Review of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the New Victoria

Theatre, Woking
Review by: Max Topliss
Price of Ticket: £57 (Stalls)
Rating: ★★★★

It’s hard to over-state the importance of Carole King on the music

industry. Over a thousand artists have covered or released her songs
from The Shirelles and The Drifters to Celine Dion and Aretha Franklin.
As a solo artist King has had seven Top 10 albums and has recorded
some of the most well-known songs in pop history. Beautiful: The Carole
King Musical follows King (Daisy Wood-Davis) as she writes, falls in love
and soars to great musical heights.
The overture starts and we tumble through some of the most iconic King
masterpieces in a brash medley, ending with Wood-Davis sat at a grand
piano centre stage about to preform to Carnegie Hall on 18th June 1971.
The production then throws us back into the midst of 1950s America to
watch Kings rise to stardom.
Wood-Davis is elegant in her portrayal of King; with wonderful vocals
and a great portrayal of the southern twang that King is known for. Gerry
Goffin is played brilliantly by Adam Gillian. With appropriate swagger he
pulls off both the high-school jock and the budding playwright and
lyricist with a voice to match that of Wood-Davis. His emotions
sometimes seem to come from nowhere with some less nuanced choices
than the other principal cast.
King and Goffins best friends and contemporaries, Cynthia Weil and
Barry Mann are portrayed by Laura Baldwin and Cameron Sharp. I must
admit to being something of a ‘fan’ of Ms Baldwin, having seen her on
stage more times than most actresses, often unintentionally. In this
production she does not disappoint. Storming into the story with sass
and attitude she is instantly lovable as she speaks her mind and has
vocal agility and tone that is always a joy to hear. Sharp’s Mann is
suitably energetic and comedic as his love with Weil is played out as
honestly as King and Goffins.
The ensemble cast of this show are utilised extensively to play The
Drifter, The Righteous Brothers and various other performers and every
single one of them executes what must be a difficult track effortlessly
and should be commended.
Andrew Corcoran leads the eight-piece band and works tirelessly at the
keys. Every time a character is playing on stage, Corcoran is bringing
their (sometimes questionable) miming to life. As a pianist myself, I know
that Kings music is a joy to play, and Corcoran and the band breathe life
into Jason Howland and Steve Sidwell’s arrangements.
The technical and creatives have almost perfected this show, with flashes
of quick-changes and a versatile set but some lighting lets the actors
down by leaving them in shadow.
The principal cast need to get into their stride sooner; by the time we get
to You’ve Got a Friend in Act 2 they really get into their stride,
enveloping in harmony.
All in all, Kings music is matched with a wonderful cast which means we
all leave singing those timeless songs over and over.