Wales Millennium Centre – until 14 March 2020
Reviewed by Rhys Payne
4****
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, which recently landed at the Wales Millennium Centre, is a true celebration of the music of this insanely talented and iconic songwriter/performer!
I have to be honest before this show I knew barely anything about Carole King so walking into this show I didn’t really know what to expect. At its most fundamental level, this show is there to showcase Carole’s music as the entire musical is almost a jukebox of her greatest hits and the focus remained on the songs constantly. Its purpose is obviously to shine a light on the life and success of Carole King and as I learnt something new about the singer/songwriter it succeeds in doing this perfectly. Like I said I didn’t know much about King but it appeared that lots of the more mature audience members did and so it was clearly an issue due to my age. This is a show for an older audience who are familiar with King and her works but I personally missed the nostalgia of this show as I wasn’t around when the music was originally realised. On top of this, the show, in general, was somewhat slow-moving (due to the nature of the songs ) and every character was relatable/realistic rather than the massive over-the-top characters you see in many musicals. In fact, the show itself addressed this when King says “I’m just an ordinary girl.” The tying together of dialogue with the character types on stage is a very clever thing to do which made the show very enjoyable to watch. The songs which included microphones on stands was an honest reflection of how songs are recorded but did restrict the movement of the actors and so dancing at times was very limited. All these ideas show a lot of similarities to the Motown Show, where iconic bands appear to sing the songs as a part of the show (which Beautiful also did) I do think this at times is confusing as new characters/bands are introduced for one song and then disappear again but if you are familiar with the songs being covered by a certain artist/band then I suppose this is done to really turn up the nostalgia level.
A highlight of this performance was obviously Daisy Wood-Davis who played the incomparable Carole King. Wood-Davis showed many different skills within her performance and really solidified herself as a talented force to be reckoned with. The most noticeable thing was her being able to play extremely complex piano melodies while singing at the same time. If you have read any of my reviews before, you will know I hate musical instrument props that are only mimed as it looks awful but in this production, Daisy played the piano perfectly which really helped with the softness of the character she was portraying. On top of this, her acting as the young and innocent Carole was so believable and perfectly performed that it made the rest of the narrative so understandable and believable. Daisy has an incredible voice but it was only truly showcased in a final couple of musical numbers. The closing songs “(You Make me Feel Like) a Natural Women” and the titular song “Beautiful” were flawlessly performed with the former being one of the best renditions of that song I have heard in a long time!
Carole King’s husband Gerry Goffin was played by the marvellous Adam Gillian who managed to perform every aspect of his character with ease. This character started as being lovable and friendly but goes through more darker periods throughout the show. It is incredibly important that this show portrays mental health issues, especially in men, and Adam managed to perform the darker scenes in a very respectable manner. Gerry is somewhat of a frustrating character due to some of his questionable actions in this show and it is only towards the end of the show that we finally see Carole stand on her own two feet. As Adam was able to perform this role in such a way that when Carole eventually rises up the audience is behind her (which is a testament to both Daisy and Adam’s excellent portrayals if there characters.) From the programme I notice that Adam is a relatively I discovered artist and I am sure he is destined for incredible things after this tour and he is someone to keep a close eye on!
Staging wise the set mostly stayed the same through although the one highlight for me was the lobby of the studio. The lights, positioning of actors across high and low levels, set and singing really helped to create a party-like vibe which even the audience felt brought into. This was very cleverly created and performed! The dancing in this show really fitted the style and nature of the show itself. The choreographer (Josh Prince) clearly worked hard to develop dances that were suitable for the era the show is set in whilst also working extremely hard with the dancers themselves to have them perform to their best possible standard which was fantastic to see.
Overall, Beautiful – the Carole King Musical is a fanatic celebration of King’s music and showcases her life to people who may not be familiar to her. I personally ‘missed’ a certain level of the show but I am aware that if you are familiar with her music then this is a nostalgic trip down memory lane! I would rate this show 4 stars and would encourage any Carole King fans to catch this show before it is gone!