The iconic tunes of singer-songwriter Carole King are heading to Broadway! Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which tells the story of the Grammy winner’s life and features her hit songs, will begin performances at a Broadway theater to be announced in spring 2014. Featuring songs written by King and Gerry Goffin, as well as Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and a book by screenwriter Douglas McGrath (Bullets Over Broadway), Beautiful is scheduled to play a pre-Broadway engagement this fall in a city to be announced shortly.
Beautiful tells the story of King, who was born Carol Klein: a Brooklyn girl with passion and chutzpah. She fought her way into the record business as a teenager, and by the time she reached her 20s, had the husband of her dreams and a hot career writing hits for the biggest acts in rock ‘n’ roll. But it wasn’t until her fairy tale life began to crack that she finally managed to find her true voice.
“What's so great about this for me is that musicals were a major influence on my songwriting,” King said in a statement. “In fact, when Gerry and I first met, we made a bargain that I would write music for the Broadway show he wanted to write if he wrote lyrics for my rock 'n’ roll songs. The songs took off, and the show idea never came to fruition. Now that our songs have merged with a Broadway show, we've come full circle.”
Along with her former husband Goffin, King wrote dozens of chart-topping songs for numerous artists, including “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” and “The Loco-Motion.” Although no song list for the new production has been released, as a singer-songwriter, King’s hits include “I Feel the Earth Move,” “It’s Too Late,” “You’ve Got a Friend” and “Where You Lead.” King has won four Grammy Awards and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Watch King perform her classic "It's Too Late" below!