(© Nathan Johnson)
Beautiful explores the early life and career of the four-time Grammy Award-winning King, from her Brooklyn upbringing (when she was still called Carol Klein) to her great success in the music industry with fellow writers and friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann and husband Gerry Goffin. Among the well-known songs written by King and Goffin are “Up on the Roof,” “The Loco-Motion,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”
Using a score culled from Goffin, King, Mann, and Weil’s catalogue of hits, Beautiful features a book by Academy Award nominee Douglas McGrath (Bullets Over Broadway). Marc Bruni (The Explorers Club) directs, with Josh Prince serving as choreographer.
Mueller has appeared on Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. In New York, she has also been seen in Carousel and Into the Woods.
Prior to its Broadway premiere, Beautiful will play an out-of-town tryout at San Francisco’s SHN Curran Theatre, September 24-October 20. Additional casting and information will be announced in the coming weeks.
(Album art via Amazon; Photo of Jessie Mueller © Nathan Johnson)
