We reviewed this production of 'Beautiful - The Carole King Musical' earlier in its run. This review is an updated version of a previously published one.
To say this is a musical with a pedigree for brilliant music is possibly the biggest understatement of the year.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a jukebox show that tells the story of the early life and career of Carole King. It charts her life from her very first hit single - written at the age of 16 - to her first solo concert at Carnegie Hall in 1971. The Broadway production is the recipient of two Tony's and a Grammy award, whilst the London run took home two Olivier awards.
Having first seen this show earlier in the run, and with this being the penultimate date, I did wonder whether I'd get anything more from it than I already had? Last time round, I was absolutely blown away by the action on stage and part of me wondered whether a second outing was wise. I'm SO glad I don't listen to the devil on my shoulder!
Let's be perfectly clear about one thing - this is a jukebox musical. However the big difference between this and so many other jukebox shows is the quality of the source material. Carole King is a defining presence in popular music, to a level that many other composers could only dream of. Her songs narrated an era and were some of the most popular ever conceived.
King is the most successful female American songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century, having written or co-written 118 hit singles between 1955 and 1999. Over 60 of her songs charted in the UK, making her the most successful female songwriter on the UK singles charts between 1952 and 2005.
Her album, 'Tapestry', topped the U.S. album chart for 15 weeks and remained on the charts for more than six years, holding the record for most weeks at No. 1 by a female artist for more than 20 years. Her combined records sales are estimated at more than 75 million worldwide. She's won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her songwriting.
WATCH: Catch the trailer for the show
The set was a masterpiece. From its scale and glitz through to it's ability to enable slick scene changes and interludes. Praise should be heaped on the design team for making the show as visually striking as it is audibly beautiful (excuse the pun!) - and beautiful is another understatement. The UK tour of Beautiful is, quite simply, astonishing and top of my list for applause are the exquisite cast.
Having seen snippets of the West End and Broadway productions, I was incredibly excited to see the show on tour and it didn't disappoint in the slightest. From the very first bar of the very first song, every performer delivered in droves and the out-and-out star of the show is Bronté Barbé as King. Taking some of the most famous songs in the world and owning them like she did this evening is a skill that few can master. There wasn't an ounce of intimidation as she got her pipes around hits including 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow', 'Up On The Roof' and '(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman'.
Every inch the star, she lead a stunning cast in an equally stunning production - with a soundtrack to die for and an uplifting storyline which doesn't attempt to be anything more than a nostalgic look-back at the life and work of a superstar. Absolutely one of the best shows in the UK at the moment.
Beautiful plays at Wolverhampton Grand until Saturday 16th June. For more information, or to get your tickets, head to grandtheatre.co.uk.
LISTEN: Hear our Spotify playlist of the Original Broadway Cast below!
