As Beautiful: The Carole King Musical celebrated its fifth Broadway anniversary January 12, Carole King sat down with Gayle King in the January 13 episode of CBS Sunday Morning to reflect on her journey with the musical.
When Beautiful first bowed on Broadway, King was not in the audience. She had vowed to never see it: “I can't watch the second act.
“I didn't go to opening night. Gerry [Goffin] was alive then; he did. And he is portrayed as someone who causes hurt to Carole in the show and he did. And the people who love Gerry who were part of the production made him not a villain, rightly so,” she said. “He always felt bad about causing me pain.”
Three months after opening, she finally attended incognito (“As the show unfolded, I'm like, 'Oh my god, this is so good!”). And this year, on January 12, she surprised audiences when she assumed the role of Carole at the end of Act 2 before the curtain call.
Read: 8 MAGICAL MOMENTS THE CAST OF BEAUTIFUL WILL NEVER FORGET
Watch an extended clip of King’s appearance in the Broadway musical here.