UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.—The Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway hit “Beautiful—The Carole King Musical,” about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter, will make its State College premiere with seven performances Tuesday to Sunday, Feb. 19–24, in Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus of Penn State. Tickets are on sale for performances at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19 to 23 and 2 p.m. Feb. 23 to 24.

“Carole King might be a native New Yorker, but her story of struggle and triumph is as universal as they come—and her music is loved the world over,” said producer Paul Blake. “I am thrilled that ‘Beautiful’ continues to delight and entertain audiences around the globe, in England, Japan and Australia, and that we are entering our fourth amazing year of touring the U.S. We are so grateful that over 5 million audience members have been entertained by our celebration of Carole's story and her timeless music.”

Read a Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State feature article about Sarah Bockel, who portrays King in the touring Broadway production.

With a book by Tony and Academy Award-nominee Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni and choreography by Josh Prince, “Beautiful” features a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, including “I Feel the Earth Move,” “One Fine Day,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “You’ve Got a Friend” and the title song.

The show opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in January 2014, where it has since broken all box office records and recently became the highest grossing production in the theater’s history.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording (Ghostlight Records) won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and is available on CD, digitally and on vinyl. “Beautiful” launched its first U.S. national tour in September 2015, and is also playing internationally, with productions in Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom. The award-winning production recently concluded its run on London’s West End after opening in February 2015.

Long before she was Carole King, chart-topping music legend, she was Carol Klein, Brooklyn girl with passion and chutzpah. She fought her way into the record business as a teenager and, by the time she reached her 20s, had the husband of her dreams and a flourishing career writing hits for the biggest acts in rock ’n’ roll. But it wasn’t until her personal life began to crack that she finally managed to find her true voice.

“Beautiful” tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with Goffin, her husband, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Weil and Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Along the way, she made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation.

The creative team includes Derek McLane (set design), Alejo Vietti (costume design), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design), Brian Ronan (sound design), Charles G. LaPointe (wig and hair design), Steve Sidwell (orchestrations and music arrangements), Jason Howland (music supervision) and John Miller (music coordination).

For more information, visit Center for the Performing Arts online or call 814-863-0255.

Audio description, which is especially helpful to patrons with sight loss, is available for the Sunday, Feb. 24, performance at no extra charge to ticket holders. To reserve the service, phone 814-238-0132 no later than Friday, Feb. 8.

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