Interview: Sara Sheperd Steps into Carole King's Shoes for the BEAUTIFUL National Tour

Sara Sheperd steps into the lead role of musician, songwriter, and singer Carole King in the BEAUTIFUL national tour. She chatted with BroadwayWorld Chicago about her long-standing connection with the show, and her excitement about returning to live performance and this iconic role.

How does it feel to be returning to live performance?

Oh my god, it's such a joy, and it's a little surreal. It's been 18 months since I've done anything close to this. It feels really incredible coming back to the stage and particularly this show. I've been a part of it from the beginning. I was a part of the original Broadway company. Stepping back into this world has been so incredible, like coming home.

Talk to me more about your journey with BEAUTIFUL. I know that you were previously in the ensemble on Broadway and on tour and that you understudied the role of Carole and Genie. How does it feel now to be playing that role on tour?

I mean to be able to do [the role of Carole] eight times a week, I'm so excited for it. I was a swing in the original Broadway company. I covered Carole, Genie, and two ensemble tracks. When you're an understudy, you go on once or twice maybe in a row. But it's sporadic. You don't really get to settle in. This opportunity of really being able to settle into [the role has been great[. I even had a rehearsal process. I'm able to play a little more and make it my own. I'm excited to do it eight times a week.

Carole King is an iconic musician and singer. How did you go about finding your way into the role of Carole and making it your own?

Before when the show was starting [on Broadway], I did a lot of listening to he,r of course. And, you know, there was never direction around having to sound like her, which was amazing and freeing. There wasn't that pressure of having to emulate exactly what she sounded like. That was helpful. I knew I could use my own voice, but I wanted to incorporate her musical stylings and how she phrased things.

I think Carole is such an authentic human. She is her truest self through her music and the way she walks through the world. That is what I want to bring into the role. I want to step onto the stage and be grounded and vulnerable and honest and open. And that is what makes Carole Carole. I hope bringing that to the piece does her justice and honors who she is.

What is your favorite song to perform?

My favorite song to perform is "Beautiful" at the end of the show. I love sitting down at that grand piano and pounding on those keys. That song in particular has my favorite lyrics. It always hit me right in the heart before the pandemic, and as we come out of it, it hits even harder. I love it. I love it so much. It's the end of the show. There's incredible energy.

What did you do during the pandemic shutdown to maintain your skills as a performer?

I will be very honest with you, there was a lot of laying on the couch. The Broadway show had just closed in October of 2019, and I had been in it for six years. There was this [moment of], "Oh, wow, the industry shut down." There's no hustle. There's this "Oh, we're going to chill for a second. It was nice for a month or two. And then it was like what's going on?

But as this job came around, I started warming up almost every day. I was in an acting class via Zoom on Monday nights, and that was even before I knew about the show. That was to keep my skills up, keep the muscles flowing or moving. And then it was just once I knew I had this job, I was thinking so much of it is stamina so I need to warm up every day. I need to make sure my instrument is strong. The voice is like any muscle in the body. You need to exercise it. You need to work it. I've really been focusing on the stamina.

What do you hope audiences take away from the show and from Carole King's story at this moment in time?

I hope audiences first and foremost get to walk out of this theater feeling joy. We have had a rough year and a half and just to go into the theater and escape a bit and hear these tunes, I think will be really incredible for people.

And also Carole's story shows that we get dealt some hard hands in life, and it's sort of up to us to make choices to try to overcome them. Those difficult times may be opportunities to create some beautiful things in my life. It's about overcoming challenges, which is once again tied directly to this time period in all of our lives and stepping into our own and finding our voice and finding our power. Carole has shown to do that in her life over and over again.

See Sara Sheperd as Carole King in BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL coming November 2-7 to Broadway In Chicago's CIBC Theater, 18 West Monroe Street. Visit BroadwayInChicago.com for tickets.

Interview by Rachel Weinberg

Interview responses have been edited and condensed for clarity

Headshot courtesy of Broadway In Chicago

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