A Natural Woman

Ali Harper storms onto the stage in a floral number that Carole herself would have worn and the ‘Earth Moves Under Our Feet’. Boom. The audience is totally with her.She’s huge. She doesn’t hold back. Whether the mic’s in the stand or her hand, whether she’s sitting or grooving, she’s belting out those familiar tunes and lyrics pitch-perfectly and enacting the emotions of the song with every word. She’s a diva, she’s Carole King.It takes just one song for the audience to discover how tightly the band is playing.

The thing is, Carole King wrote conversational lyrics about matters of the heart from a woman’s point of view and catchy tunes to match those lyrics. Ali sings the words as if she means them. That’s the trick. She’s an accomplished actor, a consummate performer. And she can sing.

What impresses me most is the discipline, the rehearsed and pin-point accuracy of the show. Ali has freedom to break the fourth wall and chat – as Ali Harper – to the audience, but around those few take-a-breath moments is a show: a very well put together production where everyone on stage knows exactly what they are doing at every second.Tight, slick, professional. Worth every penny for a night of nostalgic entertainment.

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