Last weekend, I watched Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. I decided to see it because I realized that I have been seeing a lot of shows that are presented by foreign producers and that feature foreign performers and I wanted to support local shows too. I went with a couple of friends and I'm very happy I saw it because I enjoyed the show tremendously.
I actually didn't know enough about this musical except for the fact that it featured songs of legendary song-writer Carole King, such as So Far Away, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, and You've Got a Friend. I actually thought it would be something like Mamma Mia where you have a story about fictitious people and the music would be performed as part of their story. As it turns out, Beautiful is about the life of Carole King - the music she wrote and the music of her time, the significant people in her life, her trials and tribulations, and of course her triumphs. It was very interesting to see the friendly competition she and her husband had with their best friends when it came to writing music and having their songs sung by popular artists. It also allowed us to see what Carole was thinking when she wrote her songs. When I now listen to the lyrics of It's Too Late, I now have a better understanding of the context of that song in relation to what she was going through and it makes me appreciate the song even more. Of course, a musical about Carole cannot be complete without including her critically-acclaimed and most commercially successful album Tapestry, which is regarded as one of the best albums of all time.
It was really great to hear all these incredible songs written by Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, and other artists all in the same show. (Apparently, Neil Sedaka's Oh! Carol is named after Carole King, whom he dated in high school.) The downside for me to having such familiar songs is that at least a few people in the crowd sang along. I don't particularly enjoy hearing the audience sing along in musical theater because I want to hear the amazing voices of the artists LOL. The cast was great, including Kayla Rivera as Carole, Nick Varricihio as Gerry, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante as Cynthia, and George Schulze as Barry. I also really like the set, with its psychedelic sixties design. Unfortunately, photos inside the theater are not allowed.
I highly recommend Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. It is showing at the Meralco Theater until July 7 so see it while you still can. Tickets are available at Ticketworld.
I actually didn't know enough about this musical except for the fact that it featured songs of legendary song-writer Carole King, such as So Far Away, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, and You've Got a Friend. I actually thought it would be something like Mamma Mia where you have a story about fictitious people and the music would be performed as part of their story. As it turns out, Beautiful is about the life of Carole King - the music she wrote and the music of her time, the significant people in her life, her trials and tribulations, and of course her triumphs. It was very interesting to see the friendly competition she and her husband had with their best friends when it came to writing music and having their songs sung by popular artists. It also allowed us to see what Carole was thinking when she wrote her songs. When I now listen to the lyrics of It's Too Late, I now have a better understanding of the context of that song in relation to what she was going through and it makes me appreciate the song even more. Of course, a musical about Carole cannot be complete without including her critically-acclaimed and most commercially successful album Tapestry, which is regarded as one of the best albums of all time.
The souvenir program si designed to look like a vinyl record. Cool!
It was really great to hear all these incredible songs written by Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, and other artists all in the same show. (Apparently, Neil Sedaka's Oh! Carol is named after Carole King, whom he dated in high school.) The downside for me to having such familiar songs is that at least a few people in the crowd sang along. I don't particularly enjoy hearing the audience sing along in musical theater because I want to hear the amazing voices of the artists LOL. The cast was great, including Kayla Rivera as Carole, Nick Varricihio as Gerry, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante as Cynthia, and George Schulze as Barry. I also really like the set, with its psychedelic sixties design. Unfortunately, photos inside the theater are not allowed.
I highly recommend Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. It is showing at the Meralco Theater until July 7 so see it while you still can. Tickets are available at Ticketworld.
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