by Sarah A. Peterson-Camacho

“So Far Away”, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, “Up on the Roof,” “Natural Woman”–all of these songs famously sprung from the pen of legendary singer/songwriter Carole King, and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical charts her meteoric rise, from love-struck teen songwriter to world-renowned musician.

We first meet Carole King (Sarah Bockel) as a bouncy 16-year-old from 1958 Brooklyn, a precocious college freshman pining away for dreamy junior Gerry Goffin (Andrew Brewer). Together they make sweet music as both lovers and musical partners, collaborating on chart-topping pop hits, and a baby, along the way.

Bockel inhabits the role of King with utter conviction and vulnerability, belting out musical numbers on a whim with a spring in her step and her heart on her sleeve. She and Brewer display a magnetic chemistry as Carole and Gerry, playing off one another in dialogue and duet with the ease of two people who have known each other for years.
Sarah Goeke and Jacob Heimer lend much humor and style as songwriters and lovers Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, lyric-writing rivals vying for the business of music mogul Don Kirshner (James Clow).

Andrew Brewer

With appearances by iconic groups the Shirelles, the Drifters, and the Righteous Brothers (all actors, of course) and sets that evoke bright lights, bright hopes, and retro style of the era, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a nostalgic treat not to be missed!

This is the touring production of the show and it will continue to be on stage at the Saroyan Theater, 730 M St, in Fresno through October 29. Tickets can be purchased on the Broadway Fresno website. Check out KRL’s interview with Sarah Bockel about playing Carole King in this show.

Editor’s note: My daughter and I were also at the show and it was amazing! We both loved it. An added bonus for us was the orchestra playing the Gilmore Girls theme song just before the second act. “Where You Lead” was originally on Carole’s 1971 album Tapestry. She was approached by the creators of Gilmore Girls, and they asked if they could use it as the theme song for their show–she rewrote it to reflect a mother/daughter relationship and recorded the revised version with her daughter Louise Goffin. Carole also appeared in 3 episodes of the show, and in the recent reunion, as music store owner Sophie Bloom.

Sarah A. Peterson-Camachois a library assistant with Fresno County Library, with a Bachelor’s in English and a Bachelor’s in Journalism from California State University, Fresno. In her free time, she makes soap and jewelry that she sells at Fresno-area craft fairs. She has written for The Clovis Roundup and the Central California Paranormal Investigators (CCPI) Newsletter.