By Cameron Hughes
Fresh out of graduate school for business administration and taking on a new marketing role at Emerald Coast Theatre Company, I find myself connecting with Carole King in ways I previously never thought of. Her story is deeply individualistic and personal, starting out as a teenager writing songs for others, struggling with self-doubt, then stepping into the spotlight and forever changing music. Though what dawned on me is how her journey doesn’t just belong to her. It belongs to all of us.
That’s why I think that Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a fantastic opener to ECTC’s biggest season yet. It’s a reflection of the universal journey of finding yourself. Every one of us, in some way, goes through those same pitfalls and struggles. We stumble through uncertainty, question ourselves, and, at some point, have to decide to step forward into who we really are. For someone like myself in their twenties, it can be about moving to a new city, starting a career or trying new hobbies once the tassel is turned. It may be back in high school, where we are pressured to fit into the everchanging trend, but at the same time testing out who we want to be. For parents, it can be learning how to balance their own identity with the responsibility of raising a family. For those later in life, it might be deciding to move on from a lifelong career and finally retire or pursuing long-held dreams they once set aside.
Carole King’s music has always had that wide-reaching quality that doesn’t just speak to individuals but rather to entire generations. They carry themes of love, connection, resilience and hope that transcend time and circumstance with the same importance as all those years ago. That’s why, decades later, her work still resonates with audiences who weren’t even alive when those songs first topped the charts. Especially in a world that can feel divided, distracted or disconnected, her story reminds us that art brings people together, across generations and backgrounds.
Here at ECTC, our Season 13 lineup feels like an extension of that idea—that storytelling is never just about one person, but about us as a community. The Glass Menagerie reminds us of the weight of societal expectations. Annie gives us hope in the face of hardship. Murder on the Orient Express reminds us that the truth matters, even when it’s hard to uncover. Forever Plaid celebrates the importance of friendship in times of uncertainty, while Mystic Pizza captures the search for belonging and identity in this giant world as we come of age. All of the stories, like Carole’s, are mirrors we hold up to ourselves.
Carole King’s life is about resilience, reinvention, and the universal search for meaning which is what makes Beautiful the perfect start to this season at Emerald Coast Theatre Company: it’s a story that belongs to all of us.
About Cameron Hughes
Cameron is the Marketing and Sponsor Relations Manager at Emerald Coast Theatre Company. He grew up on 30-A, graduating from Florida State University in 2023 with a Bachelor’s in Marketing and an M.B.A in 2024. After becoming a first-generation master’s graduate, Cameron returned to the Emerald Coast in search of a valuable way to contribute to his community, thus landing him at ECTC.
