BEAUTIFUL – OCT 3-7

Full casting has been announced for the smash-hit musical which tells the story of an iconic singer-songwriter and is already proving to be one of the city’s hottest theatre tickets of the year.

Bronté Barbé is to portray Carole King in Beautiful, which heads to Norwich Theatre Royal on October 3-7. She shot to fame in 2010 as a finalist on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC1 TV show Over The Rainbow and since then has appeared in both the West End and on tour across the UK in the likes of Cool Rider and Shrek.

Its visit to Norwich is the latest chapter in the show’s huge success story. Beautiful received its Broadway premiere in January 2014 and continues to play to packed houses. It also enjoyed a hugely successful tour of the US in 2015-16 as well as a triumphant two-and-a-half-year run in the West End. It has also just opened in Tokyo and has an autumn run in Australia too.

Beautiful tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom from being part of a hit song-writing team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, which led to her becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history.

Along the way, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation, including one of the best-selling albums of all time, Tapestry, and countless classics such as (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Take Good Care of My Baby, You’ve Got a Friend, So Far Away, It Might as Well Rain Until September, Up On The Roof and The Locomotion. The show also includes the Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann hit songs You’ve Lost that Lovin Feeling, On Broadway and We Gotta Get out of This Place.

Joining Bronté in the cast is Kane Oliver Parry who plays Gerry Goffin. A hugely experienced stage performer, his previous credits including Carousel and Sweeney Todd at London’s Coliseum, Wicked and Urinetown in the West End, and the international arena tour of We Will Rock You.

Meanwhile the role of Cynthia Weil is played by Amy Ellen Richardson who is also no stranger to the West End starring in shows like Les Misérables, Crazy For You and Merrily We Roll Along, as well as the UK tour of Singin’ In The Rain.

Fellow song-writer Barry Mann is played by Matthew Gonsalves who appeared in Beautiful in the West End. As well as a strong theatrical pedigree, he has also been a singer and vocal arranger for the likes of Florence and the Machine, Westlife, Will Young, Leona Lewis and Barry Manilow.

And the show also stars noted TV and theatre actress Carol Royle as Carole King’s mother Genie Klein. As well as appearing in Moonlight at the Donmar Warehouse and the UK tour of An Ideal Husband, she has also appeared in a host of small-screen shows including Casualty, Life Without George and Doctors.

John Bultitude, of Norwich Theatre Royal, said: “Beautiful is proving to be extremely popular. With its international reputation, a strong cast and a celebration of iconic hits, we are delighted this show is coming to the city. Box office business for it is buoyant, so don’t miss out on seeing the show during its week-long run.”

Listing:

Beautiful, Tuesday 3-Saturday 7 October at 7.30pm, and Wed, Thurs and Sat matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets £8-£48.50. Discounts for Friends, Corporate Club, Over-60s, Under-18s and Groups. Captioned performance on Wed 4 Oct at 2.30pm. Audio-described performance on Sat 7 Oct at 2.30pm.
To book, log onto www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk or call the box office on 01603 630000