Macclesfield actress Bronté Barbé is to star in Beautiful – The Carole King Musical when it opens at Manchester’s Palace Theatre next week.
The show is a festive homecoming for the West End actress and a chance to be at home this Christmas.
Not ony did she grow up in the region, she was a regular visitor to the Palace Theatre.
Bronté was a finalist in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC1 television series Over the Rainbow in 2010. Since then she has appeared on stage in both London’s West End and around the UK.
With roles in Hairspray, and most recently as Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical, the Mountview Academy graduate is carving a name for herself in the world of musical theatre.
The award-winning show tells the inspiring real-life story of the talented American singer-songwriter through some of her big hits, including (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, So Far Away, It Might as Well Rain Until September and Up on the Roof.
As the current UK tour makes Manchester its base for Christmas 2017, Bronté said: “It’s very important for me to be home this year.
“I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw we were in Manchester.”
LOCAL: The North West is Bronté’s home turf
The show is looking to be very popular, with people travelling to see it from all across Manchester and the North West.
Speaking about impressing the hometown crowd, Bronté said: “I just hope they’re going to love it.
“It’s so full of heart and unique in that you know every single song without trying. It’s nostalgic.
“A woman came up to one of the guys in the cast and said she loved the Locomotion because she remembered dancing to that with her fiancé when she was 18. It’s wonderful to hear the stories.
“Also, it reaches out to audiences who might not get to go to London. And it ends on such a high. Everyone is on their feet.”
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical received its Broadway premiere in January 2014 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre where it continues to play to packed houses. Throughout 2015/2016 it then toured the US.
The London production ended its triumphant two-and-a-half-year run at the Aldwych on August 5.
Bronté Barbé will be joined by Kane Oliver Parry as King’s husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin; Amy Ellen Richardson as songwriter Cynthia Weil; Matthew Gonsalves as songwriter Barry Mann; Carol Royle as King’s mother Genie Klein; and Adam Howden as music publisher and producer Donnie Kirshner. At certain performances, Carole King will be played by Leigh Lothian.
*Beautiful – The Carole King Musical is playing at Palace Theatre, Manchester from Tuesday, December 12 to Saturday, January 4. You can buy tickets HERE.
