BEAUTIFUL - Current National Tour

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 1/23/22 at 1:44pm

Has anyone seen the current national tour of Beautiful lately? If so, what were your thoughts? I picked up a pair of tickets to see it in my hometown with my mom this week. We both saw the show on Broadway back in 2014 with the original cast, and it immediately became one my mom's favorite shows. I know the set has been scaled back from the first national tour.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/23/22 at 6:11pm

I saw it this weekend. It’s scaled back in every way physically and in terms of musicians, but the actors playing Carole and Cynthia were understudies in the OBC, so they’re solid. It’s still the show, just with a little less dazzle.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 1/27/22 at 7:33am

I really enjoyed the tour. Sara Shepherd does a phenomenal job as Carole King. The se is easily scaled back a good 60% compared to what the Broadway set was, but still looks nice enough and does the job. The ensemble and the execution of the choreography were both a little rough IMO. The sound mix was a little unbalanced with some parts being way too quiet and other parts nice and blaring loud. All in all, though, a great evening and a nice touring production of an entertaining show!

[windowwaving]

Posted: 1/27/22 at 12:48pm

bwayphreak234 said: "I really enjoyed the tour. Sara Shepherd does a phenomenal job as Carole King. The se is easily scaled back a good 60% compared to what the Broadway set was, but still looks nice enough and does the job. The ensemble and the execution of the choreography were both a little rough IMO. The sound mix was a little unbalanced with some parts being way too quiet and other parts nice and blaring loud. All in all, though, a great evening and a nice touring production of an entertaining show!"

Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself! This was the first time I ever saw Beautiful and thought the set looked fine for what it was. When I checked YouTube to compare Broadway's set, I was actually quite surprised at how grand it was. I think the version they have now is completely fine for this story and can keep the tour going without feeling like it's missing anything. 

I agree that the leads are absolutely phenomenal, including the two gentlemen James D. Gish and Ryan Farnsworth. They really bring up the quality of the show. It was just the group numbers that I wish were tighter. 

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 1/27/22 at 1:19pm

I have never seen the show and grabbed a discounted ticket to see it nearby next week while it's still touring in it's current shape... honestly kind of surprised this is still Equity but maybe that's a bit naive. Is the b-roll being used across touring houses from the same tour, or is the set less-than what is shown here? Again, never saw it in NYC but what's being shown in that video looks almost entirely similar to what I thought I saw in b-roll for the original production. Hmm.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 1/27/22 at 1:32pm

DiscoCrows said: "I have never seen the show and grabbed a discounted ticket to see it nearby next week while it's still touring in it's current shape... honestly kind of surprised this is still Equity but maybe that's a bit naive. Is the b-roll being used across touring houses from the same tour, or is the set less-than what is shown here? Again, never saw it in NYC but what's being shown in that video looks almost entirely similar to what I thought I saw in b-roll for the original production. Hmm."

The b-roll is from the Broadway production. Early on in its first couple of seasons, the tour set was very similar to what is showing in that video with just a few modifications. Now, since the tour is mainly short stops, it has been scaled back a great deal (i.e. no automation, hard set pieces replaced with cloth drops, etc.). However, as I said in my earlier post, the set is still serviceable and does a nice job, but there are no bells and whistles. I hope you enjoy the show! It's a good one!

Updated On: 1/27/22 at 01:32 PM

[starcatchers]

Posted: 1/27/22 at 10:22pm

I'll be seeing this tour at the end of next month, but I saw Sara Sheperd lead the Broadway production on more than one occasion and she is absolutely stellar. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/27/22 at 10:32pm

She really is. So easy to root for, quietly winning, fantastic voice, and she fakes the piano really well. She is sort of the reason to see the current tour.

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 2/6/22 at 1:35pm

Caught it last night, it's still in great shape and I echo most everything else said already. Sara Sheperd and Sara King as Carole and Cynthia respectively are both standouts and you can tell they know their way around those tracks well. I thought the set was quite nice given the circumstances, you can definitely see where it's been scaled down but it's still very functional and all the major thematic elements/ideas that makes the original set as great as it is are more or less there. It's basically just the large scaffolding missing and one less portal. I thought some of the larger group numbers, particularly The Drifters and The Shirelles were a bit messy in terms of choreo, not particularly in sync with one another and often weren't all under their spotlights— one of which during those numbers exclusively was aimed poorly, the light kept clipping the bottom of the teaser curtain behind the electric it was hanging on. Pretty minor though and probably just something exclusive to our venue but it could use some polish— however, they all sounded fabulous and I was pretty impressed with the mixing throughout the whole show. Overall, definitely worth catching— especially for the $25 I paid for my ticket and I'm glad I got to see it before it closes I'm sure within the next year or two. Seems like it's been making it's way around for quite awhile now.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 3/19/22 at 5:44pm

Attending the BEAUTIFUL matinee tomorrow up in Pittsburgh. Fairly excited - it’ll be my first show back up there since seeing TBV on tour last October. After this show it’ll be TKAM in 5 weeks. Very excited to see what the 2022-2023 season holds in store.