By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“)
With a subtitle – The Carole King Musical – it’s easy to conceive that Beautiful is a musical that only concerns the life of legendary songwriter Carole King and ancillary figures in her life. In fact, the story is largely about two competing songwriting couples: composer Carole King and lyricist Gerry Goffin and lyricist Cynthia Weil and composer Barry Mann.
Both of these couples were pitted against each other in a healthy bit of competition by record producer Don Kirshner at the famous 1650 Broadway Building that went toe to toe with the other famous stable of writers housed at the Brill Building a block and a half away.
Nevertheless, out of the four main songwriters depicted, it was only King (born Carol Klein) who emerged as a solo artist in her own right, but that part of her life story is left for the second act. Most of the first act and a good deal of Douglas McGrath’s book for the second act details the real life competition each of the two songwriting teams experienced, but also how they supported each other during turbulent times and personal crises.
Goffin and King married while still quite young and their relationship was strained by Goffin’s later infidelities, drug usage and mental instability. When Beautiful bowed on Broadway, King resisted seeing the show for three months because the pain of that relationship still resonated within her. It was only after Goffin passed away at the age of 75 a few months later that she began to attend the show more frequently. Today, she is proud to be the namesake of the work and has admitted she was wrong in being opposed to its being produced in the first place.
As we learn from the book, Mann and Weil avoided the entanglements of marriage at first, but their eventual nuptials lasted for more than six decades until her own passing last summer, one of the most long-lived of couples who were partners in life and in song.
The musical acts for whom the the two songwriting teams wrote are the other stars of this musical. Girl groups like The Shirelles and male chart toppers like The Drifters and The Righteous Brothers are all depicted singing their number one hits on the stage and all beautifully choreographed by a veteran choreographer and skilled director, Jauné Buisson.
This is Buisson’s directorial debut at Le Petit du Vieux Carré and it is a tour de force for someone who has previously proven her metal in earlier outings like Something Rotten, Five Guys Named Moe, White Christmas, Cinderella and Bye Bye Birdie.
Buisson’s casting is spot on. In the pivotal roles of Carole King and Cynthia Weil, she cast two performers who had past experience performing on cruise lines, the proving grounds of many up and coming musical theatre actors. The amount of money being invested in shows like Beautiful, the amount of rehearsal time that goes into the entertainment budgets of many of the cruise lines and the valuable experience accrued by the talent cannot be overstated.
Melissa Campbell has a lovely voice with a timbre that emulates the laid back style of Carole King. Her stage presence is grounded and gives the audience a realistic approach to a very talented young woman who became a wife and mother at an early age dealing with the vicissitudes of life while struggling to carve out a successful career as a songwriter.
Stephanie Toups Abry plays the role of Cynthia Weil as a brassy, no-holds-bared lyricist who was much more careful in her approach to a show business career. She plays the role of supportive friend to King and devoted wife to Barry Mann (EJ Dohring) while churning out hit after hit for Kirschner as Gerry Goffin (Frank Von Hoven) begins to spiral out of control as fame and his ego begin to undermine his ability to be a faithful and dependable partner.
As Don Kirshner, Ryan Hayes plays the role of the wily music producer and hitmaker quite well. By having the songwriting teams compete with one another in healthy competition, he was able to massage major hits for the artists he represented like Neil Sedaka and others performed by Michael Taravella. Taravella and Brian Sanford portray The Righteous Brothers, whose hit “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” was penned by Mann and Weil.
Queen Shereen Macklin is seen as “Janelle Woods,” a woman who McGrath creates as a device to show Goffin’s infidelity in marriage. Macklin also does an excellent job while performing with her fellow Shirelles (Kadejah Oné, Kayla Ceaser and Keri Elaine).
With Buisson’s consummate skills as a choreographer, it is a given that each of the groups depicted has riveting dance moves while performing. It all adds to the authenticity of the times represented in Beautiful, the 1960s and early 1970s. The ensemble is kept busy performing in a whirlwind of smaller supporting roles as they attempt to capture some of the magic that happened at 1650 Broadway as they turned out hit after hit.
Amy Alvarez plays Genie Klein, Carole King’s mother, to great effect early in the show and reprises her role later. Emily Bagwill, who learned her own role of a choreographer under the tutelage of Buisson, makes her Le Petit debut as Betty and as a member of the ensemble.
Jefferson Turner takes his turn as music director in this production and leads a very talented musical ensemble in the pit using Steve Sidwell’s orchestrations and arrangements with additional arrangements by Jason Howland. Although they are not seen by the audience, Turner and company’s musical accompaniment is a necessary and thoroughly satisfying complement to the singers onstage.
Costume designs are well executed by Kathleen Van Horn with a notable shout out to Laurin Hart for wonderful wigs and superb makeup. The massive set is rendered by Michael P. Kramer with a focus on simplicity, but practicality of design. The lighting design by Joyce Liao is quite spectacular, while David Rigamer provides dynamic sound designs.
For a first time director and longtime choreographer, Jauné Buisson has scored a number one hit. Thanks to producing executive director Don-Scott Cooper and artistic director A. J. Allegra for giving her this shining opportunity. If ever there were a testament to her talent as a choreographer and now director, it would be hard to find a more Beautiful example.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (2 hours and 30 minutes with a 15-minute intermission) has been extended and now continues its run through April 7 at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré, 616 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter. For tickets click here or call 504-522-2081.
