THEATRE: BEAUTIFUL, THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL

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BEAUTIFUL, THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL

As someone who’s been a fan of Carole King for as long as I can remember, I was thrilled to finally see Beautiful, The Carole King Musical in its second run at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre. I don’t know how I missed it the first go-round, nor on Broadway, but all that was finally remedied on opening night last week.

(L-R) James Clow, Dylan S. Wallach, Sarah Bockel, Jacob Heimer, and Alison Whitehurst. Photo by Joan Marcus, as is the big one at the top of the page.

(L-R) James Clow, Dylan S. Wallach, Sarah Bockel, Jacob Heimer, and Alison Whitehurst. Photo by Joan Marcus, as is the big one at the top of the page.

And let me tell you—it was well worth the wait! I absolutely loved this show! Hearing so much of Carole’s old music, along with some tunes by her contemporary composers, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, which is all near and dear to me, was indeed a treat. If, like me, you’re a big oldies fan, you’ll be as in love with this musical as I am!

One quick little personal tale before I get to the rest of the review, although go see it right this instant is really all you need to know. When I was a teen-ager, I thought that Carole King’s Tapestry was a song I could truly sing. (Trust me—I was wrong.) So, I recorded myself doing just that. But when I played it for a friend, she laughed so hard that it brought on her “womanhood,” if you get my drift. She told everyone about that incident, so after that, whenever any girl we knew thought she might be “in trouble,” she asked me to sing that song to her, and her troubles were left behind. It worked like magic every time!

Sarah Bockel as Carole King.  Photo by Joan Marcus.

Sarah Bockel as Carole King. Photo by Joan Marcus.

So hearing Sarah Bockel sing even a tiny bit of that classic on stage brought a smile to my face, remembering back to those times. (And I got Mr. X to come to Beautiful with me by promising to never sing Tapestry to him ever again! I love what that song has helped me accomplish in my life!) I just wish it had been sung in its entirety in this show; I still can’t understand why it’s not in there. (Maybe it will be featured in my imagined sequel to this show, Tapestry—Carole King, The Later Years.)

Perhaps the omission is because this tale concentrates on Carole King’s beginnings, from the time she’s a sixteen-year-old newbie songwriter through her marriage to her professional partner and husband, Gerry Goffin, and then to the start of her actual singing career.

"The Locomotion." Photo by Joan Marcus.

“The Locomotion.” Photo by Joan Marcus.

Yes, it is classified as a “jukebox musical,” but Beautiful is so much more than that. But that aspect means that the score is phenomenal! It’s so great to hear all those iconic songs, (like Some Kind of Wonderful, Take Good Care of My Baby, Up On the Roof, and Walking in the Rain,) in a row. And live! It’s sort-of like a concert, with lots of exposition in-between.

And all of that dialogue augments the music superbly. The script, by Douglas McGrath, is perfection! The show really moves along, and there’s so much humor, even through the inevitable pain. It’s just the right mix of comedy, relationship drama, and great music.

As with all famous person “biographies” in theatre and film, not every single second of the story is exactly true. But I didn’t mind the little bit of fudging this time because the whole narrative is so entertaining.

(L-R) Sarah Bockel, Alison Whitehurst, Jacob Heimer, and Dylan S. Wallach. Photo by Joan Marcus.

(L-R) Sarah Bockel, Alison Whitehurst, Jacob Heimer, and Dylan S. Wallach. Photo by Joan Marcus.

And it’s all performed magnificently by a supremely talented cast. This is the second National Tour, so others have played these roles previously. But I cannot imagine anyone doing any of the main roles better, especially in the case of Jacob Heimer as Barry Mann. Yes, he probably does have the funniest lines to begin with, but, in this case, he deserves them because his Jewish hypochondriac delivery is so spot-on. (I say that knowingly as the sister of the number one Brooklyn Jewish hypochondriac ever!) (FYI–Jacob will be sitting-out the performance on the 25th.)

And the real-life quartet: Carole King at the piano and Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, and Gerry Goffin standing.

And the real-life quartet: Carole King at the piano and Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, and Gerry Goffin standing.

The absolute best singing voice on that stage belongs to Alison Whitehurst who plays Cynthia Weil. That girl needs her own Broadway musical pronto!

While I was watching the show, I was thinking that Dylan S. Wallach is way too cute to be playing Carole’s former husband, Gerry Goffin. But when I researched the whole story when I got home, I discovered that Gerry was really attractive! Who knew?! I’ve always heard of him, but not any details. So, this was another case of excellent casting.

But, of course, this show would fail without an awesome “Carole King,” and they have her here in Sarah Bockel. Her singing voice sounds just like Carole King! And we were sitting very far back, so I couldn’t see her face anyway, which enabled me to feel as if I was actually in a Carole King concert. (I think that Sarah was even playing the piano herself! If not, she’s a pretty adept pantomimer. Either way, it’s very impressive.)

So, if you’ve already seen this show with a different cast, I heartily suggest you give this rendition a whirl, as well. (And then let me know the differences in the Comments section below.)

"The Drifters." Photo by Joan Marcus.

“The Drifters.” Photo by Joan Marcus.

The only drawback to the entire production is the one that Mr. X and I both said to each other right away at intermission—the music is so wonderful that we were frustrated that we could not sing along! (I actually know a few people who would not let theatre etiquette stop them, so I was glad to not be sitting next to any of them that night.)

Beautiful is so fabulous that I want to see it again right away, which is what I seem to be saying about most shows at the Pantages these days. I’ve snuck a peek at their upcoming presentations for the next few months, and that streak will most likely continue.

But first things first—rush right out and see Beautiful; just be aware that you’ll be singing the soundtrack of sensational oldies in your head for the next few weeks.

Beautiful running through September 30, 2018
Pantages Theatre  6233 Hollywood Blvd.  800-982-2727   www.hollywoodpantages.com

[Note: To continue the show biz theme, please don’t forget that I will be live-tweeting the Emmys tonight. So, if you don’t already follow me on Twitter, (or think you do—I was recently hacked there, so you might want to check,) this would be a great time. @MajorCelebity. I’ll meet you all there tonight! Let’s hope the award show is as “beautiful” as this musical!]

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