Theater Review: ‘Beautiful’ delivers the sound of a generation at Roger Rocka’s
By Heather Parish
As far as jukebox musicals go, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” is head and shoulders above most of the rest. The reprised version from Good Company Players at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater is a rousing success at what it sets out to do: deliver the sound of a generation as authentically and spontaneously as possible.
Related story: In appreciation of GCP’s stellar production of ‘Beautiful,’ let’s give a Carole King countdown (2024)
Essentially a day tour through the most influential pop music of the late 50s and 60s, “Beautiful” presents naive songwriter Carole King (Meg Clark), her volatile creative and romantic partner Gerry Goffin (Jonathan Wheeler), and their best friends and songwriting competitors Cynthia Wiel and Barry Mann (Haleigh Cook and Adrian Ammsso) as they write a shocking number of mega-hits for such pop and doo-wop groups as The Shirelles, The Drifters, The Righteous Brothers, Little Eva, and more.
The book offers up King’s early biography in the broadest strokes, connecting the dots between hit songs. Keeping things light and breezy, director Laurie Pessano has populated the stage with a quick succession of snappy scenes and energetic show numbers.
At center stage is Clark, playing King with a wholesome sparkle and a rich vocal performance that, while honoring King’s style, is distinctly her own. Alongside her, Wheeler’s Goffin offers just enough antagonism in the mix to keep everyone on edge. As Mann and Weil, Ammsso and Cook are sharp, funny, and add a layer of emotional richness that balances the instability of the King-Goffin pairing. The four of them play the story’s emotional arc simply, elegantly, and without much fanfare.
That’s because the fanfare belongs to the show numbers. The performances by nattily attired (costumes by Ginger Kay Lewis-Reed) stand-ins for the Shirelles, the Drifters, the Righteous Brothers, etc., are tremendous fun with their effortlessly cool dance moves and smooth backup vocals. Janet Glaudé as Shirelle Shirley and Ed Burke as the lead Drifter stand out among others. The entire set of Drifters (Burke, Camille Gaston, tony sanders, and Malinda Asbury) get a special mention for having too much fun with their moves. Choreographers Asbury, Pessano, and Salisha Thomas outdid themselves with the choreography of Little Eva’s “The Locomotion,” led by a spunky Trinity Mikel.
Outside of the showstoppers, King’s story is not, in and of itself, remarkable. She was an ordinary young woman with an extraordinary gift of musicality. The arc of her rushed first marriage and finding her footing in a competitive creative field is tracing-paper thin. However, a few innovative touches elevate the story:
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1) The way that Douglas McGrath’s book presents the songs; and 2) the contrast to the way they were finally recorded and performed.
We forget the impact that King’s compositions had on popular music throughout the ’60s until we see it all strung together. However, hearing how King might have initially composed the pieces offers a glimmer of that “Laurel Canyon” sound that King was a part of in the late 60s and 70s, which is a pleasing throughline in the story. That’s where the real interest in “Beautiful’s” narrative lies for me: watching an artist learn, grow, and eventually find her voice (on her own terms and in California, not New York!).
It is Clark’s impressive performance as King, spilling over with self-effacing humor and vulnerability, that grounds the musical and gives the audience something to root for.
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” runs at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater through March 16, 2025.
Steph
SO tough to write a fresh review of a musical already done and reviewed just a few months ago. I was actually wondering if TMR was gonna post another review at all.
I’ve never known GCP to bring back a show so quickly “by popular demand,” but Beautiful would certainly be the show to do it.
The review this time didn’t overly gush about Meg Clark’s incredible voice or star-making portrayal, but it at least did remind us of the top actors in secondary and terciary roles.
I’m going again because this production is nearly flawless and Clark is absolute perfection as King, especially vocally. “Poplar demand” indeed!