Broadway Philadelphia

Circa 1990, I loved roller skating to MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This.” My dad took me to the roller rink almost every Sunday until my desire to skate changed to a passion for bowling, and we joined a league. We always enjoyed our quality time together, and in my preteen years, we spent many hours walking around Franklin Mills Mall and playing arcade games.

On one of our outings, we stopped at Tower Records where my dad purchased Carole King’s album Tapestry which he proceeded to continually play on car rides. I fell in love with her music from the somber title track "Tapestry" to the catchy "Smackwater Jack." When I heard her belt out “You’ve got to get up every morning, with a smile on your face and show the world, all the love in your heart, then people gonna treat you better, you're gonna find, yes you will, that you're beautiful, as you feel,” I felt motivated. That song was just what I needed to hear as a twelve-year-old. At that period in my life, I felt anything but beautiful, not because I had acne and braces, but, because my classmates called me ugly to my face. The blue glitter lipstick I wore didn’t help matters.

When I entered high school, the same year as Rory Gilmore, things were looking up. My dad and I went on road trips to visit colleges, I met one of my best friends, and my face reaped the benefits of Acutane. It was an exciting time and hearing King’s song “Where you Lead” every week during the opening credits of the Gilmore Girls made it even better.

Philadelphia’s burgeoning appreciation for Carole King has been evident over the past three years. In 2016 the Philly Pops performed her music and, much to my excitement, I won free tickets and was able to introduce my husband to her music.

The Academy of Music, located at 240 South Broad Street, is currently presenting "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical", rendering a trip to NYC unnecessary to view the wonderment of King’s life. My father would sadly never experience the musical as he passed away four years before “Beautiful” debuted on Broadway. The year the play debuted, 2014, is the same year my husband and I met. Since I have been able to spark his interest in King's music, we decided to see the play.

As fate would have it, the upscale vegan restaurant Vedge, located at 1221 Locust Street, had availability at the perfect time before the play. Since we had a gift certificate, we decided to reserve a table for two. The rutabaga fondue is an amazing dish that I highly recommend. It is a sophisticated version of a Philadelphia soft pretzel with cheese and the perfect comfort food before venturing out in the cold to walk the few blocks to the Academy of Music.

The performance was wonderful as the play depicted King’s relationships with her family and friends in a way that made her relatable. It shed light on the meaning and inspiration behind songs that I had loved for years by the prolific songwriter.