Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Curve Leicester and Touring

Naomi Alade, Louise Francis, Molly-Grace Cutler and Amena El-Kindy in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Curve Leicester and Touring. Picture: Ellie Kurttz

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical continues at Curve Leicester until 12 March 2022, and then tours until 15 October.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The path of the jukebox musical is so often strewn with bad decisions, but sometimes a show comes along which vindicates its entire genre. Beautiful is a shining example of what can be achieved when the right motivations are in place, and this new production from Leicester Curve, Theatre Royal Bath Productions and the Mayflower Theatre (directed by Curve artistic director Nikolai Foster), Southampton elevates the tribute with exceptional skill.

We’re treated to an actor-musician cast full of delights – Sarah Travis’ new arrangements are inspired by Carole King’s Tapestry orchestrations and brim with joy.

King’s legacy, of course, is almost unfathomable. One of the great joys as an audience here is to delight in the discovery of her more unexpected back catalogue, from ‘The Loco-Motion’ to ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ and beyond.

What’s even better though is getting a glimpse into the life and evolution of the songwriters behind the stars and the scenery, and the contribution that they made to the music scene as we know it today. The story is crafted with great dedication to the lives and music of the writers rather than using the songs as a framework to hang a cut ’n’ paste narrative on.

There is some magnificent ensemble work here – Leah Hill’s choreography is packed with detail and understated energy, while the cast packs a massive vocal punch.

Standout, of course, is Molly-Grace Cutler as King. Cutler manages to find a really authentic voice within King’s inimitable repertoire – paying tribute without the burden of affectation. At once undecorated and multi-layered, her performance betrays a pure joy in the songs, and that’s at the heart of this show.

Brilliant too are Seren Sandham-Davies (Cynthia Weil), Jos Slovick (Barry Mann) and Tom Milner (Gerry Goffin), each lending a skilled hand to maintain a really human, funny current to the story – this is also a great strength of Douglas McGrath’s understated book. If that passionate restraint isn’t a tribute to King then what is?

If you love King or not – get yourself over to the Curve (or one of the touring venues) – you won’t regret it.

Aura Simon