Cassidy Janson begins performances as Carole King

Dom O'Hanlon
Dom O'Hanlon

Cassidy Janson will begin performances as Carole King in the Tony Award-nominated musical Beautiful - The Carole King Musical from this evening, 30 November, at the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End.

Janson takes over the role from Olivier Award-winner Katie Brayben who originated the role in London, whilst Diane Keen also takes over as her mother 'Genie Klein' from Glynis Barber.

They will join current lead cast members Alan Morrissey as King's husband and song-writing partner 'Gerry Goffin' as well as Olivier Award-winner Lorna Want as song-writer 'Cynthia Weil', Ian McIntosh as song-writer 'Barry Mann' and Gary Trainor as music publisher and producer 'Don Kirshner'.

The West End production of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical opened on 24 February 2015 following previews from 10 February, and is currently booking to 29 October 2016, at the Aldwych Theatre.

The show, is based on the early life and career of legendary singer/songwriter Carole King, and features a book by Douglas McGrath with words and music by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical opened to good reviews: "A workmanlike effort" (Telegraph); "Gently enjoyable" (Evening Standard); "Sweet and happy as pie" (Daily Mail); "Delivered with a rare mixture of ferocity and vivacity, passion and charm" (LondonTheatre.co.uk).

The original Broadway creative team has reunited for the London production, with direction by Marc Bruni, choreography by Josh Prince, set designs by Derek McLane, costume designs by Alejo Viettii, lighting by Peter Kaczorowski and sound by Brian Ronan. Orchestrations and Music Arrangements are by Steve Sidwell. Beautiful - the Carole King Musical is produced in London by Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

The London production was nominated for 7 Olivier Awards, taking home the awards for Best Actress in a Musical (Katie Brayben) and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical (Lorna Want).

Synopsis: "Follows the untold story of Carole King's journey from school girl to superstar; from her relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, to her remarkable rise to stardom. Along the way, she became one of the most successful solo acts in music history, and wrote the soundtrack to a generation."

The show features a cast of 26 and an orchestra of 12, bringing the classic soundtrack to life in a brand new way. The score includes the songs "So Far Away", "It Might As Well Rain until September", "Take Good Care of my Baby", "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "Up on the Roof", "Locomotion", "One Fine Day", "You've Got a Friend", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "I Feel the Earth Move".

Originally published on

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