Out and About: Beautiful – The Carole King Musical at Dr. Phillips Center

- Michelle Snow

This week, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical is at Dr. Phillips Center, and I had the opportunity to see the show opening night.

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical at Dr. Phillips Center

The musical tells the story of singer-songwriter Carole King, starting with her teenage years in the 1950’s when she met her husband Gerry Goffin and the two began writing songs together.

I knew King had written a few of the classics from the late 50’s/early 60’s, but I was amazed at how many songs she wrote that I didn’t know about.

Among the King/Goffin hits performed in the musical are “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles, “One Fine Day” by The Chiffons, “Up on the Roof” by The Drifters, and “Pleasant Valley Sunday” by The Monkees.

They even wrote a song for their babysitter Little Eva – “The Loco-Motion” hit #1 on the charts and has been covered by Kylie Minogue in the 80s.

The musical also delves into King’s personal life, including troubles with her husband, and the birth of their daughter.

All of this leads up to King writing her hit album, Tapestry, and includes several songs from that, including “I Feel the Earth Move,” which closes the show.

This was an amazing show. The cast is stellar, the dialogue is at turns witty and funny, then poignant and emotional, and the musical performances take you right back to that era. I highly recommend seeing it if you can.

Tickets are still available for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical for shows through Sunday, May 8, at drphillipscenter.org.

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical at Dr. Phillips Center

Disclaimer: I received tickets for this review. As always, my opinions are honest and my own.

About Michelle Snow

Michelle is the owner and editor of CitySurfing Orlando. She also owns Zengrrl.com, is a freelance writer specializing in travel and entertainment, has authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida, and was head editor/writer at TheDisneyBlog.com for 10 years. She's lived in Orlando near Walt Disney World since 1995, and still finds there's so much fun to be had in Central Florida.
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