London Finds Its Natural Woman! Katie Brayben Will Star in the West End's Beautiful

Some kind of wonderful news for Katie Brayben, who will play the title role in the previously reported West End production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. The tuner will begin previews on February 10, 2015, with opening night set for February 24.

Joining Brayben in the cast will be Alan Morrissey as King’s husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin, with Lorna Want as songwriter Cynthia Weil, Glynis Barber as Genie Klein, King’s mother, and Gary Trainor as music publisher and producer Don Kirshner. The complete cast will be announced later.

Brayben is currently playing Princess Diana in King Charles III at the Wyndham’s Theatre and previously was seen in American Psycho: A new musical thriller at the Almeida Theatre. Her other theater credits include Joking Apart, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ragtime, 13 and Mamma Mia!. Morrissey was last on stage in I Can’t Sing at the London Palladium.  His work for the Royal Shakespeare Company includes Twelfth Night and As You Like It. Want’s West End credits include Footloose, Evita, Parade, The Fantasticks and Dreamboats and Petticoats.  Barber is best known for her TV work playing Harriet Makepeace in Dempsey and Makepeace and Soolin in Blake’s Seven. Trainor’s theater credits include Potted Potter and The Shawshank Redemption.

Featuring songs written by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and a book by Douglas McGrath, Beautiful tells the story of King from her early days as a Brooklyn teenager (named Carol Klein) struggling to enter the record business to her years spent as a chart-topping music legend.

The Broadway production continues its run at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.