BEAUTIFUL opens and closes the very same way—a woman, a spotlight, a piano. A patterned dress flowing on the floor. A mane of wavy layers tumbling around her shoulders. And a voice. A sumptuously rich voice reaching straight to the rafters of Carnegie Hall, and on every heart attending, pulling on every string. Carole King has that voice. And as her avatar, actor Melissa Musial channels King’s strength, honeyed melodies, and fragility of soul consummately. The sound of that mix of power and delicateness reverberates throughout the musical from start to finish. Yeah, there might be snippets from other songwriters, and performances from guy and girl groups aplenty, but the strong thread of Ms. Musial’s style weaves BEAUTIFUL’S own tapestry into something glorious, almost divine.
Oh, are you “not familiar” with Carole King’s oeuvre? Wrong. You probably have heard more Carole King songs on the radio than you think. After all, she’s written more than 100 Billboard-charting pop songs, and her 1971 solo album “Tapestry” alone has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. But if you were one of millions of the female persuasion back in the 60’s and 70’s, and somehow missed out on crooning “(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman” to your hairbrush while driving to work, this powerhouse cast is more than able to make you a manic fan by the end of the show.
Lucidly directed and choreographed by Moonlight’s own John Vaughan (“Sister Act;” “Ragtime;” “Pippin;” “The Who’s Tommy”), with a tracing-paper script by Academy Award nominee Douglas McGrath (who collaborated with Woody Allen on the screenplay "Bullets Over Broadway") the musical becomes ever the more elegant under the stars at Moonlight Amphitheatre. There, it will enthrall until the last day of this month.
But now, the action moves back to the humble Klein home in the flavorfully urban neighborhood of Brooklyn, circa the mid ’50s. Carole wants to be a songwriter; her mother, Genie (played by an indefatigable Sandy Campbell), wants her to be a teacher. Her mother is also a master of dry humor. (“Carole, dear, remember when you used to play Mozart? I’d be so proud if you played Mozart again. So would your father, God rest his soul.” “Ma, you’re just divorced; he’s not dead.” “He’s dead to me.”) Young Carole goes to New York, auditions her song “It Might as Well Rain Until September” with producer Don Kirshner and lands her first deal and a new job. (“I like your spirit,” Kirshner tells her, contingently, “but I like a hit record even better.”)
BEAUTIFUL tracks Ms. Musial’s King working as a music factory songwriter in her late teens and 20’s (alongside her soon-to-be philandering, lyricist husband Gerry Goffin, bombastically played by Brandon Keith Rogers), her friendship/rivalry with fellow writer team Barry Mann (deftly played by Bryan Banville) and a vivacious Cynthia Weil (Allison Spratt Pearce), through a dream marriage to a tough yet freeing divorce. Dan Mason plays music publisher, Don Kirshner (“the man with the golden ear”), as an energetic, hit-making, fast-talking force of nature. Although powerful, direct and sometimes intimidating, Kirshner has a real affinity for his writers and artists.
It’s a slick, high-gloss production that slaloms effortlessly through time - an irrepressive, summarized history of King’s difficult early years, as the powerful foursome creates hit after hit for epic pop groups like the Righteous Brothers ( Billy McGavin & Anthony Vacio; “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”), The Drifters (Mario White, Chase Lowary, DarRand Hall and Jarrett Anthony Bennett; “Some Kind of Wonderful”) and the Shirelles (Shirley Johnston, Janaya Mahealoni Jones, Brooke Henderson & Hayley Darling; “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”). Timeless melodies, upbeat golden oldies and those Bandstand-style 3-minute sunshine and bubble-gum pop classics like “Up on the Roof” and the bouncy “Be-Bop-A-Lula” are delivered with tight choreography and in perfectly synchronized, high-octane voices, filling the open-air amphitheatre with electricity and the audience with euphoric rapture.
Playwright Douglas McGrath cracks wise in the script with literal-minded setups for each number. Example: Carole and Gerry, who had a child when she was 18, show some new lyrics to their babysitter, a sassy young thing played by Brooke Henderson, who is asked who should sing them. “Everybody’s doin’ a brand new dance now, come on baby do the’ — I have no idea,” the babysitter says dismissively. To which Gerry answers, “Come on, Little Eva, think.” Next thing you know, we’re all doing “The Locomotion,” with a hot new star named Little Eva center stage.
Eventually, however, the strain put on the King-Goffin marriage by Gerry's disloyalty and subsequent breakdown darkens the dramatic atmosphere. Goffin begins to dally first with an apparently famous girl-group singer called Janelle Woods (Audrey Janaya Mahealani Jones). She fronts the foursome that records the Goffin-King "One Fine Day" (The Chiffons were the artists on that cheerful ditty). Finally, after a tryst with another bit of fluff named Marilyn Wald (Erica Marie Weisz), Carole tells him, in the applause-signaling manner of a vintage soap: “The girls deserve something better. And you know what? So do I.” At that point, cheers explode from the audience, amid a few expletives way in the back.
For the record, BEAUTIFUL is snappily moved along by Moonlight’s shifting sets, which are often dominated by high quad-panels featuring solo artists or groups, recording-studios or the hectic Aldon offices at 1650 Broadway. The changing surroundings also suggest shorthand versions of various homes at different stages of life. Jennifer Edwards’ lighting and Jim Zadal’s crucial sound add to the propulsive effect, while Raven Winter’s costumes catch the period looks without going satirically overboard.
But none of this would be enough, needless to say, if Melissa Musial was not able to duplicate the delicate mix of both fervor and gentleness King displayed sitting at the piano singing one favorite hit after another. Perhaps that’s true to the reality of King, part of whose charm has always rested in her regular-personness.
Picture the nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn who went from always working hard, eager to raise a family and always wanting to move quasi-idyll to the suburbs…but who ultimately moved through post-divorce to a sense of self-actualization in Laurel Canyon. That very archetypal narrative—documented in her very well received 2012 memoir, “A Natural Woman”—suggests that amidst all her talent, there’s real complexity in her story.
We also know that Carole finally comes into her glorious own, records the era-defining, best-selling album “Tapestry,” wins multiple Grammys and appears at Carnegie Hall, which is where we first meet her, pre-flashbacks.
What’s extraordinary is how Ms. Musial conveys that gradual transformation of young, awkward teen to songwriter popstar extraordinaire in every aspect of her performance. The actress indisputably earns her star stripes on this one. This includes most crucially her singing, which evokes Ms. King’s distinctively throaty, ever-yearning voice without mimicry. Most important, you never doubt the intrinsic connection between her and the singer—a woman we feel we have now come to know intimately—and her songs.
MOONLIGHT STAGE PRODUCTIONS, CELEBRATING THEIR 43RD SEASON, PRESENTS, BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL, AUGUST 14TH -31ST; Book by DOUGLAS MCGRATH; Words and Music by GERRY GOFFIN & CAROLE KING, BARRY MANN & CYNTHIA WEIL. Music by Arrangement with SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING; Orchestrations, Vocal & Incidental Music Arrangements by STEVE SIDWELL; Director & Choreographer JOHN VAUGHAN; Musical Director/Conductor ELAN MCMAHAN; Producing Artistic Director STEVEN GLAUDINI; Executive Director Programming & Operations MIKE BRADFORD; Lighting Designer JENNIFER EDWARDS; Sound Designer JIM ZADAL; Projection Designer BLAKE MCCARTY; Costume Coordinator RAVEN WINTER; Hair & Wig Designer PETER HERMAN; Properties Coordinator BONNIE DURBEN; Stage Manager STANLEY D. COHEN.
WITH: MELISSA MUSICAL as Carole King; BRANDON KEITH ROGERS as Gerry Goffin; BRYAN BANVILLE as Barry Mann; ALLISON SPRATT PEARCE as Cynthia Weil; DAN MASON as Don Kirshner; MADELINE EDWARDS-WALTER as Betty/Ensemble/Cynthia U/S; SANDY CAMPBELL as Genie Klein; BROOKE HENDERSON as Little Eva/Shirelles/Ensemble; SHIRLEY JOHNSTON as Shirelles/Ensembles; AUDREY JANAYA MAHEALANI JONES as Janelle/Shirelles/Ensemble; HAYLEY DORLING as Shirelles/Ensemble; ERICA MARIE WEISZ as Marilyn Wald/Ensemble/Genie U/S; BILLY MCGAVIN as Righteous Brother/Ensemble/Gerry U/S; ANTHONY VACIO as Righteous Brother/Neil/Ensemble/Barry U/S; JARRETT ANTHONY BENNETT as Drifters/Ensemble; DARRAND HALL as Drifters/Ensemble; MARIO WHITE as Drifters/Ensemble; CHASE LOWARY as Drifter/Ensemble; BEATRICE CROSBIE as Swing/Carole U/S; COLDEN LAMB as Swing/Don U/S; AUDREY LEE YOUNG as Swing; VAN ANGELO as Swing.
BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL performs through August 31st at the Moonlight Amphitheatre at 8PM, no performances on Mondays and Tuesdays. Early Table Reservations and Special Seating available. For Tickets: https://www.moonlightstage.com/
Chris Daniels
Arts & Entertainment Reviewer
The Show Report
Photo Credits: Karli Cadel
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