“BEAUTIFUL” COMES TO THE BUSHNELL

                                           CAROLE KING

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it is also in the ear of the listener as well, especially if you’re talking about the super singer/songwriter Carole King.

Her incredible musical story has been captured in a 2014 Grammy, Outer Critic, Olivier, Drama Desk and Tony Award winning show “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” and it is jumpstarting its sparkle and sass at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford from Tuesday, January 17 to Sunday, January 22 and it is not to be missed.

From the musical moment when a17 year old King penned her first hit “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” her career has been a rocket launch to the sky filed with stars, with 100 hit songs, 400 compositions, immortalized by more than 1000 artists.  Legends like James Taylor, Aretha Franklin and Lady Gaga have riden the coattails of her musical genius, resulting in her winning an avalanche of achievement awards in the industry.

Douglas McGrath has taken a tale about a hesitant teen, a Jewish girl named Carol Klein, and spun it like gold into a Cinderella story of a voice that propelled a generation.  Called both awesome and amazing, with a parade of wall-to-wall hits like “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Up on the Roof,” “The Locomotion,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “I Feel the Earth Move” and ”Some Kind of Wonderful,” the show is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, one dazzling hit at a time.

Following King from the time she meets her future husband and writing partner Gerry Goffin at Queens College, “Beautiful” encapsulates the triumphs and tragedies of her roller coaster life and her path to a pinnacle of success.  Her collaboration with best friends and married musical partners Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann is inspirationally documented.

For tickets ($36.50-132.50),call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue,Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.com. Performances are Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 6:30 p.m. A special three course dinner prepared by Max’s Catering will be held before showtime on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for $60, tip included, beverages extra.  Deadline for reservations is noon, Sunday the 15th.

Come let the earth move under your feet in some kind of wonderful way as you enjoy this stupendous salute to one of America’s sweetheart singer/songwriters, Carole King.