Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Musical
Writers:Douglas McGrath Carole King Gerry Goffin Cynthia Weil Barry Mann
Overview
Synopsis
Beautiful tells the true story of Carole King’s meteoric rise to fame as one of the twentieth century’s foremost singer-songwriters. We are introduced to Carole when she is 16 and pitching her first song (“It Might As Well Rain Until September”) to New York music producer Don Kirshner. Soon after, she meets her future husband and creative collaborator, Gerry Goffin. In a musical whirlwind, the couple are married, King gives birth to their first child and the duo make a name for themselves in the music business, knocking out hit after hit. However, while their careers are on the rise, Carole’s personal life falls apart when Gerry announces that he wants an affair. As Carole tries to negotiate marriage, adultery and personal happiness, she is supported by friends and playful rivals, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. Although they all compete for number one hits on the pop chart, Carole relies on their support to change her life and find her own voice. Set in the vibrant pop industry of the 1960s and early 1970s, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical features a tapestry of musical hits from the creative songwriting teams of King and Goffin, Weil and Mann.
Show Information
- Book
- Douglas McGrath
- Music
- Carole King , Gerry Goffin , Cynthia Weil , Barry Mann
- Lyrics
- Carole King , Gerry Goffin , Cynthia Weil , Barry Mann
- Category
- Musical
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 2013
- Genres
- Historical/Biographical, Jukebox/Revue
- Settings
- Period, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- New York City, Los Angeles, 1958-1971
- Cast Size
- large
- Orchestra Size
- Medium
- Dancing
- Some Dance
- Licensor
- Music Theatre International
- Ideal For
- Large Cast, Star Vehicle Female, College/University, Community Theatre, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, High School, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Female Cast, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult, Late Teen Characters
Context
Beautiful tells the rarely-heard story of Carole King’s rise from young Brooklyn songwriter to mega-star, focusing in particular on her fruitful -- but rocky -- relationship with husband and writing partner Gerry Goffin. The show features characters based on the real people who surrounded Carole on her journey, including Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, Donnie Kirshner, Lou Adler, and the famous rock groups the Drifters, the Shirelles, and the Righteous Brothers.
Carole King was not involved in
to read the context for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One
Beautiful opens with Carole King performing at Carnegie Hall in 1971, before jumping quickly back in time to Carole’s youth (“So Far Away”). At her home in Brooklyn, sixteen-year-old Carole attempts to convince her mother to let her try and sell a song to music mogul Donnie Kirshner in Manhattan. Carole makes a deal: if her mother hears anything better than Carole’s music on the TV, then Carole won’t go. Pop singer (and Carole’s ex) Neil Sedaka comes on the air, and very
to read the plot for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone, Bass |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass |
Songs
Act One
So Far Away - Carole King
Oh Carol - Neil Sedaka
1650 Broadway Medley - Ensemble
It Might as Well Rain Until September - Carole King
*Be-Bop-A-Lula - Ensemble
Some Kind of Wonderful - Carole King, Gerry Goffin and The Drifters (Ensemble)
Happy Days Are Here Again - Cynthia Weil
Take Good Care of My Baby - Gerry Goffin and Carole King
Who Put the Bomp - Barry Mann
Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Carole King
He's Sure the Boy I Love - Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann
Will You Love Me Tomorrow - The Shirelles
Up on the Roof - Gerry Goffin and The Drifters
On Broadway - The Drifters (Ensemble)
*The Locomotion - Little Eva and Ensemble
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling - Barry Mann and The Righteous Brothers (Ensemble)
One Fine Day - Janelle, Carole King and Ensemble
Act Two
Chains - Carole King and Ensemble
Walking in the Rain - Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
Pleasant Valley Sunday - Marilyn Wald, Gerry Goffin and Ensemble
We Gotta Get Out of This Place - Barry Mann
Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Reprise) - Carole King
Uptown - "Uptown" Singer and Ensemble
It's Too Late - Carole King and Ensemble
You've Got a Friend - Carole King, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Don Kirshner
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - Carole King and Ensemble
Beautiful - Carole King and Ensemble
I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King and Company
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
Relating to a person's life.
The person who writes the music.
The person who writes the words of the songs, sometimes the same person as the composer or librettist.
A production designed especially to show off the talents of a particular performer.
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