REVIEW | Beautiful - The Carole King Musical

 

Photo Credit: Ellie Kurttz

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical UK Tour
Theatre Royal, Nottingham
★★★★★

Written by Natasha.

You know it’s an amazing piece of musical theatre when you immediately book to go again as you leave!  With a straightforward yet nuanced narrative, a profusion of exceptional songs and supremely talented performers, the current UK tour production Beautiful - The Carole King Musical is not to be missed. 

It’s not giving anything away to say that Beautiful tells the life of singer/songwriter Carole King’s journey from schoolgirl composer to Carnegie Hall performer. As well as its inevitable focus on King, however, the production also fleshes out a biography into a USA pop history spectacle, packed to the rafters with musical hits.

The music speaks for itself - sublime pop songs from the 1960s that are simultaneously fresh and familiar, with elegant composition and sweeping melodies. Cleverly juxtaposing the composer/lyricist partnership of King and Gerry Goffin with that of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil is a fantastic dramatic device that also ensures that the tunes never stop. We hurtle through Take Good Care of My Baby, Who Put the Bomp?, Will You Love Me Tomorrow?, The Locomotion, You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ and many more. 

Beautiful transmits a palpable onstage energy from the outset; I was immediately drawn in. I suspect that some of this exudes from the direction of Nikolai Foster, who employs the fabulous technique (used equally effectively in his recent Billy Elliot revival) of forming backing bands from his talented cast. Performers wander casually onstage before the start of each Act, and accompany songs on real instruments. The set, lighting and costume design are bright and occasionally shiny but not over-the-top, incorporating both the ordinary and the stagey, such as a delectable combination of The Shirelles in fabulous pink outfits set against a shimmering gold backdrop. Together with great dialogue and comedic one-liners that occasionally break the fourth wall, not to mention the ethnic diversity of performers who being represented rather than merely referenced, this show succeeds on all levels.

The music is wonderfully combined with the drama, each seamlessly intertwining with the other, whether in the Hit Parade numbers being brought to life during their composition, or using a cacophony of instrumentation to echo a character’s personal difficulties. Although the music is not designed to illustrate or progress the plot, the songs are often well-placed, such as You've Got a Friend which is used to tremendous effect. This ensures that the show is emotive in all the right places. A tearjerker at times, but ultimately feel good. 

The live music with its lush harmonics may well be the heart of the show, but the actors and musicians who bring it to life are truly the stars. All the cast are fantastic, although Seren Sandham-Davies’ luminous Cynthia Weil and Amena El-Kindy’s touring debut as Little Eva stand out. My favourite portrayal, however, is Cutler’s magnificent interpretation of Carole King. She is so good that she seems to effortlessly slip into the role and simply become another person, as easily as stepping into a pair of the comfy, blue jeans the character sometimes wears. It is almost unbelievable how well she inhabits the role, giving a consummate dramatic and musical masterclass, with a sensational voice that conveys, by turns, lilting country, throaty rock, perfect pop, and constant soul. Her well-honed interactions with Tom Milner (another accomplished performer) as Gerry Goffin ensure that the audience engages with their characters, wanting to know what happens next rather than merely being entertained by a jukebox of hits.

Not that I wouldn’t have been satisfied by a series of musical performances, but this show is so much more than that. Passionately acted and sung by its entire cast, Beautiful ensured that a surprisingly sedate opening night audience finally gave it up and by the end were on their feet, first to give a well-deserved standing ovation, and then to dance to the closing number. As I have been telling everyone I know - go and see this show!

Have a look to see where you can catch Beautiful - The Carole King Musical on tour before it ends on 26 November 2022.