BEAUTIFUL – THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL Debuts at the Van Wezel Next Month

The Van Wezel will welcome the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway hit Beautiful - The Carole King Musical to Sarasota on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. The musical is based on the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter Carole King. More than five million audience members worldwide have been entertained by the celebration of Carole King's story and her timeless music.

With a book by Tony and Academy Award-nominee Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni and choreography by Josh Prince, Beautiful features a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil. On October 27, 2019, the Broadway production of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical ended its smash-hit, record-breaking run after nearly six years. By the time the production took its final bow, it played 60 preview and 2,418 regular performances, surpassing the original production of Annie and the landmark 1998 revival of Cabaret to become the 27th longest-running musical (and the second longest running "bio-musical") in Broadway history. On Broadway, the show was seen by almost 2,200,000 audience members (including, quite famously, King herself) and is the longest-running and highest-grossing show in the history of the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

Long before she was Carole King, the chart-topping music legend, she was Carol Klein, Brooklyn girl with passion and chutzpah. She fought her way into the record business as a teenager and, by the time she reached her twenties, had the husband of her dreams and a flourishing career writing hits for the biggest acts in rock 'n' roll. But it wasn't until her personal life began to crack that she finally managed to find her true voice. Beautiful tells the inspiring true story of King's remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Along the way, she made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation. Beautiful features a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, including "I Feel The Earth Move," "One Fine Day," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "You've Got A Friend" and the title song.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical (Ghostlight Records) won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and is available on CD, digitally, and on vinyl.

Locally sponsored by Wilde Lexus Sarasota and ABC 7.

Tickets start at $67 and can be purchased at www.VanWezel.org, by calling the box office at 941-263-6799 or by visiting the box office Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All other single tickets for the Van Wezel's 2021-2022 season are on sale now. For the latest Safety Protocols, visit the Van Wezel's Safety Page. Protocols will be revisited and revised as circumstances evolve.

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