BEAUTIFUL, The Carole King Musical

BEAUTIFUL, The Carole King Musical

Book by Douglas McGrath  

Words and Music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil

Music by Arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Orchestrations, Vocals, Incidental Music Arrangements by Steve Sidwell

Additional Music Arrangements by Jason Howland 

Originally Produced on Broadway by Paul Blake, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Mike Bosner

Directed by Scott Spence

Music Directed by Larry Goodpaster

Choreography by Lauren Marousek

Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) . All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com.

Locally Produced Premiere

July 12– August 11, 2024: Senney Theater

Additional Performances Thursday July 25, and August 1, 8, 2024

Sponsored by The John P. Murphy Foundation

A Tony and Grammy Award Winner, this nostalgic yet fresh musical tells the story of the early life and career of Carole King, using songs that she wrote, often together with Gerry Goffin, and other contemporary hit songs by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector and others. Beautiful features a song list including such timeless hits as, "So Far Away," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "You've Got a Friend," "I Feel the Earth Move," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and many more.

"Beautiful is a joyous celebration!" wrote Thom Geier of Entertainment Weekly.

Individual tickets will go on sale to the public Monday, July 10, 2023 and may be purchased at beckcenter.org with ticket prices from $38 (adults), $34 (for seniors 65 and older) and $17 for students with valid ID, and $12 for children 12 and under. A $3 service fee per single ticket will be applied at time of purchase. $1 ticket mailing fee. Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Preview performances are 7:30 p.m. the Thursday before opening night, with general-admission seating for $10. $10 Smart Seats® are available for each performance. For more information on the 2023-2024 Professional Theater Season please visit beckcenter.org. To purchase a subscription of season tickets please call 216-521-2540. Season ticket packages run $120 to $168. Flex passes run $120 to $336.

All performances are at theaters inside Beck Center for the Arts located at 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, just ten minutes west of downtown Cleveland. Free onsite parking is available. For more information visit beckcenter.org.

AUDITIONS:

Lakewood Ohio’s Beck Center for the Arts will hold auditions for “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” on February 19th and 20th.

Auditions slots will occur between 5PM and 8PM each day and are by APPOINTMENT ONLY. Times fill up quickly so get your appointment early. Appointments can be obtained by calling the Beck Center Box Office during regular business hours at 216-521-2540.

For Open Call auditions please prepare a single brief (90 seconds or less) vocal selection in either Pop or Broadway style. Bring sheet music in your key. An accompanist will be provided. Self accompanying on Piano or Guitar is also fine.

Video Auditions WILL be accepted thru February 20th. Please note that out of town actors need to be aware that Beck Center does NOT regularly have housing to provide except in rare instances. Please take that into account when submitting. Please submit to: scottdavidspence@gmail.com

It is expected that Two AEA contracts (SPT Tier 2) will be available. All other actors (Age 18 and over) are provided a modest stipend for their participation.

Callbacks for “Beautiful” will occur the weekend of Feb. 24/25 times TBD.

“Beautiful” opens Friday, July 12th and closes Sunday, August 11th and performs in the 484 seat Senney Theatre. Rehearsals are expected to begin in very late May or early June.

About “Beautiful” (Courtesy of Stageagent.com)

Beautiful tells the true story of Carole King’s meteoric rise to fame as one of the twentieth century’s foremost singer-songwriters. We are introduced to Carole when she is 16 and pitching her first song (“It Might As Well Rain Until September”) to New York music producer Don Kirshner. Soon after, she meets her future husband and creative collaborator, Gerry Goffin. In a musical whirlwind, the couple are married, King gives birth to their first child and the duo make a name for themselves in the music business, knocking out hit after hit. However, while their careers are on the rise, Carole’s personal life falls apart when Gerry announces that he wants an affair. As Carole tries to negotiate marriage, adultery and personal happiness, she is supported by friends and playful rivals, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. Although they all compete for number one hits on the pop chart, Carole relies on their support to change her life and find her own voice. Set in the vibrant pop industry of the 1960s and early 1970s, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical features a tapestry of musical hits from the creative songwriting teams of King and Goffin, Weil and Mann.

ROLES: (All roles are available! No early casting has occurred)

{Non-Doubled Roles}

Carole King  (Age Range 16 thru 30; F3 to F5---earthy sound)                                                                                                                                                                   

Gerry Goffin (Age 20 thru 34; C3 to G4 baritenor)                                                                                                                                                                  

Cynthia Weil  (Age 20 thru 32; F3 to E5 mezzo)  

 Barry Mann   (Age 22 thru 33; C3 to A4 w/ some rock chops)                                                                                                                                                               

Genie Klein  (Mid 40’s to Mid 50’s…Non-Singing)                                                                                                                                        

Don Kirshner (25 thru 40….Mostly Non-Singing)

Ensemble Doubling (12 to 16 performers, incl. 8 to 10 Black performers)

Betty (Carole’s 18 year old school friend)                

Lucille (Kirshner’s Secretary)           

Nick (a musician)                                                                                                                                                                

Marilyn Wald (a singer)           

Lou Adler (Music Producer)         

Neil Sedaka             

Bobb Vee                      

Gene Vincent,             

The Drifters (4 Males)                       

Lead Singer of The Diamonds             

The Shirelles (4 Females) 

Janelle Woods                                                

Little Eva                               

The Righteous Brothers

The song list that features group work goes on and on, and most require strong vocals and tight 3 part harmonies. In short, “Beautiful” requires an AMAZING Ensemble of performers. See Below~~~

“Splish Splash” {Bobby Darin}, “Love Potion Number Nine” {The Clovers}, “Poison Ivy” and “Yakity Yak” {The Coasters}, “Stupid Cupid” {Connie Francis}, “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” {Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers}, “Oh Carol” and “I Go Ape” {Neil Sedaka}, “Be Bop-a-Lula” {Gene Vincent}, “Up On The Roof”, “On Broadway”,  and “Some Kind of Wonderful” {The Drifters}, “The Locomotion” {Little Eva}, “Will You Still Love me Tomorrow?” {The Shirelles}, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” {The Righteous Brothers}, “One Fine Day” {The Chiffons…sung by the character Janelle Woods}, “Pleasant Valley Sunday”(Sung by the character of Marilyn Wald and others} and many more, Incl. back-up on many famous Carole King hits. 

Please feel free to email any questions not covered in the above information by writing to Scott Spence (Director of “Beautiful” and Beck Center Artistic Director) at scottdavidspence@gmail.com or scotts@beckcenter.org

 Beck Center practices color conscious casting when casting our shows. In addition, all are welcomed and encouraged to audition regardless of age, race, gender identity or ability.