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<\/a>(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.<\/p><\/div>\n
And let me tell you\u2014it was well worth the wait! I absolutely loved this show! Hearing so much of Carole\u2019s 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\u2019re a big oldies fan, you\u2019ll be as in love with this musical as I am!<\/p>\n
One quick little personal tale before I get to the rest of the review, although go see it right this instant<\/em> is really all you need to know. When I was a teen-ager, I thought that Carole King\u2019s Tapestry<\/em> was a song I could truly sing. (Trust me\u2014I 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 \u201cwomanhood,\u201d if you get my drift. She told everyone about that incident, so after that, whenever any girl we knew thought she might be \u201cin trouble,\u201d she asked me to sing that song to her, and her troubles were left behind. It worked like magic every time!<\/p>\n Sarah Bockel as Carole King. Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n 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<\/em> with me by promising to never<\/em> sing Tapestry<\/em> 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\u2019s not in there. (Maybe it will be featured in my<\/em> imagined sequel to this show, Tapestry\u2014Carole King, The Later Years<\/em>.)<\/p>\n Perhaps the omission is because this tale concentrates on Carole King\u2019s beginnings<\/em>, from the time she\u2019s a sixteen-year-old newbie songwriter through her marriage to her professional partner and husband, Gerry Goffin, and then to the start<\/em> of her actual singing career.<\/p>\n “The Locomotion.” Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n Yes, it is<\/em> classified as a \u201cjukebox musical,\u201d but Beautiful<\/em> is so much more than that. But that aspect means that the score<\/em> is phenomenal! It\u2019s so great to hear all those iconic songs, (like Some Kind of Wonderful<\/em>, Take Good Care of My Baby<\/em>, Up On the Roof<\/em>, and Walking in the Rain<\/em>,) in a row. And live<\/em>! It\u2019s sort-of like a concert, with lots of exposition in-between.<\/p>\n And all of that dialogue augments the music superbly. The script, by Douglas McGrath, is perfection! The show really moves along, and there\u2019s so much humor, even through the inevitable pain. It\u2019s just the right mix of comedy, relationship drama, and great music.<\/p>\n As with all famous person \u201cbiographies\u201d 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.<\/p>\n (L-R) Sarah Bockel, Alison Whitehurst, Jacob Heimer, and Dylan S. Wallach. Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n And it\u2019s 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<\/em> of the main roles better, especially in the case of Jacob Heimer as Barry Mann. Yes, he probably does<\/em> have the funniest lines to begin with, but, in this<\/em> case, he deserves<\/em> 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.)<\/p>\n And the real-life quartet: Carole King at the piano and Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, and Gerry Goffin standing.<\/p><\/div>\n The absolute best singing voice on that stage belongs to Alison Whitehurst who plays Cynthia Weil. That girl needs her own<\/em> Broadway musical pronto!<\/p>\n While I was watching the show, I was thinking that Dylan S. Wallach is way too cute to be playing Carole\u2019s former husband, Gerry Goffin. But when I researched the whole story when I got home, I discovered that Gerry was really<\/em> attractive! Who knew?! I\u2019ve always heard of<\/em> him, but not any details. So, this was another case of excellent casting.<\/p>\n But, of course, this show would fail without an awesome \u201cCarole King,\u201d 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\u2019t 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.)<\/p>\n So, if you\u2019ve already seen this show with a different cast, I heartily suggest you give this<\/em> rendition a whirl, as well. (And then let me know the differences in the Comments section below.)<\/p>\n “The Drifters.” Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n The only drawback to the entire production is the one that Mr. X and I both said to each other right away at intermission\u2014the 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.)<\/p>\n Beautiful<\/em> is so fabulous that I want to see it again right away, which is what I seem to be saying about most<\/em> shows at the Pantages these days. I\u2019ve snuck a peek at their upcoming presentations for the next few months, and that streak will most likely continue.<\/p>\n But first things first\u2014rush right out and see Beautiful<\/em>; just be aware that you\u2019ll be singing the soundtrack of sensational oldies in your head for the next few weeks.<\/p>\n Beautiful<\/em> running through September 30, 2018<\/strong> [Note: To continue the show biz theme, please don\u2019t forget that I will be live-tweeting the Emmys tonight. So, if you don\u2019t already follow me on Twitter, (or think<\/em> you do\u2014I was recently hacked there, so you might want to check,) this would be a great time. @MajorCelebity<\/strong>. I\u2019ll meet you all there tonight! Let\u2019s hope the award show is as \u201cbeautiful\u201d as this musical!]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BEAUTIFUL, THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL As someone who\u2019s 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\u2019s Pantages Theatre. I don\u2019t know how I missed it the first go-round, nor on Broadway, but all<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Pantages Theatre \u00a06233 Hollywood Blvd. \u00a0800-982-2727 \u00a0\u00a0www.hollywoodpantages.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n