Jacob Heimer News

Workshop closes OTHER DESERT CITIES and BEAUTIFUL rolls into town for a weeklong stay at the Koger Center!

You don't even have go in a fan to enjoy Beautiful: The Carole King Musical but once you are at The Fabulous Fox and are reminded of all one woman has accomplished in a lifetime of singer/songwriting, you just may go out humming her entire body of work.

The North American tour of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning hit musical Beautiful- The Carole King Musical welcomes Dylan S. Wallach (Gerry Goffin) and Alison Whitehurst (Cynthia Weil). The two artists join Sarah Bockel (Carole King), Jacob Heimer (Barry Mann), James Clow (Don Kirshner) and Suzanne Grodner (Genie Klein). Beautiful - The Carole King Musical will return to St. Louis at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on March 12, 2019 for a limited engagement through March 17, 2019.

I was invited to the opening night performance of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, the hit Broadway show celebrating the life and music of Carole King. The show is infused with many number one hits of the era, written by King (Elise Vannerson) and her husband, Gerry Goffin (Ben Biggers), including 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow', 'Some Kind of Wonderful' and 'The Locomotion'. In addition, King and Goffin had some intense competition through their friends and rivals, Cynthia Weil (Alison Whitehurst) and Barry Mann (Jacob Heimer). Weil and Mann's musical contributions include equally successful songs, such as 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling', which remains, to this day, the song with the most airplay on American radio. King's biographical journey takes the audience from her humble beginnings as a smarty-pants, sheltered teenager from Brooklyn - whose mother wants her to teach music rather than write it - to a sensational musical hit making machine, together with Goffin. Despite their success, it wasn't all sunshine and roses and King's struggles echo those of many working parents trying to find a work-life balance. King longs for a suburban house and traditional family but her husband wants to experience the showbiz life and becomes less and less interested in family life (not to mention, monogamy). King, battling self-esteem issues, ultimately finds the courage to break out on her own. This liberation results in her moving to California and releasing the Grammy award winning album, Tapestry. The show ends on a high note, with King at her piano at Carnegie Hall, celebrating her well-deserved success.

With a stellar cast and fantastic costumes and sets, 'Beautiful' serves as the perfect escape into a world of fun, music, and sentimentality. It's a lovely show with an empowering message, and you'll walk out ready to turn back around and see it again. Or, at the very least, go home and play the cast album and King's 'Tapestry' on repeat.

There is a reason bio-musicals and jukebox tales are so popular. There is a nostalgia and comfort in knowing the music and the people that allows an audience to give themselves over to the magic of theatre. I've found audiences more susceptible to suspension of disbelief if there is an element of the familiar - like an historical figure or famous artist. It then becomes the task of the production to take that malleable group and create a story with meaning.

The acclaimed Broadway smash hit Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter, makes a triumphant return to Washington, D.C. for the upcoming holiday season. This Tony and Grammy Award winner comes to the National Theatre for 5 weeks only from November 27 thru December 30, 2018.

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL – this hit musical takes the life and music of Carole King and weaves the songs with the triumphs and the heartbreak of her life to create a, shall we say beautiful, musical about finding success in embracing yourself and your voice. 

Tickets go on sale on Friday, September 21 for the National Theatre's "Broadway at the National" performances of SCHOOL OF ROCK - THE MUSICAL (Jan. 16 - 27, 2019), FINDING NEVERLAND (Feb. 26 - Mar. 3, 2019), A BRONX TALE (Mar. 26 - 31, 2019), STOMP (Apr. 23 - 28, 2019), and Jim Steinman's BAT OUT OF HELL (May 7 - 26, 2019).

Casting has been announced for the triumphant return to Washington, D.C. of the Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning Broadway smash hit BEAUTIFUL - The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter. BEAUTIFUL is onstage at the National Theatre for a 5-week run during the holiday season from November 27 thru December 30, 2018.

Casting has been announced for the triumphant return to Washington, D.C. of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway smash hit Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter. BEAUTIFUL is onstage at the National Theatre for a 5-week run during the holiday season from November 27 thru December 30, 2018.

Throughout history, performance artists have become staples in pop culture, many of which can rightfully claim "icon" status. However, aside from music performance, songwriting has long been an underrated quality in the music industry. Even if songwriters become notable performers, it is not always widely known that they have written, and continue to write, for other top artists. Such is the case of Carole King, as told by Beautiful, The Carole King Musical. 

The North American tour of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical will welcome Dylan S. Wallach (Gerry Goffin) and Alison Whitehurst (Cynthia Weil) beginning September 4 in Denver, CO. The two artists join Sarah Bockel (Carole King), Jacob Heimer (Barry Mann), James Clow (Don Kirshner) and Suzanne Grodner (Genie Klein).

Stellar cast, Incredible singing and Songs that you never forgot and never will. Beautiful is an absolute joy of a musical story, that is so full of music, drama and comedy that you will feel like it was over way too soon.

Whether you are new to the music of Carole King or she is an old favorite, do yourself a favor and go see BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL this weekend at the Schuster Center for the Performing Arts.  

More often than not, I go to a show and sit through the entire thing with the biggest grin on my face. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical was no exception. The musical is the type where I did not want it to be over as the curtain closed. The Tony nominated musical chronicles Carole Klein's, later known as Carole King, early music career as a composer at the young age of 17. She meets Gerry Goffin in college where they form not only a musical partnership, but a romantic relationship. The duo wrote some of the most iconic songs of the 50's and 60's, so much so that the audience was cheering when just a few notes were played from these songs. Beautiful depicts the growth of careers, beginnings of friendships, and end of relationships in the most extraordinary way. Every performance was absolutely stunning and wonderful.

Exceptional Cast Brings Carole King's Beautiful To Life

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.

Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing have announced casting for the Providence engagement of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning hit musical BEAUTIFUL THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL. The National Tour, which launched at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) in the fall of 2015, returns to PPAC February 27 March 4, 2018 as a Broadway Special.

BEAUTIFUL THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL, one of the most well-constructed and delightful jukebox musicals I've ever seen, has arrived back in Chicago just in time for the holiday season. This empowering musical about singer-songwriter Carole King has enough emotional impact to make your heart burst. This is my third time seeing BEAUTIFUL, and I remain struck by the emotional depth behind this show.