Couple featured in Broadway musical 'Beautiful' takes walk down memory lane

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The musical "Beautiful" brings the story of singer-songwriter Carole King to Broadway, but it also tells the story of the people King worked with; songwriters who churned out some of the biggest hits of the era.

The real-life couple behind two of the shows main characters took a walk down memory lane.

That walk brought them right to the Broadway building where it all began.

"On Broadway" is one of their most famous songs. On Broadway is where their music is enjoying new life. On Broadway is where Eyewitness News caught up with Cynthia Weil and her husband Barry Mann.

"What's going through your head and your heart as you come back here?" Eyewitness News asked.

"It's breaking my heart to see the 'Brill' Building like this. It's shocking. I can't believe it," Weil said.

New construction at the old building where so many hit tunes were written isn't the only changes in this neighborhood.

"It was like one huge family that was there," Mann said.

Most toiled in obscurity until a member of that extended family got famous singing her own songs.

It's when Carol King's story reached Broadway as "Beautiful", the musical brought her friends new attention.

"It was shocking to see someone else come out and say 'I'm Cynthia Weil,' but I got used to it very quickly!" Weil said.

"They got the essence of our characters really right," Mann said.

"This was so thrilling because I grew up loving the theater. I thought I would end up writing for the theater and that's what I wanted to do until I met him," Weil said.

Barry who is originally from Brooklyn writes the melodies.

Cynthia who grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side supplies the words and has even finished her first novel for young adults.

"A way to bring back this era for this generation," Weil said.

That's exactly what "Beautiful" does eight shows a week.

"To me it was the cherry on top of my career," Mann said.