On 28 November 2016 Matthew Seadon-Young and Barbara Drennan will join the West End cast of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical to play Gerry Goffin (Carole King’s husband and song-writing partner) and Genie Klein (King’s mother) respectively.
Cassidy Janson continues in the title role as well as Lorna Want as song-writer Cynthia Weil, a role for which she won the 2015 Olivier for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical and Ian McIntosh as song-writer Barry Mann. Joseph Prouse, who recently joined the company, plays Donnie Kirshner (music publisher and producer).
With a cast of 26 and an orchestra of 12, the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning show opened in the West End in February 2015 and earlier this year a further 200,000 new tickets were released for sale taking booking at the Aldwych Theatre to 22 July 2017. The performance schedule is Monday at 7.30pm, Tuesday at 2.30pm, Wednesday at 7.30pm, Thursday at 2.30pm and 7.30pm, Friday at 7.30pm and Saturday at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical is the untold story of her journey from school girl to superstar; from her relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, to her remarkable rise to stardom. Along the way, she became one of the most successful solo acts in music history, and wrote the soundtrack to a generation.
Matthew Seadon-Young was last on stage playing Tony, Billy’s brother, in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre. His other theatre credits include Sweeney Todd at the London Coliseum, Urinetown: The Musical at the Apollo Theatre, The Architects, a Shunt event at the Biscuit Factory in Bermondsey, The School for Scandal for the Theatre Royal Bath, She Stoops to Conquer for the National Theatre and Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre. Seadon-Young’s film credits include Pride and Les Misérables. He has also performed at the 2015 BBC Proms and in the Les Misérables ensemble at the 2013 Oscars Ceremony.
Barbara Drennan’s theatre credits include The Winter’s Tale, To Kill A Mockingbird, An Enemy of the People, The Family Way, Noises Off, A View from the Bridge, Love Story all at the Octagon Theatre Bolton, Sweeney Todd at the Manchester Royal Exchange and the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Season’s Greetings at the Theatre Royal Windsor and national tours of The Graduateand Over The Rainbow. Her television credits include A Touch of Cloth, By Any Means, Mayday, The Jury, Holby City, Emmerdale, EastEnders, Doctors, Brookside, Dangerfield and Bergerac. Drennan’s film credits include Brooklyn, Can’t Bank on Heaven, In The Dark, and Scary Movies.
Joseph Prouse’s theatre credits include Jesus Christ Superstar at the Regent’s Park Theatre, The Suicide for the National Theatre, Mack and Mable for Chichester Festival Theatre, Sweeney Todd at the London Coliseum, Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Vaudeville Theatre, I Can’t Sing and Oliver! at the London Palladium, Singin’ in the Rain at the Palace Theatre, Shrek at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theatre and Footloose at the Playhouse Theatre.
The cast (from 28 November 2016) will also include Gavin Alex, Georgie Ashford, Koko Basigara, Tsemaye Bob-Egbe, Ashford Campbell, Treyc Cohen, Natasha Cottriall, Michael Duke, Matthew Gonsalves, Jammy Kasongo, Leigh Lothian and Earl R. Perkins who play iconic musical performers and band members of the era and swings Derek Aidoo, Rosie Heath, Dominic Hodson, Emma Louise Jones, Jessica Joslin, Vicki Manser, David O’Mahony and Jaime Tait.
Beautiful - The Carole King Musical is based on the early life and career of legendary singer/ songwriter Carole King and book by Douglas McGrath with words and music by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and is directed by Marc Bruni. Choreography is by Josh Prince with set designs by Derek McLane, costume designs by Alejo Vietti, lighting by Peter Kaczorowski and sound by Brian Ronan. Orchestrations and Music Arrangements are by Steve Sidwell.
Beautiful - The Carole King Musical features the Carole King classics including So Far Away, It Might as Well Rain Until September, Take Good Care of my Baby, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, Up on the Roof, Locomotion, One Fine Day, You’ve Got a Friend, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and I Feel the Earth Move, along with hits like You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,On Broadway and Uptown from songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
The original Broadway cast recording of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical is available on Ghostlight Records via www.beautifulonbroadway.com/look-listen/music
Producers are Paul Blake, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Jeffrey A. Sine, Richard A. Smith, Mike Bosner, Harriet N. Leve/Elaine Krauss, Terry Schnuck, Orin Wolf, Patty Baker/Good Productions, Roger Faxon, Larry Magid, Kit Seidel, Lawrence S. Toppall, Fakston Productions/Mary Solomon, William Court Cohen, BarLor Productions, Matthew C. Blank, Tim Hogue, Joel Hyatt, Marianne Mills, Michael J. Moritz, Jr., StylesFour Productions, Brunish & Trinchero and Jeremiah J. Harris.
