Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Birmingham Hippodrome

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by Alison Brinkworth (subscribe)

Freelance journalist in Birmingham with a passion for the dynamic theatre, art, food and fashion scene in Britain's 'Second City'.

Event: 07/11/2017 - 11/11/2017

You Got A Friend In Award-Winning Show

For those not affay with singer Carole King, you may not think you know her work until you see the long list of her instantly recognisable songwriting creations.

Carole King Musical, Beautiful, tour, Birmingham Hippodrome

Carole King was an inspired music writer

This is the first UK tour of Olivier award-winning musical Beautiful, which charts King's incredible life story from schoolgirl to legendary music star.

It will stop off at venues including Birmingham Hippodrome from November 7 to 11 as it ventures nationwide.

The show has already been a West End hit and a part of that is down to the music. Featuring plenty of well-known hits, the show includes tracks You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman, Up on the Roof and Locomotion.

Music from across the decades features in Beautiful

Other songs in the soundtrack are also Take Good Care Of My Baby, You've Got a Friend, So Far Away and It Might As Well Rain Until September.

Beautiful retells the true story of King's rise to fame and incorporates the songwriting work with her husband Gerry Goffin and her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann.

The journey also shows how King was influenced to write the soundtrack to a generation with heartwarming moments and sad ones too.

An interesting stage for Beautiful musical

King was just a teenager when she first showed signs of wanting a music career and sold her first hit single, Will You Love Me Tomorrow at the tender age of 17.

Soon after, she was writing tracks for huge acts like Aretha Franklin, The Shirelles, The Drifters and The Monkees, but personal issues led to King becoming even more expressive in her songs.