Between 1962 and 2005, singer/songwriter Carole King wrote or co-wrote 118 pop hits on the BillBoard Hot 100. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, with a book by Douglas McGrath, tells the story of her early life and career with plenty of songs she wrote with ex-husband Gerry Goffin, as well as numbers by their friends/competitors Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. The production made its Broadway debut in January 2014 and now, nearly 10 years later, music lovers can still enjoy it here in New Orleans at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre.
Lovin’ Carole King the way we do, we expected Beautiful to be a fun, moving journey down memory lane, and we weren’t disappointed. As the song goes, we woke up this morning with a smile on our face, anxious to share the news that this Le Petit musical is a must-experience. While you’ll go in knowing many, if not all, of the words, you’ll leave knowing so much more than you did before about the life and legacy of this talented, resilient, extremely likeable American women. She poured her life experiences and her optimism into her music, connecting with the world in a way few can.
The local production was directed and choreographed by Jaune Buisson and featured funny and often soul-stirring performances by Melissa Campbell as King, Frank von Haven as Goffin, Stephanie Toups Abry as Weil, and Ej Dohring at Mann. The cast also includes an array of talented singers and dancers in amazing costumes portraying groups like the Drifters, the Shirelles, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Vee and the Righteous Brothers.
We encourage you to learn more about the creative team here, and to buy your tickets while you still can here. If the first night was any indication, this is going to be a sellout, so book now. The play runs through April 7 in the French Quarter.
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