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Esther Hannaford to take the lead in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Debbie Cuthbertson

It can be a tricky prospect for an actor to play a world-famous figure, but Esther Hannaford has an advantage in her portrayal of singer-songwriter Carole King.

She has the imprimatur of her subject, who agreed on the Melbourne performer's casting in the lead of the Australian premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

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Trailer: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

London's production of Beautiful tells the story of the early life and career of Carole King.

And she'll get to perform for the woman herself, who has agreed to come to Australia for the opening night in September, according to producer Michael Cassel.

"That's the plan," says Cassel. "Carole's intention is to join us for opening night. That would mean a great deal for the cast and Australian public to have her here."

​The hit Broadway musical traces King's career from writing a run of pop hits (Will You Love Me Tomorrow?, One Fine Day, Locomotion) for other performers in the 1960s, while still in her teens, to finding her own voice and becoming a musical superstar in the 1970s with songs such as (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and I Feel The Earth Move.

Today Cassel will announce Hannaford's casting in the musical, which opens in Sydney. (Further runs interstate have not been announced but Cassel will consider taking it to other capitals, depending on how it performs in Sydney.)

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"There was something immediately exciting about Esther's read of the role in the initial stages," Cassel says of the casting process, which began in June last year.

"Esther is unique and special and has a great warmth, that's what we needed to find, it makes the character of Carole so relatable and endearing.

"We fell in love with her and put it down on tape and sent it to Carole King herself. Like us, Carole loved her and said yes.

"Coming from the lady you're portraying, that's pretty special. It's also pretty intimidating, playing someone who is alive, and playing out her life on stage."

King found the making of the musical, written by Douglas McGrath, incredibly difficult and had to abandon the process during early workshops.

"It was just so emotional and raw that she didn't want to relive it again," says Cassel.

King snuck in to see the musical in New York after it opened there in 2014. "She went in disguise to watch the show and loved it, she thought it was an accurate portrayal.

"She's really embraced the show since," says Cassel, including attending the London opening in 2015.

Hannaford starred as Ann Darrow​ in 2013's homegrown blockbuster musical King Kong, won a Helpmann in 2011 for her role as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray and last year snared a Sydney Theatre award for her portrayal of florist shop worker Audrey (not the plant) in Little Shop of Horrors.

Speaking from New York this week, where she is on holiday, Hannaford says she's excited about portraying someone whose music she has long admired. "I've got a lot of Carole King in my repertoire."

beautifulmusical.com.au