts the sleek and glamorous 1960s chic which dominates Derek McLane's set design and Alejo Vietti's costumes. Bronté Barbé does a fantastic job of portraying King, sounding and acting with inflections which mirror King's own, but never impersonating her.

The musical's B plot follows King and Goffin's friends, the songwriting duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, played by Matthew Gonsalves and Amy Ellen Richardson. Not only do the duo provide ample comedy relief, their presence also allows for a couple of additional toe tapping tunes to be included in the show, such as He's Sure The Boy I love, and You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, the latter famously being the most played song on American Radio and TV in the 20th century!

It may not be the most historically accurate biography, but with one toe tapping tune after another, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical provides pure and simple escapism, and does justice to one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time.

Interview - Bronté Barbé (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical)

'I was always a bit of a performer' actor Bronté Barbé muses, recalling her early roots in acting. 'I remember I was Mary in a nativity play when I was three, and I decided I wanted to be Mary for the next 6 months. I was dressed as Mary and my mum had to take me everywhere as Mary – I think she was a bit embarrassed' she laughs. 

‘A bit method?’ I proffer. 

‘Oh, SO method.'

Bronté, whose previous theatre credits include Princess Fiona in the Shrek The Musical UK Tour, and Nadine in The Wild Party, may be best known to some for her appearance in the 2010 BBC talent series Over The Rainbow, which saw several young actress competing for the role of Dorothy in an upcoming West End production of The Wizard of Oz. After her elimination from the show (which was eventually won by fellow Northerner Danielle Hope), she went on to study musical theatre at Mountview, and has since been seen in many shows around the UK. Now she is taking on the role of songwriting legend Carole King, in the UK and Ireland Tour of hugely successful musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which only recently closed in London.

When discussing the challenges of bringing incredible real life music icon Carole King to life on stage, Bronté reflects that finding the character has been quite a different process. 'It's something that I’ve never done before, and it’s been a big balance between finding it for myself and obviously looking back on research, because I want to stay true to her as much as I can. It’s definitely more of an interpretation rather than an impersonation'. Inevitably portraying such an interesting character on stage has its challenges, 'it spans over a period of about 12 years, and it's sort of plotting her journey throughout that and how she changes.' she explains. It's evident that Bronté has a lot of respect and admiration for the musical and its protagonist, and she admits that some of the songs still make her emotional, stating, 'I really love You’ve Got A Friend, it’s my favourite moment in the show I think – so far. It’s really nice to sing, and it gets me every time, I think "oh god, try not to cry"'.

In fact, one of the element which has undoubtedly made Beautiful: The Carole King Musical so popular is the great songs, such as the aforementioned You've Got a Friend, as well as tunes like Natural Woman, and I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet, which punctuate the story. As Bronté confesses, 'I’ve had the Tapestry album for quite a long time on vinyl, and I had a few friends in the show – my housemate was in it, so it got overplayed in the house a little bit, but I could never get bored of it!' And it's not just a musical for people who are drawn to music from the '60s and '70s either (although those who are will definitely enjoy the selection of songs which make it into the show). As Bronté puts it, 'there are so many songs that you don’t even realise are by Carole, or Cynthia and Barry', she says, referring to the vast and surprising catalogue of songs written by both Carole King and her friends, the husband and wife songwriting duo Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. And Beautiful: The Carole King Musical has more to offer than just great music, as Bronté is quick to point out. 'I remember being so struck by her story when I went to see it. I didn’t know a lot about her personal life. I think she’s an amazing person'.

Of course, for musical theatre fans, the much lauded musical should not be missed on tour, but Bronté asserts that because of its source material, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical may appeal to a wide range of audiences. 'I think, or I hope, that it will bring in a wider audience, because I think everybody has heard of Carole King, or one of the songs that’s in the show'. Yes, it's a fun jukebox musical, filled with great songs, recognisable characters and a healthy dose of nostalgia, but at it's heart Bronté believes that Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is different is some way, and finishes out interview by stating 'I think you go to the theatre to escape for a bit, but also to relate, and I think it’s such an important story that should be told.'

Don't miss Bronté Barbé in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on its first ever UK and Ireland Tour.

Review - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Aldwych Theatre)

Despite frequently telling people left right and centre that jukebox musicals aren't my cup of tea, I must admit that when I learned Beautiful: The Carole King Musical was getting a West End transfer, I was very excited. After it amounted 7 tony award nominations last year my interest was piqued, and once I had purchased the cast album I knew that I had to see this show.

Photo credit - Tristram Kenton

Much like the Four Seasons in the popular musical Jersey Boys, while the name Carole King may not mean much to a large majority of generation x-ers, the music of King and Goffin is so ingrained into popular culture that most of us don't even know how we know hits such as Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow and Take Good Care of My Baby, we just...do! For this reason, when Rebecca at Official Theatre offered a couple of London theatre bloggers tickets to see the newly opened show, I jumped at the chance. So last night I made the journey down to the Aldwych to see if my high expectations would be matched, and I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed. In fact, not only were they matched but in some ways they were exceeded to an extent I could have never predicted.

The basic plot follows Carole King, her husband Gerry Goffin and their friends and songwriting rivals Cynthia Weil and Barry Man, during their rise to fame from the late 50's onward. The dialogue is frequently interspersed with familiar songs, especially in the first act, and I frequently caught myself grinning at the slickness with which numbers were choreographed and the enthusiasm and talent with which the cast performed. However while initially this song-scene-song structure is effective, after a while the first act does seem to get a little repetitive, with King and Goffin writing a song and various groups taking that song and recording it. And while Douglas McGrath's book allows the audience to be a fly on the wall during intimate moments in act 1, at some points the more dramatic act 2 moments feel a bit sitcom-y in tone due to having received the same treatment. All in all though, the story of Carole King and her colleagues is an interesting and surprising one which kept me entertained and emotionally invested from beginning to end.

For me though, one of the most delightful elements of the show is the way that Katie Brayben transforms herself from naive teenage Carole Klein to self assured Carole King of Tapestry fame in front of the audience's eyes. Brayben nails King's iconic twangy vocals, captures all of her characteristic quirks and hits her Brooklyn accent out of the park. Paired with Alan Morrissey as the passionate yet tumultuous Gerry Goffin, Brayben captivates the audience and leads the show masterfully. Meanwhile Ian McIntosh is hilarious as hypochondriac songwriter Barry Mann,  and Lorna Want is charming as Cynthia Weil, the quick witted and super chic lyricist with the wittiest dialogue and perhaps the most stylish wardrobe in the whole show. As you would expect, the ensemble is on top form, with standout performances by Lucy St Louis who brings boundless energy and fun to her solo The Locomotion, and Ed Currie and Dylan Turner who wow with their dulcet tones as The Righteous Brothers.

Alejo Vietti's costume design was also first class, with some really staggering quick changes, no shortage of sequins, and more slacks than anyone could ever wish for. Truly, if I could have taken home everything Cynthia wore during the show then I'd have done it in a heartbeat. Beautiful is a vintage clothes lover's paradise.

I can't say enough good things about Beautiful. It's slick, it's glitzy and I predict it's going to be a surefire hit with the masses, but it's not just a stylish paint by numbers jukebox musical, it's got a heart too. In fact, it feels like I've had a lump in my throat ever since I left the theatre and I can't quite explain why. But I like it! So grab a ticket while you can as I predict that with word of mouth this show will be drawing in the crowds for months and months to come.