Last night I was invited to The Orchard Theatre, Dartford to see BEAUTIFUL The Carole King Musical. I hadn't seen this musical before, and I didn't know much about the life or works of Carole King, or so I thought. It was lovely to see a nice full audience as we entered the auditorium, and I was immediately struck by the beautiful set, lights and intstruments on the stage. It felt as though we were seeing a really high end concert.
As soon as the musical began, we were immersed into the fantastic writing of Carole King, with hit after hit coming at us with such powerful vocals and musicality on stage. It turns out I knew all of Carole King's hits, I just hadn't realised they all came from her! The music was incredible and the audience were loving every second of this musical trip down memory lane. Songs such as, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?, Up On The Roof, It's Too Late, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and more belted out by incredible performers.
All of the musicians and performers on stage were exceptional. Tom Milner played a wonderful Gerry Goffin, treading the line between villain and troubled with ease. The Drifters, played by Myles Miller, Kevin Yates, Kemi Clarke and Dylan Gordon-Jones lit up the stage with their close harmonies and stylised dance moves. The relationship between Cynthia (Seren Sandham-Davies) and Barry (Jos Slovick) was humorous and charming.
The entire company was exceptional, but for me, the stand out performance has to be by Molly-Grace Cutler as Carole King. That voice! She was so raw and truthful in her performance and captured Carole King as a sixteen year old right through to her adult years in a believable and endearing manner. A fantastic musician, actor, stage presence... but that voice! Truly something special, and if I haven't sold you on this incredible show this far, go for Molly-Grace alone. Trust me.
I have seen a lot of biographical musicals; The Jersey Boys, The Committments, The Buddy Holly Story... all of which have been brilliant. I think BEAUTIFUL might just have become my favourite in this genre of musical. If, like me, you don't think you know many of Carole King's songs, go along and see, I think you might be surprised! This is a 5* musical, highly recommended.
BEAUTIFUL The Carole King Musical is on at The Orchard Theatre until Saturday 30th April 2022. Tickets can be found here: https://orchardtheatre.co.uk/Online/tickets-beautiful-dartford-2022
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