Carole King saw the new Broadway musical that tells the story of her life for the first time last night in New York. The show opened several months ago; but King said she was afraid the show would be too painful for her to watch given the ups and downs of her personal life, all of which are depicted in the musical, and opted not to see it. But last night, she decided to quietly sit through the show and came up on stage to praise the cast and help raise money ($30,000!) for Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS. See also gave a loving performance of her hit song “You’ve Got A Friend” to say thank-you to the donors. Take a look at her performance in the video below. She released the following statement after watching the production: “It was an honor to see Beautiful for the first time last night,” King said. “And I was thrilled to help the cast raise a fast $30,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Jessie Mueller and company are fantastic, and it was so joyous to be there. I couldn’t be more proud.” I was able to see the show several months ago and I absolutely loved it.