Beautiful, the musical that explores the extraordinary life of Carole King and became one of the best-selling titles on Broadway, is coming to the West End
Carole King’s inspiring untold story is coming to London
Following a levy of speculation, it has been confirmed that the inspiring Beautiful will be transferring to the West End. The highly-awaited Carole King musical will open at the Aldwych Theatre on 25 February, 2015.
A rousing untold story
Beautiful relives the story of Carole King’s rise to global eminence. What is especially moving about Carole King’s story is that she was just an ordinary girl who was blessed with a remarkable talent. When she was just 17 years old, Carole King sold her first hit, titled ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’. Just three years later, the American singer/songwriter was creating songs for some of the most prominent names in rock ‘n’ roll, such as Aretha Franklin, The Monkees and The Drifters.
King’s success as a performer in her own right did not occur until the 1970s and during this experimental decade King performed her own songs whilst playing the piano in a number of concerts and albums.
The most successful female songwriter of modern times
Having co-wrote a total of 188 pop song hits, in 2000, pop music researcher Joel Whitburn named Carole King the “most successful female songwriter of 1955 – 99.” In 2005 music historian Stuart Devoy augmented the accolade further by dubbing King as the “most successful female songwriter on the UK singles charts 1952 – 2005.”
Beautiful maps the untold story of King’s musical success as well as her relationship with husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin. The musical also recounts King’s spirited rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
A seal of approval by Carole King herself
When King finally agreed to attend Beautiful, the notoriously press-shy star gave it the thumbs up. The effects of the star’s approval of the musical were immediately apparent, intensely driving up sales at the box office.
Talking about Beautiful’s transfer to the West End, Carole King said:
“I love that the next chapter of the Beautiful story is taking place I London’s West End. I have so many good friends in London and warm memories of good times there. I can’t wait to re-visit.”
Tickets for Beautiful at the Theatre will go on sale here from Monday 15 September 2014.
