Feel the earth move and relive the songs of one of the most prolific female songwriters in history when Pitlochry Festival Theatre premières an exciting new production of the award-winning West End and Broadway musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
Follow the inspiring story of Carole King’s journey from schoolgirl to superstar; from her relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, to their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, to her remarkable rise to stardom. Along the way, she became one of the most successful solo acts in music history and wrote the soundtrack to a generation.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical charts the ups and downs of her incredible journey, featuring unforgettable classics including You’ve Got a Friend, One Fine Day, So Far Away, Take Good Care of My Baby, Up on the Roof, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, and (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman.
The Broadway production opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on 12 January 2014 and quickly became one of the highest grossing shows in New York. It was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, with Jessie Mueller taking home the award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Carole King.
Playing the title role of Carole King will be Kirsty Findlay who was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role along with the 2016 cast of the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour. Her other theatre work includes Islander: A New Musical (Southwark Playhouse/Helen Milne Productions) and most recently A Mother’s Song (Macrobert Arts Centre and KT Producing).
The production’s fantastic cast will also feature Lola Aluko (Medea, National Theatre of Scotland and The Demon Headmaster, CBBC) as Cynthia; Chris Coxon (The Wizard of Oz, The Watermill Theatre and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, Leicester Curve/UK Tour) as Neil Sedaka; Theo Diedrick (Sleeping Beauty, Theatr Clwyd and The True Adventures of Marian and Robin Hood, The Barn Theatre) as Barry; Connor Going (Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Footloose, West End, UK & International Tour) as Gerry Goffin; Charlotte Grayson (Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and The Lord of the Rings, The Watermill Theatre) as Shirelle; Nina Kristofferson (Nina Kristofferson’s Billie Holiday Story and Medea, Northern Broadsides) as Janelle; Signe Larsson (The Wizard of Oz, The Watermill Theatre) as Lucille; Myles Miller (Alice In Wonderland, Liverpool Everyman Playhouse and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Curve and UK Tour) as Drifter; Wendy Paver (The Blonde Bombshells of 1943 and Summer Holiday, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Footloose, UK tour) as Genie; Elizabeth Rowe (Made in Dagenham, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch / New Wolsey Theatre and One Man, Two Guvnors, Nuffield Theatres Southampton) as Marilyn; Robin Simpson (The Railway Children, York Theatre Royal and Much Ado About Nothing, Northern Broadsides) as Donnie Kirshner; Luke Thornton (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole the Musical, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Summer Holiday, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) as Nick, Luke Wilson (Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company and Rockets and Blue Lights, National Theatre) as Lou Adler. All other roles will be played by the cast.
The book of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is by Douglas McGrath with words and music by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil. It is directed by Sam Hardie (To the Bone, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), designed by Jessica Worrall (Group Portrait in a Summer Landscape, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), with music directed by Richard Reeday (Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), lighting by Jeanine Byrne (A Streetcar Named Desire, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), movement directed and choreographed by Sundeep Saini (Passion, Hope Mill Theatre) and sound design by Hugh Barbour and Toby McFarlane.
Director Sam Hardie said: “I am absolutely thrilled and so excited to be working with an incredible company of creatives to tell the mighty Carole King’s story and sing her songs at the beautiful Pitlochry Festival Theatre. There is so much to say about Carole King and what she did for music, women and what she gave the world – you will see it shine so bright in this brilliant story.
Audiences can expect a celebration of hits from Carole King and artists like The Shirelles and The Drifters. You wouldn’t believe everyone she and her friends have written for.
Carole has a way in her music of saying ‘I’m here’ and simultaneously making you want to dance with joy, burst into tears or get ready for action.
That’s the journey I hope we can take the audience on – full of feeling, reminding us it will be okay and when it’s not, we can hold onto love.”
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical runs at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 7 June until 28 September. Tickets and further information are available from the Box Office on 01796 484626 or online at pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com.
