Bronté Barbé in Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. Picture: Craig Sugden
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical continues at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff until 4 November and then tours until 23 June 2018.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Now two months into its UK tour, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical tells an unusual, although not unique, story, for the singer/songwriter was an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent which sent her to the top of the charts – cementing her status as a musical legend.
Her 1971 solo album release Tapestry jet-propelled her into an award-winning career as a songwriter. Beautiful tells the story, much of it in song, of King’s personal life, running parallel to, and in juxtaposition with, her career.
If you think this sounds too pedestrian let me correct you, for the show (directed by Marc Bruni) is about the music – the songs that King wrote, including such iconic numbers as ‘Take Good Care of My Baby’ and ‘It Might As Well Rain Until September’; incorporating a number of styles from the late 1950s through to the 1970s.
On the personal side, King’s story is not an unfamiliar one: the pressures of keeping ahead in the music industry, together with the demands of family life, led to cracks in her marriage to husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin.
This is a dark thread to the storyline (brought to life by Douglas McGrath), but one that runs beneath the surface of a feel-good show that sets your feet a-tapping to songs that meant so much to audiences in a changing world.
It could almost be described as a surfeit of pleasure for the cognoscenti of that era and therein lies its draw, plus the knowledge as we watch that there is so much that is still relevant to our world today.
To get down to the brass tacks of this production, the question must be: does Bronté Barbé cut the mustard as Carole King. The answer is yes, she does.
The role demands a great deal both as an actress and a singer and Barbé gets under the skin of the songwriter as she progresses from a talented and enthusiastic 16 year old to mature womanhood, her songwriting talent growing with her.
Barbé comes into her own in the final scene with the gulp-making ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’. Much rests on the actress’ shoulders and she comes up trumps.
The same can be said of Amy Ellen Richardson as the effervescent Cynthia Weil, the female half of King’s rivals in song. Weil’s other half in the music business (and would-be husband) Barry Mann is sympathetically played by Matthew Gonsalves whose theatre credits include the West End production of Beautiful.
As the talented but unstable Gerry Goffin, who King marries after becoming pregnant by him, Kane Oliver Parry (like Barbé, from the Mountview stable) gives a thoughtful portrayal, while Carole Royle’s Genie Klein (Carol’s Yiddisher Momma) is a gem.
Much of the success of this musical depends on the ensemble – and what a talent-filled group this is. Names are too numerous to mention individually, but the energetic foursome who sing and dance in the style of The Drifters deserve a special round of applause, as do the girls who appear as The Shirelles. Splendid choreography by Josh Prince shows off the dance skills in both instances.
The sliding panels of the Donald Gordon Theatre once again prove their worth, together with a clever backdrop, the depth of this splendid stage being well-suited to a production which includes onstage musicians.
Expert lighting designed by Peter Kaczorowski makes a major contribution, as do the costumes designed by Alejo Vietti, spot-on in context (such as the beaded and bedazzling outfits for ‘The Loco-Motion).
Barbara Michaels
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