Carole King News

Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing announce that the Tony & Grammy Award-winning Broadway hit BEAUTIFUL-The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter will return to Los Angeles for three weeks at Hollywood Pantages Theatre.

On Monday, March 5, ContemporaryMusicalTheatre.com celebrated their Fifth Anniversary with a star-studded concert, featuring songs by some of today's most celebrated, award-winning, and emerging writers, presented by a host of fantastic Broadway performers.

The nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center today announced the 2018/2019 season of its Broadway Series, featuring The Dallas Theater Center production of Hairspray; A Bronx Tale; The Lincoln Center Theater Broadway production of Falsettos; The Play That Goes Wrong; Bat Out of Hell and Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. All performances will take place at the Winspear Opera House in the downtown Dallas Arts District.

Casting has been announced for the Barn Theatre Cirencester's inaugural professional production of  The Secret Garden, which will run from March 16 to April 15. The cast will include: David Haydn (Archibald Craven), Jaimie Pruden (Lily Craven), Minal Patel (Neville Craven), Celeste De Veazey (Colin Craven), Daniella Piper (Mary), Jenny O'Leary (Martha), Alex James Ellison (Dickon), Sue Appleby (Musical Director, Ensemble), Steffan Rizzi (Ensemble), Jamie Ross (Ensemble), Celia Cruwys Finnigan (Ensemble), Ben Boskovic (Ensemble).

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison & Lisa Rothe, Co-Presidents) will present the 2018 Theatre Women Awards at The TimesCenter (242 West 41st Streetbetween 7th and 8th Avenues) on Friday, March 16 beginning at 6:30pm. Tickets ($85-$250) are available for advance purchase at www.theatrewomen.org.

The theatre community has been fervently signing posters, Playbills and props in preparation for the six weeks of dedicated fundraising that begin tonight and culminate in the 32nd annual Easter Bonnet Competition (#BroadwayBonnets) on Monday, April 23, and Tuesday, April 24. The event is produced by and benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The original producers of Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs of Leiber & Stoller, Broadway's longest running musical revue, announced today that the show will return to New York this summer following a limited engagement at Maine's Ogunquit Playhouse. Preview performances will begin at New York's Stage 42 (422 West 42nd Street) on July 6 and opening night is set for July 22. Tickets will go on sale on Monday, March 12 through telecharge.com and the box office will open on June 25. Casting is to be announced.

Chilina Kennedy, who stars as Carole King in the Broadway hit Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in New York City, joined with Christie's to announce the sale of Carole King's piano which will take place on April 20, 2018 11am at The Exceptional Sale. King, one of the most prolific women singer/songwriters of our time, used this 1924 model "M' Steinway piano to compose numerous hits, including "Sweet Seasons" and Been to Canaan" and it is pictured on the cover of two of her best-selling 1970's albums, "Music" and "Sweet Seasons". The piano is estimated at $40,000 and it will be on view to the public from April 12-20 at Christie's Rockefeller Galleries.

 Laura Benanti is a Tony Award winner for "Gypsy" and star on Broadway in "She Loves Me!", as well as on TV's "Nashville" and frequent guest on "Late Night with Stephen Colbert" as Melania Trump. On Saturday, March 17 she will join the popular concert series Broadway @ the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, with Sirius XM radio star Seth Rudetsky as pianist and host and presented by Mark Cortale.

The musical A LETTER TO Harvey Milk debuts Off-Broadway at Theatre Row's Acorn Theatre (410 W 42 Street), running through May 13, 2018. A LETTER TO Harvey Milk stars Adam Heller (Broadway: It Shoulda Been You, Elf, Caroline or Change), Julia Knitel (Broadway and National Tour: Carole King in Beautiful, Bye Bye Birdie), Cheryl Stern (Broadway: La Cage Aux Folles, The Women), along with Michael Bartoli (National Tour: Joseph/Dreamcoat), Jeremy Greenbaum(Broadway:Newsies),Aury Krebs (Regional: Rent, Hairspray), and CJ Pawlikowski(National Tour: Book of Mormon, Memphis)

A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK, THE MUSICAL is set in San Francisco in 1986, when retired Jewish immigrant Harry Weinberg takes a writing class taught by a young lesbian named Barbara, who encourages him to write a letter to someone who has passed away. He chooses to write to his old friend, Harvey Milk.

Sara Bareilles Earns Songwriters Hall of Fame's 2018 Hal David Starlight Award

Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts announced today the cast and creative team for the world premiere of The Age of Innocence, which will feature four-time Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines and more.

I'm not sure that Broadway, or anyone for that matter, was asking for a jukebox musical about Gloria and Emilio Estefan's lives to take the stage in 2015, but after the success of musicals about Carole King (BEAUTIFUL) and recording industry legend Berry Gordy (MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL), I suppose you can't blame the pair (along with book writer Alexander Dinelaris) for trying. But, despite the handful of toe-tapping tunes, ON YOUR FEET! barely jumps off the page.

SKB Records has announced the third month of the groundbreaking new music and video series LENA HALL Obsessed from the Tony Award winner and Grammy nominee. Obsessed: Elton John - exploring the work of the Oscar, Tony and Grammy winning royalty of rock - is available at www.LenaHallObsessed.com as well as iTunes and Amazon today, Friday, March 2.

Bill Kenwright presents Martin Shaw in the West End premiere of Gore Vidal's sharp political drama The Best Man, at The Playhouse Theatre from Saturday 24 February, with press night Monday 5 March at 7.00pm.

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL playing right now at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) is the most jukebox of juke box musicals. With a book by Douglas McGrath, it tells the story of King's life and career using songs that she wrote, often together wither sometimes partner and spouse Gerry Goffin, and other contemporary songs by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector and others. What makes it the 'most juke box?' In a play that runs two and a half hours (including intermission), the very talented cast performs over twenty-five songs. Why so many songs? It's a play about songwriters whose best friends are songwriters, who among them wrote some of the most popular songs of the sixties and seventies. With so many songs to cover, McGrath let the music carry the first act and left the story of King's metamorphosis from composer to singer songwriter to Act 2. Somebody is doing something right because BEAUTIFUL opened on Broadway in January of 2014 and has been running ever since. This stop in Providence is the second in our fair city since it went on tour in 2015. As near as I could tell, everybody present had a helluva time last night.

What good is sitting alone in your room this week? If you don't already have plans to see a Broadway show, come out to see your favorite Broadway stars in a cabaret act instead. Highlights this week include:

To celebrate the special day, Kids Night on Broadway Ambassadors Lea Salonga (Once on This Island), Ethan Slater (SpongeBob Squarepants), and Christy Altomare (Anastasia) joined Broadway kids at Sardi's. BroadwayWorld's own Kid Critics were on hand to join in the fun and they're taking you behind the scenes below! 

This week, the Broadway community celebrated its annual family event, Kids's Night on Broadway! To celebrate the event, the kids of Broadway and some very grownup stars turned out to Sardi's. Check out all the fun below!