Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets

90%

(5764 Reviews)

Positive

98%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Entertaining, Delightful, Great singing, Great acting, Must see

About the Show

The Tony and Grammy Award-winning Carole King musical tells the inspiring true story of one woman's remarkable journey from teenage songwriter to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Long before she was Carole King, chart-topping music legend, she was Carol Klein, Brooklyn girl with passion and chutzpah. She fought her way into the record business as a teenager and, by the time she reached her twenties, had the husband of her dreams and a flourishing career writing hits for the biggest acts in rock ‘n’ roll. But it wasn’t until her personal life began to crack that she finally managed to find her true voice. Featuring over two dozen pop classics, including "You've Got a Friend," "One Fine Day," "Up on the Roof," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," and "Natural Woman."

Member Reviews (5,764)

Enchanting, Great acting, Great writing, Must see, Great music

See it if this show is for everyone. Great story, great acting, great music.

Don't see it if you don't like Carole King's music

Clever, Delightful, Great writing, Great staging, Great acting

See it if you like Carole King songs. This play is greatly enhanced by Doug McGrath's funny, insightful script.

Don't see it if you don't like Carole King's music (you'll hear a lot of it during the evening).

Delightful, Entertaining, Sweet, Great music, Great acting

See it if You're a fan of Carole King or even not a fan. It's a crowd pleaser that most people can enjoy, especially if you grew up with her music.

Don't see it if You dislike Carole King and the time period it takes place.

Great singing, Entertaining, Surprisingly emotional, Refreshing, Delightful

See it if You’re in the mood for a jukebox musical that’s got some heart and soul to it. This is one of the best I’ve seen, good book, lots of energy.

Don't see it if You’re a millennial with no idea who Carol King is, don’t know, don’t like or don’t care about music from before your time. You’ll be bored. Read more

Absorbing, Delightful, Enchanting, Entertaining, Exquisite

See it if you like a major artist once upon a time. Really brings you inside tin can alley and also presents her life well.

Don't see it if don't like musicals or biographies of people.

Great singing, Great staging, Entertaining, Absorbing, Delightful

See it if you enjoy her early music and the real story behind much of it performed by an enthusiastic cast with strong singing and choreography.

Don't see it if musicals and biographical themes are not your thing. While having some down moments, this is an uplifting show if you grew up w/ this music.

Must see, Intelligent, Great acting

See it if You want a good story that goes one step beyond jukebox musical.

Don't see it if your heartbeat has flat-lined.

Refreshing, Ambitious, Romantic, Intelligent, Great singing

See it if you love Carol King's music. Lots of singing and dancing. Great 50's clothes. Feminist sensibility.

Don't see it if you don't like Carol King's music or romance with a feminist point of view.

Critic Reviews (23)

"Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” should probably be titled “Brooklyn Girl.” This renaming would allow theatergoers to know exactly what to expect of the friendly, formulaic bio-musical."
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"Perhaps such material can’t be well directed, but we will never know. What I can say is that Marc Bruni certainly hasn’t improved it. The show is full of clunky transitions, dead space, scenes that peter out until someone mercifully snaps off the lights."
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"McGrath, director Marc Bruni and the appealing performers don’t exactly break that mold by going for complexity. But while keeping things light and breezy, they have populated Beautiful with well-defined characters with relatable human foibles."
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"Watching Beautiful, the new jukebox musical celebrating the remarkable life and work of Carole King, you may not feel the earth move under your feet. But the new Broadway show emerges as a slick and joyous celebration of female empowerment."
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"The early life and career of legendary singer-songwriter Carole King surely deserves more imaginative treatment than the corny chronological storytelling and old-fashioned musical format of “Beautiful.” But all is forgiven, whenever Jessie Mueller, in the modest person of Carole King, sits down at the piano and pours heart and soul into familiar favorites from the composer’s songbook."
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"King made magic with her catalogue and it is an unqualified treat to hear her best-known hits performed live...Too bad a great musical isn’t only about the music. The book is crucial, too — and this show’s connect-the-dots story line is so simplistic that the extravagantly talented King’s life emerges as a mundane version of the long-suffering little woman."
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"Director Marc Bruni has taken the gift of a smart and economical script and run with it. Amid lightning-quick transitions, this show only decelerates when it wants to. Split-second costume changes (designer Alejo Vietti must be a witch) add to the magic and fun of the evening."
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