carole king comes to the gong : at anita’s theatre

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical officially arrives at Anita’s Theatre in Thirroul this January 26-30th 2022, having delayed its season for close to two-years, due to the impacts of COVID-19 on live performances. 

The Tony-Award winning show, presented by Miranda Musical Society initially had its season slated to run in March 2020, however the production team made the difficult decision to postpone one week out from opening night. Now, the show makes its long-awaited debut at the historic Anita’s Theatre which has hosted seasoned performers including Jimmy Barnes, John Paul Young and Eskimo Jo. 

Brooklyn-born Carole King was a shy teenage songwriter, who went on to become one of the most successful female artists of the latter half of the 20th century; having written or co-written 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Her music became the soundtrack to a generation, writing chart topping hits for the biggest stars of Rock & Roll including The Beatles, James Taylor, Bobby Vee, Little Eva, The Shirelles and The Drifters.

 Her life story was later turned into an award-winning musical, which opened on Broadway in 2014 to worldwide acclaim and featured the music she wrote, alongside her first husband and writing partner, Gerry Goffin. The musical also features billboard hits from friends and rival writing duo, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. 

Miranda Musical Society’s production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will feature Shire-born performer Emilie Lawson, who will not only be playing the titular role of Carole, but will be playing “like” Carole, accompanying herself live on the piano for the duration of the show.

 Discussing the opportunity to play this iconic role, Emilie says, “Carole King is one of those pivotal artists who had such a big impact on the music of her time, writing hits such as Locomotion, You’ve Got a Friend and Natural Woman. Her music has and still does bring such joy and nostalgia to people across the world, and so I am looking forward to being able to share her story and songs on-stage for audiences.”

Emilie is joined by a trio of sublime talent including Christopher Melotti as Gerry Goffin, Tanya Boyle as Cynthia Weil and Stefan Jamal as Barry Mann. The four leads are surrounded by an exemplary cast and ensemble of 26 who hail from across the Illawarra and Sutherland Shire regions. 

Directed by industry veteran Col Peet, he brings a wealth of experience to the production having directed several Miranda Musical Society productions over the last 10 years including The Secret Garden and Phantom of the Opera. When discussing the impacts to the production due to COVID-19, he said, “It was definitely very heartbreaking to see the cast and crew’s hard work have to cease immediately right before show week, especially after six months of rehearsals. Adding to this, we also lost our theatre, meaning we had no venue to host our production. Thankfully, the team at Anita’s Theatre allowed us the opportunity to finally stage our production this January. While it’s nearly two years in the making, we promise you this show is ‘Beautiful’ (pun intended) and definitely worth coming along to.” 

The show’s Musical Direction is led by Peter Sampson, who will be leading the talented orchestra of 11 up to the main stage, where they will perform live behind the performers for the duration of the show. The show’s choreography has been provided by Dolores Dunbar and Kristen Hockley. 

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, will play at Anita’s Theatre in Thirroul from Wednesday 26th January until Sunday 30th September, with six shows available for audiences to attend. Tickets start from $45.50. 

For further information, or to purchase tickets, please visit: www.mirandamusicalsociety.com.au orwww.ticketmaster.com.au