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| Musical Review: Beautiful The Carole King Story at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre NYC 6/26 |
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 by: JoeS - Springfield, PA
started: 07/05/14 7:20 pm | updated: 07/05/14 7:20 pm |
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On the evening of June 26th, I had the opportunity to see the musical "Beautiful." I am neither a theater nor music critic, just a music fan. The theatrical critics have done an exhaustive job critiquing the play and have been impressed. The folks who give out the Tony Awards nominated the play for 3 awards and Jesse Mueller, who played Carole King, won a Tony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. An award I believe she deserved. "Beautiful" was also nominated for Best Musical and Anika Larsen, who played Cynthia Weil, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Feature Role. She didn't win, but whoever did, had to be spectacular for she was.
The storyline that is the backdrop for the music is the growth of Carole King from a wide-eyed school girl to the apex of the music business. Her relationship and love with Gerry Goffin as well as their friendship and competition with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil are the main narrative. The music industry, especially their friendship and business relationships with Don Kirshner and Aldon Records, are a glimpse into what were the creative and business models for music. Friendship and competition, love and betrayal, stability and revolution, insecurity and confidence, pull and push at Carole King. The push is stronger than the pull. She evolves from a bashful music writer into one of her generation's best singers and songwriters culminating in the creation of “Tapestry.†Winning four Grammy awards, performing “Tapestry†at Carnegie Hall, and being inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are the result.
Now the reason I went, the music. For me and many in the audience the Music of King/Goffin and Weil/Mann are postcards from our youth. “Oh Carole†sang so honestly by Neil Sedaka starts the musical journey. “Some Kind of Wonderful,†and “Up on the Roof†were performed by a cast who did The Drifters justice while taking the choreography of the day a bit over the top, we all smiled and clapped.
The girl groups of that day: The Shirelles, The Chiffons, The Ronettes, and The Crystals jumped off the stage and into my head. The music written for them and their performances, both then and now, were the simple yet true feelings of a time when things were less complex and people less jaded . “One Fine Day†performed by the Chiffons and the fabulous Phil Spector produced “Walking in the Rain†performed by The Ronettes received standing ovations from the audience. “Walking in the Rain†was the only Spector produced record to ever receive a Grammy. The actors who were the Crystals captured the pace, the rhythm and the sad soul of “Uptown†to the max. Then there was Little Eva, Carole King's nanny, who used the “Locomotion†to create a career and a dance craze.
As music and society start to change you get “Pleasant Valley Sunday,†“We Gotta Get Out of This Place†and “You Lost That Lovin†Feeling.†The two actors who played The Righteous Brothers performed the song tongue in cheek, but it worked.
It is difficult to cover a great song and nearly impossible to cover a great artist. Jessie Muller's take of Carol King is uncanny. You would expect her to get the voice close, she did. She got the full range of Carole's voice. Not just the great strong parts, but the nuance of her imperfections are captured, just close your eyes and it could be her? Thank God most folks lip-synced their way through “Tapestry.†I have to admit it was hard. Jesse Mueller hit the ivory like Carole King. She envelops and pounds the keys until they explode into the music and your head.
The Carole King character jumps in and out of her compositions the entire show, but what I and most folks came to hear was Jessie's take on the tracks from “Tapestry.†The soulful “Will You Love Me Tomorrow†and “You Got a Friend†are the best of the performances. For a moment Jessie was Carole. Her tone, her mannerisms, the tempo and the voice were spot on. The only thing near to a criticism was the ending of “It's Too Late.†Probably unfair, but that ending that takes you slowly to the edge of the cliff of despair is missing something, Carole.
The play ends with her performance of “Beautiful†at Carnegie Hall. The audience applauds and sort of holds it's breath...What no “I Feel the Earth Move?†The entire cast came out for the curtain call and Jessie I mean Carole breaks into “I Feel the Earth Move†and so do we. The cast and audience get up and into a rousing pent-up performance of “I Feel the Earth Move.†For one brief moment the earth did move and we did it.
It is interesting to note the first couple of times Carole King tried to watch the show she had to leave. Her life journey, like any of ours, is not without pain or regrets. The remarkable music and performance make this play, for me, worth the cost and trip. I'd recommend the musical to music lovers, especially if you are fond of the music of the 60's and 70's.
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