Theatre

‘Beautiful’ brings the life and music of Carole King to Manchester’s Palace Theatre

An emotional and spellbinding tribute to an icon whose influence reaches even further than you think.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 12th October 2022

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical returned to Manchester this week and The Manc were kindly invited along to the press night. We of course accepted because we’re cultured like that.

Scores of excitable theatre heads were shuffling in the cold autumn queues for the packed-out show at the historic Palace Theatre on opening night on Tuesday, 12 October.

Charting the life and career of legendary singer-songwriter Carole King, the show takes you through her early days as a four-year-old piano prodigy, selling her first single at the age of 16 and marrying her creative partner Gerry Goffin to headlining Carnegie Hall and becoming a global music sensation.

Credit: The Manc

Known for solo hits like ‘You’ve Got a Friend’, ‘So Far Away’, ‘It’s Too Late’ and dozens more, the production was part musical part history lesson, taking a whirlwind tour through the music industry in the 1960s and 70s.

While we came into the show thinking we knew a fair few tracks in her lengthy discography – ‘Take Good Care of My Baby’, ‘The Loco-Motion’, ‘Natural Woman’ and so on – we were surprised to learn just how much she has written over her illustrious career. This legend even wrote for The Beatles.

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Seeing her personal and professional life play out on her way to eventually writing and singing songs for herself not only felt like an emotional trip back in time but almost fly on the wall documentary at times, only with big dramatic set-pieces fitting of the Palace’s equally beautiful room.

Previous cast pictured above

King herself is passionately portrayed by Molly Grace-Cutler, a 2020 Olivier award-winner who proves to be perfect casting as the Brooklyn-raised songstress.

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Aside from her soaring vocals throughout its 2-hour run-time (excluding interval), her performance felt full of raw pain and joy in equal spades whilst still sprinkling plenty of comic relief, as did the rest of the ensemble.

Beyond the likes of Goffin (Tom Milner) and fellow 60s songstress Cynthia Weil (Seren Sandham-Davies) – who both enjoyed several stunning solos and big story beats as key players in King’s eventful life – we were particularly impressed with Jos Slovick, who starred as songwriting rival Barry Mann.

Molly Grace-Cutler and Tom Milner
Seren Sandham-Davies and Jos Slovick
Credit: Supplied

One of several main characters in the Brill Building and Dimension Records-era of her story, Slovick played the rosy-cheeked, allergy-ridden hit-maker and did so to perfection, regularly leaving the audience in stitches as well as taken aback by his soft vocals.

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To be honest, we loved them all.

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The performance was met with a well-deserved standing ovation and an encore that got the crowd moving for one last song. We couldn’t think of a better way to go out than with a boogie.

Even for theatre newbies, we dare say this smash hit Broadway and West End show could convert you and even if doesn’t end up as a gateway musical, it’s nigh on impossible for any music-lover not to get engrossed in this true story.

You can buy tickets for the remaining dates of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical via ATG HERE. The show finishes its five-day run on Saturday, 15 October, so get them while you can!

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Supplied

Theatre

Come From Away at The Lowry – a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope

Oli Lowe Oli Lowe Come From Away at The Lowry - a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope

Let’s start with a summary of Come From Away – this is a theatre show about a small town on the coast of Canada, that when disaster shook the world on September 11th 2001, offered accommodation to over 7,000 passengers whose flights had been diverted due to the American airspace being closed.  

On the surface, you wouldn’t read the above summary of events and think ‘Let’s turn that cheery story into a musical’ but you simply have to believe me when I tell you that it just works.

Come From Away isn’t a story about disaster or tragedy (although both do feature heavily for obvious reasons) – it’s a story about community, hope and how when faced with the toughest of circumstances people are capable of extraordinary things.

The show opens in the unsuspecting town of Gander, Canada on the morning of 9/11. Gander was once home to the world’s largest airport, in a time gone by, when planes used to have to stop immediately after crossing the Atlantic.

This meant that Gander was the first place in North America that people such as The Beatles or even The Queen, ever landed. However, as we begin our story, Gander is now a small town with a population of about 11,000 and a derelict Airport, barely fit for purpose.

These circumstances changed very quickly when at 8:46am on September 11th 2001, a terrorist attack was committed on the World Trade Centre, New York. With the US airspace immediately closed, with all airborne planes now suspected to be terrorist weapons, all flights crossing the Atlantic had to be diverted to the nearest Canadian airport… Gander.   

Come From Away at The Lowry - a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope
Come From Away at The Lowry – a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope

This creates a scenario whereby within minutes a quiet unassuming town on the coast of Canada is expected to welcome over 7000 passengers from 38 different flights, without warning, without proper preparation and without any indication as to how long they’ll be staying.

When this tale is brought to life, it’s one that will bring you to tears. I have never in my life cried so much at a musical, which I know might not sound like the most resounding endorsement but it’s truly meant to be. There were of course sad tears, heartbreaking tears and sorrowful tears but there were also tears of joy, tears of quiet happiness and tears of hope.

When you think of the horrific events of 9/11, your thoughts immediately turn to the epicentre, to New York. I’d never considered the wider implications of that day, how thousands of people flying must have had their lives turned upside down, how panicked loved ones all across the world must have been, how communities globally were affected and how a small town in a completely different country was called into action.

I don’t want to give too much away in regards to the actual characters within this story or how their journeys play out through what must of been an incredibly tough time, but what I will say is that the characters in this story, all of whom are directly based on real people (more on that later), are some of the most inspirational human beings I’ve ever come across.

Come From Away is at The Lowry until 5 January
Come From Away is at The Lowry until 5 January

The show stars an extraordinary ensemble performance, with no leads or ‘main characters’, instead each of the twelve actors play a multitude of characters, whose stories inevitably intertwine with one and others. 

The staging and choreography for this show are also fantastic, very minimalist with the set mainly being made up of just chairs and small props, leading the audience to use their imaginations to fill in blanks.

I sadly can’t guarantee this at every performance of Come From Away but at the curtain call the night we watched, the real residents of Gander from whom the story is based on, came onto stage and gave a speech about how ‘none of them are heroes but instead just people who decided to do the right thing’… Which inevitably led to more tears from me and an even deeper appreciation of the show. 

I think this story is truly needed in the world we’re living in at the moment, with global tensions high, an economy that doesn’t favour most of us, and a lot of the world feeling more separated than ever before. This story, this beautiful, heartwarming and inspirational story shows us how even through the toughest of circumstances, we can work together for the betterment of everyone.

Please go and watch Come From Away. It’s one of the most beautiful stories I’ve seen brought to the stage and it deserves endless support from us Mancs whilst here in Salford.

It’s running throughout the festive season till 5 January and I guarantee you’ll walk away from it feeling just that little bit more hopeful about the world we live in. 

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Theatre

Wicked at the Palace Theatre – the magical musical EVERYONE is talking about arrives in Manchester

Kristen MacGregor-Houlston Kristen MacGregor-Houlston Wicked at the Palace Theatre, Manchester - the musical EVERYONE is talking about

It seems everywhere you turn right now, everything is pink and green – Wicked has hit the cinemas and everyone is well and truly drinking the green elixir.

Coincidentally, the touring theatre show of Wicked, celebrating 21 years since the first Broadway show and 18 years since debuting in the West End, has landed in town. While everyone else is following the yellow brick road to the big screen, I followed it to the Palace Theatre in Manchester.

Now we all think we know the story of Dorothy, poor girl whipped away from home in a tornado and crushing an evil witch with her house – we’ve all been there. This story however, tells the story from the “Wicked” Witch of the West’s perspective, filled with mind-blowing vocal acrobatics from a cast that just won’t let up.

Floating in on a giant mechanical bubble enters Glinda, or “Garlinda” as she prefers to be called, Sarah Pickford sets the standard for the show. An operatic entrance, the audience is in absolute awe. A well known character, Sarah makes the Good Witch of the North her own with a comical kindness.

Laura Pick, who has played the role of Elphaba at the Apollo Victoria before, takes opening night in her green stride – her love for the character shines through and her voice. Her VOICE. Her rendition of Defying Gravity had me in tears. I knew the song was good, but not this good. The audience is electrified by her performance.

The storytelling of the show is sublime, with every cast member pulling you deeper and deeper in through gravity-defying dance numbers and the set is absolutely jaw-dropping. The mechanical Wizard of Oz (voiced and played by the fantastic Simeon Truby) is something to behold.

Wicked is in Manchester at the Palace Theatre. Credit: Supplied
Wicked is in Manchester at the Palace Theatre. Credit: Supplied

Other notable performances come from Carl Man (who plays love interest Fiyero), Donna Berlin (the surprisingly cruel Madame Morrible), Jed Berry (the googly-eyed Munchkin Boq) and Megan Gardiner. Megan plays Elhpaba’s sister Nessarose, another character desperate for love but sadly becomes quite sinister.

Like the cogs in the Wizard’s head, the presence of each cast member keeps the show running like a well oiled machine.

The story itself is one of an outsider, desperate to be loved and accepted for her difference, who finds friendship in unlikely places and how two people can change for the better. Of course, like often in life, a man tries to ruin it (surprise surprise).

Wicked is back at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. Credit: Mark Senior
Wicked is back at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. Credit: Mark Senior

A light is shone on how easily society can be whipped into a frenzy to protect their own beliefs and how love can withstand so much.

The absolute star of the show however, is the iconic soundtrack and how awe-inspiring everyone is at singing. Genuinely, it was nearly impossible to not provide a standing ovation after every song. It was just that good. I’m even listening to the soundtrack right now as I write this on the tram home. I can’t (and don’t want to) get it out of my head.

Wicked is the 10th longest running West End show in British history and has won over 100 global awards. It has been seen by 65 million people worldwide (65 million and one now if you include me) and it isn’t hard to see why. Now a cinematic phenomenon, with Act 1 in cinemas now and Act 2 to hit the screen in November 2025.

Wicked is in Manchester for a six week season and is the tenth and final date after kicking off their tour in Edinburgh in December 2023.

The show closes on Sunday 12 January and remaining tickets are incredibly limited, so if you have one short day, spend it in Oz and book now while you can.

Follow the yellow brick road all the way to the theatre.

Book your tickets to Wicked at the Palace Theatre Manchester HERE.

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Featured image: Matt Crockett

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