Recently, I had the privilege of seeing “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Smith Center for Performing Arts, and could not have been more impressed, inspired, and dazzled by what I witnessed.

The play recounts the life of singer-songwriter Carole King, who started her career at the ripe-old age of 16 in the late 1950s (making me feel completely inadequate. Thanks Carole.) She sells a song to famous musical publisher Donnie Kirshner and soon meets her husband Gerry Goffin, an amazingly talented lyricist and playwright. The two quickly fall in love, and begin writing songs together. They soon begin a friendly competition with coworkers Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann to see who can churn out the best singles.

Over the next ten years, Gerry and King write legendary songs like “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles, “The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva, and “Some Kind of Wonderful” by The Drifters. Over time, the stress from work, their daughter Louise, and from Gerry’s dissatisfaction with life, the couple begins to experience marital issues. Gerry begins a series of affairs, late nights at clubs, and eventually has a nervous breakdown.

King and Goffin rekindle their flame for a little while by having another daughter and buying a home, but King gives up in Goffin after she finds him with another woman, and decides to write music all on her own.

This new-found independence and empowerment leads King to move to LA, write her Grammy-award winning album “Tapestry”, and achieve her dream of performing at Carnegie Hall.

I would definitely recommend this show to anyone who loves old music, specifically late 50s and 60s pop. I was especially taken aback by Julia Knitel‘s performance as Carole, who perfectly represented the quirky, humble, and incredible artist with her powerful voice. Carole was best known for being an average girl who sang songs for average people, and Knitel perfectly captured that spirit without being too understated or over-the-top.

What can be best appreciated about Carole is how wonderfully relatable she is; she doesn't try to be the beautiful pop-stars that everyone sees on stage, and doesn't let her confidence in herself waver either. She is beautiful because she is authentic and only presents herself as the person she truly is, and that is something that anyone can appreciate. Even with her messy, curly hair, or the fact that she became a single mother of two at the age of 28, she doesn't let a man, her boss, or her competition bring her down. When she reaches her emotion breaking point because of her relationship problems, she reaffirms herself with the help of her mother and close friends, and conquers the musical world. After seeing this play, Carole King has become one of my personal heroes and an artist whom I have gained a greater appreciation for.