QPAC‘s Lyric Theatre is set to host Beautiful: The Carole King Musical this July. This thrilling true story celebrates the life of Carole King, the most successful female songwriter of the 20th Century. Audience members follow King’s remarkable rise to stardom, including her troubled relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, and their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Long before she was a chart-topping music icon, King was an ordinary girl with exceptional creative talent.
She sold her first hit Will You Love Me Tomorrow at just 17. By the time she was 20 she was writing number one hits for the biggest acts in rock and roll, including The Drifters, The Shirelles, and Aretha Franklin. However, she was spurred on by traumas in her personal life to step into the spotlight as a bonafide singer. Beautiful‘s song list is jam packed with King’s timeless hits from the 60s and 70s, including (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.
Beautiful was written by the Oscar, Emmy, BAFTA, and Tony Award-nominated screenwriter Douglas McGrath, directed by Marc Bruni, and choreographed by Josh Prince. The talented ensemble is led by Esther Hannaford, one of Austalia’s most versatile and sought after performers. Hannaford has received accolades for her performances in Hairspray and Mr Burns, and she even picked up a Sydney Theatre Award for her recent turn in the cult musical classic Little Shop of Horrors. Beautiful‘s company is one of the most multicultural ever seen on the Australian stage, with performers from a mix of ethnic backgrounds including Aboriginal, Croatian, Tongan, and Zimbabwean. To celebrate the Australian premiere of Beautiful, Sony Music released a brand new tribute record, Beautiful: A Tribute to Carole King. It features adaptations of King’s classic songs by some of Australia’s most renowned performers, including Guy Sebastian and Human Nature.
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