Theater Review: SHN Presents Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Golden Gate Theater

Sarah Bockel gives us a show as Carole King. (Photos courtesy of Joan Marcus/SHN, 2019.)

“There’s so many dreams I’ve yet to find…” sings Carole King at her piano, as played by Sarah Bockel, in “So Far Away,” a powerful opening number that feels like an intimate concert. Bockel captures the nuances of King’s voice from her start in Brooklyn to her finish at Carnegie Hall. The musical returns to San Francisco, where it first premiered at the Curran Theatre in 2013. If only life worked like that, as Bockel’s King sings, “it would be so fine to see your face at my door…” and it takes a really strong songwriter to capture so much in one song. It’s the vulnerability through which she shares her life that allows her to speak for so many through her voice. Continue reading “Theater Review: SHN Presents Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Golden Gate Theater”