"Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

For their third regional premiere in a row, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) is presenting Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. It's interesting that it follows on the heels of their regional premiere of Jersey Boys, because that 2006 Tony-winning bio-musical about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons set the standard for the bio-musical and spawned a bunch more of the like, of which Beautiful (premiering in 2014), is one of the better ones. You can definitely see some similarity in structure between the two shows, both feature recognizable hits from the mid 20th Century, and both are really more like plays with music than musicals (most of songs are sung in context - in a studio or at a concert). As Artistic Director Michael Brindisi says, they went from the Jersey boys to the Brooklyn girl. And this first #TCTheater production is big, bold, and yes - beautiful. With an outrageously talented ensemble, super smooth transitions between the many mini scenes and songs, and unstoppable momentum that makes each act of this 2.5-hour-long musical feel like 20 minutes, Beautiful is not to be missed. It's playing through the end of September so you have plenty of time to get out to the Western metro for this celebration of one of the most prolific songwriters of 20th Century American popular music.

Preview of the Regional Premiere of "Beautiful: the Carole King Musical" at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

For their third regional premiere in a row, following the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers' favorite musical of 2023 The Prom and the crowd-pleaser Jersey Boys, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is bringing Beautiful: the Carole King Musical to their main stage (note: there was a production in Alexandria MN last summer at Theatre L'Homme Dieu, but this is the first one in the seven-county metro area). You can still catch the Frankie Valli jukebox musical Jersey Boys now through February 24, but beginning March 1, the Chan is moving on from the Jersey boys to the Brooklyn girl (as noted by director Michael Brindisi). I was fortunate enough to be invited to a special preview event last Saturday afternoon, which made me even more excited to see the show this spring. Beautiful premiered on Broadway in 2014 and ran for over five years. The first national tour came to Minneapolis for two weeks in the fall of 2015, about which I wrote, "Although it feels at times like a baby boomer tribute concert, Beautiful truly is just that - beautiful - as it celebrates this remarkable woman's talents and life story." A tribute concert that also tells the true story of the woman behind all of these iconic songs - what's not to love about that?!

"Beautiful - The Carole King Musical" at the Orpheum Theatre

"You've got to get up every morning with a smile on your face, and show the world all the love in your heart." The opening lyrics of prolific songwriter Carole King's "Beautiful" paint a pretty picture, but as we learn in the biographical jukebox musical of the same name, her real life wasn't always pretty. Pregnant and married at 17, divorced by 26, she still managed to become one of the most successful songwriters of the 20th Century with such well-known hits as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "Up on the Roof," "You've Got a Friend," and "Natural Woman." Beautiful - The Carole King Musical tells Carole's life story as she finds her own voice, culminating in her Grammy-winning 1971 solo album Tapestry. Although it feels at times like a baby boomer tribute concert, Beautiful truly is just that - beautiful - as it celebrates this remarkable woman's talents and life story.