Chanhassen Dinner Theatre Welcomes Monet Sabel as Carole King in “Beautiful”

Chanhassen Dinner Theatre has officially opened its spring and summer show: Beautiful: A Carole King Musical. The initial run of Beautiful on Broadway opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in 2014 and continued through 2019. In that time, it has gained a reputation as a fun show brimming with beloved music.

I had the opportunity to speak with Monet Sabel, who is fresh off a couple different productions of Beautiful and is currently Chanhassen Dinner Theatre’s Carole King. Her enthusiasm for and experience with the role and the show itself is both infectious and impressive. I left our conversation certain that this will be another enjoyable iteration of an empowering production.

Beautiful follows Carole King throughout her career in the style of most jukebox musicals.  It utilizes some of her most beloved songs to tell the story of her personal and professional life. “Jukebox musicals are a fun way to get audiences to the theater because they already know the songs,” says Sabel. “That is overwhelmingly my main goal. I want people to come and see theater.”

Early on in our conversation Sabel pointed out that “even if you don’t know Carole King, these songs are classics for a reason.” King often wrote music for other musicians over the course of her career. Because of this, even people who think they are unfamiliar with Carole King will find several familiar favorites in this show.

“There are so many songs that we know and love that [Carole] has written,” says Sabel. “I always say get ready for the surprises.” Sabel mentions Kylie Minogue’s Locomotion as an example of a song that might not be intuitively attributed to King. Similarly, hits like You’ve Got a Friend, Some Kind of Wonderful, and (You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman are all a part of King’s repertoire and therefore a part of the show.

Of course, Beautiful also resonates with fans who are familiar with Carole King and who love her as a person and a musician. “The show itself is a wonderful story about one woman’s resilience and talent and navigating her life through this time when women still didn’t really have a voice of their own,” says Sabel. “[Her life] is parallelled in her music. The way she, in the second act, sings all of her songs from Tapestry is really a cathartic journey to go on with this amazing songwriter.”

Carole King’s career as a singer-songwriter spans decades and has undeniably left a mark on the industry. King is known for her heartfelt lyrics and catchy melodies. Her journey from a young, aspiring songwriter to who she is today through a jukebox musical like Beautiful allows audiences to rediscover her music and gain insight into the woman behind the songs.

The show has a lot of depth to offer, according to Sabel. “I have never spent so much time digging into a catalogue of show. It’s so personal,” Sabel says. “Every time I can learn something new about her and myself…Wherever I am in my personal life. It unlocks something new every time I do it…And I never get tired of this music.”

Sabel has been drawn to Beautiful since she graduated college. “I was obsessed…I really wanted to be in it in some capacity,” she says. The reasons for its pull were multifaceted. “I did always love Carole King…my grandmother was the first one to show me Tapestry,” she muses, “but I also think…Beautiful was the first show where it was a funkier sound [than the stereotypical Broadway musical]. Jessie Mueller was doing amazing things with her voice to emulate this singer of the 70s. It felt very different and accessible, and I was like ‘that’s how I like to sing.’” Sabel is quick to concede that the musical stylings of Broadway shows has diversified a lot in the last decade, but Beautiful remained a dream production of hers.

Sabel auditioned for the show over and over again – to the point where she says her friends gently suggested that she stop trying. She didn’t, and since she landed a spot in the 2021 Broadway tour she has been consistently working on the show in various roles and on various productions. Most recently she was working on another production of Beautiful in California.

Her recent experience with the musical has given her a deep familiarity with Beautiful and has only strengthened her attachment to it. That 2021 tour was especially impactful for a variety of reasons. “It was a gift [to be on that tour] in so many ways,” Sabel explains. “First, just the payoff of finally being cast in the show. And then going on my first tour with a lot of veterans of the show…our Carole and Cynthia had been in the original Broadway cast…It was also the first show back after the pandemic for a lot of theaters, so people were just excited to be there – especially for such an uplifting show.”

When I ask Sabel if there is anything she wants to make sure is communicated about the show to potential theater goers her response is immediate. “I hope my enthusiasm has shone through,” she says. “Carole King is the reason why we have great singers today.”

Sabel has spent the last several years immersed in the intricate layers of King’s life and music and she continuously finds new depths to explore. Her ongoing journey of self-discovery intertwined with the portrayal of a music icon invites the audience to embark on this journey alongside her.

“You will be inspired,” she says.

Beautiful opened on March 1 and runs through September of 2024. Tickets are available by phone through the box office or at the website listed below.

Beautiful: A Carole King Musical
Running now through September
Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, Chanhassen, MN
ChanhassenDT.com