“Beautiful” Opening for the Muny

Post author:independentnws
Post published:June 14, 2023
Post category:Columnists / Entertainment / Travel / Music / Theater

Carole King’s Remarkable Life in “Beautiful”

Is Perfect to Open The Muny’s 105th Season

by Pat Lindsey

It never feels like summer until The Muny opens. There’s magic in walking through those gates each June and entering a world of new creative experiences, old memories, and beautiful music that permeates the night air. It’s magical and yet it’s very real. And it’s been part of my life for more years than I like to admit.

“Beautiful–The Carole King Musical” is a wonderful opening show for the 105th season of The Muny. It’s the story of songwriter Carole King’s musical career and her struggles to make it big in a man’s world. From the very first piano notes played, I felt the earth move under my feet as I was catapulted back to my high school and college days and to some of the classic rock songs that brought back many memories.

College-bound Carole Klein was only 16 years old when she decided to change her last name to King. She wanted to write songs, but her mother (Sharon Hunter) told her, “Girls don’t write music; they teach it.” She enrolled in college to become a teacher, but begged her mother to give her another chance to sell one of her songs.

That next audition was very encouraging. King (Sara Sheperd) was promised an office at 1650 Broadway if she could write a hit song. She went back to college to continue her studies and write that song. That’s when she met Gerry Goffin (Steven Good), a junior in college, who became her song-writing partner and future husband. Together, they wrote “Some Kind of Wonderful,” which became a huge hit for the Drifters.

The song-writing team of Barry Mann (Jarrod Spector) and Cynthia Weil (Jackie Burns) was in the office next to King and Goffin. The four became competitors and best friends. It was that competition that sent King and Goffin climbing the charts with hits such as, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?,” “Up on the Roof,””The Locomotion,” and “One Fine Day.” In the meantime, Mann and Weil retaliated with, “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and “On Broadway.”

The story continues with the ups and downs of their careers, their family life, Carole King’s eventual divorce from Gerry Goffin, and ends at Carnegie Hall. It’s 1971 and King, a reluctant singer, has finally found her voice and performs the songs of her life on an award-winning album, “Tapestry.”

Sara Sheperd is believable as Carole King. She has the voice of the super-star and the vulnerability of a woman who is tested at every turn. In the beginning, she convinces us that she is not worthy of the good-looking Gerry Goffin, well-played by Steven Good. That changes later when Goffin (Good) begins cheating on King and displays signs of manic depression. Their best friends, played by Jackie Burns and Jarrod Spector, use their outstanding vocals to bring their hit songs to life and advance the story.

Charlie Alterman and The Muny Orchestra make it possible for the audience to enjoy one golden oldie after another as if they are being performed by the Shirelles, the Drifters, the Righteous Brothers, and Little Eva in real time. Thanks to the genius of Scenic Designer Ryan Douglass and Video Designer, Kylee Loera, the audience can view old film clips of the performers on giant televisions on either side of the stage.

The stage set is mostly the office building flanked by several stories of staircases, but the backgrounds change from the recording studio to Genie Klein’s Brooklyn apartment, to King’s suburban home in New Jersey. The projection technology is phenomenal.

Marcia Milgrom Dodge has directed a show that everyone will love. It has great music, fantastic choreography by Patricia Wilcox, a strong cast, and stage sets perfect for the storyline. I didn’t want it to end…so I went home and got out my “Tapestry” album.