You've Got A Friend: The Songs And Stories Of Carole King

Entering the stage space wearing a fawn-coloured, long-sleeved maxi dress with velour bodice, her long blonde locks tamed by a floral head wreath, Nikki Nicholls opens the show with Tapestry. There's a bit of atmospheric smoke lingering about onstage, which is probably why Nicholls coughs during this song. Backed by an excellent five-piece band (Kings Rule), this evening of songs is interspersed with stories from Carole King's life - that's edutainment! Who knew King sang Where You Lead (the Gilmore Girls title song)? This turns out to be a theme for the night (turns out King wrote The Locomotion, too!).

It's Too Late and So Far Away give us the feels and then Steve Wade (Little River Band) takes over on vocals for the tail end of Up On The Roof while Nicholls leaves the stage for her first costume change. His velvety pipes continue into Steamroller and then Nicholls returns in a black ensemble: floaty dress under lace shawl with beaded edge all capped off with a jaunty bowler hat. Nicholls introduces "The Horny Boys", a two-piece brass section (sax and trumpet) who join in to further elevate King's remarkable back catalogue at various points throughout the show.

We learn King and her songwriting partner/first husband, Gerry Goffin, wrote songs for recent visitors to our shores The Monkees (Take A Giant Step), The Animals (Don't Bring Me Down) and The Beatles (Chains). Of course, many more artists covered King's songs and Nicholls brings the laughs when she accidentally on purpose singles out "Amy Housewine". It's pointed out that King was just 18 years old when she had her first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (originally recorded by The Shirelles).

After a brief intermission, we score a touch of James Taylor - another recent visitor to our shores - with Carolina In My Mind as sung solo by Wade. He's then joined by Nicholls and Adrian Scott (Little River Band, Air Supply) to perform Taylor's Fire And Rain, all performers seated on stools across the front of the stage. It's impossible to be distracted and these beautiful songs totally captivate as we're drawn in by the poignant lyrics; this is music that makes you feel and collages of memories filter through baby boomers' minds

A few leave their seats to dance in the venue's periphery during the sublime How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You). Nicholls informs us King went to high school with Neil Sedaka, which inspired him to write his song Oh! Carol. In response, Goffin penned a playful response, Oh, Neil!, and we hear both of these tonight - call-and-response style - as delivered by Nicholls and Wade respectively. A couple of front-row ladies are on their feet for One Fine Day and the pair scoot along the front of their row trying to coax others to do the same.

Then one of Nicholls' (platform) soles comes away from her shoe during It Might As Well Rain Until September. She deals with this "wardrobe malfunction" with good humour, calling out for one of her former Girls Girls Girls castmates. "Wendy Stapleton, if you were here..." (She is.) "These are the boots I used to wear with Girls Girls Girls!" she laments before a replacement shoe is delivered. The band break into (Where Do I Begin?) Love Story (from the film Love Story) as one of her guitarists helps Nicholls put on the shoe. The band's rendition of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman is somehow perfectly synced with archival footage on The Palms' screens: two separate performances - one featuring King, the other Aretha Franklin - of this same song, edited to be interspersed.

We call them back for an encore and Nicholls acknowledges, "You know it's not over yet, because we haven't played a couple of the main songs!" One of her bandmates adds, "The title song." You've Got A Friend follows, performed tenderly, and there's lots of hugging and swaying going on throughout the audience. The majority in the house dance during closer I Feel The Earth Move and we all leave feeling incredibly moved. What a voice! And what an impressive songbook this cast were blessed with to draw from.