Review: BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at Garden Theatre

In the world of rock and pop music, there are a handful of people who are labeled as “royalty.” There are a few kings (Elvis Presley is simply The King and Michael Jackson is the King of Pop), queens (Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul, Queen is the queen of everything else), a prince (his royal badness Prince), dukes (David Bowie is The Thin White Duke and Stevie Wonder is associated with the title, Sir Duke) and thousands of Sirs (Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Andrew Lloyd Webber to name a few).

But when Carole Klein, a mousy teenybopper from the Bronx, changed her name to “King,” she transformed the music world forever.

That is the premise of Short North Stage’s spectacular production of BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL, which enters its final weeks of its run at Garden Theater (1187 North High Street in downtown Columbus). Thanks to an amazing catalog of songs, a powerhouse cast and the tight orchestration, the musical, which closes July 30, is one of the “can’t be missed” shows this summer.

In this Dionysia Williams directed show, Britta Rae takes audiences through the career of the reluctant King, who penned some of the most known tunes of the 1960s for a handful of artists, and then became a mega pop star herself with her magnum opus, “Tapestry.”

Rae, who saw BEAUTIFUL the night before her unified college auditions that led her to the University of Cincinnati, said she knew very little about King until she watched the show. She’s not alone. Those who have a cursory knowledge of King’s work will be stunned to learn of all the songs she and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote – “Some Kind of Wonderful” that became a hit for the Drifters, the Soul Brothers Six and Grand Funk Railroad, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” for the Shirelles, and “Up On the Roof,” for the Drifters and later, James Taylor, just to mention a few.

In the second act of the show, King discovers her own voice. After she finally dumps Goffin, she proves to herself, she does have the ability and the talent for a solo career with songs like “It’s Too Late,” “I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet,” and the title track, “Beautiful.”

It would be easy to dismiss BEAUTIFUL as a jukebox musical, a collection of songs of an era or an artist hastily arranged into a two act performance. However, David McGarth’s book elevates King’s music into her story. It is more like JERSEY BOYS, which tells the rise and fall of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, than the banal ABBA driven musical “Momma Mia” or Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” There’s a story here that is unbelievably real and really unbelievable.

The show starts as King stumbles through an audition at The Brill Building, a landmark address that provided its own chapter in the Great American Songbook. The location is to the innocently sweet sounds of the early 60s what Tin Pan Alley was to the music of the turn of the 20th century, or what Liverpool was to the British Invasion. The building was home to Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.

 As its chief residents, King and Goffin (an amazing turn by Corbin Payne) often perform songs for musical producer Don Kirshner (Nick Lingnofski). In turn, Kirshner then farms the tunes to other artists. In the first act of the show, King sees herself as a musical version of Cyrano de Bergerac. She composes these classics and has the pipes to perform them. However, her self-doubt and insecurities keep her from using her own material.

At one point, King confesses she doesn’t have the looks or the star power to be like the glamorous Diana Ross. After listing her cosmetic flaws, King tells smitten guitarist Nick (Ryan Shreve), “I’m big where they want me to be small and small where they want me to be big. I’ve got the right amount of body; it’s just not organized properly. I look like a normal person. Who wants to hear a normal person sing?”

Nick then responds, “Ummm… other normal people?”

Rae does a superb job portraying a person caught in a one-sided love affair. King stays by Goffin even through his indiscretions with more glamorous pop tarts of the day, his colossal mood swings, and a nervous breakdown. Rae’s second reading of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” after she learns of yet another Goffin affair is one of those neck hair raising moments that sticks with you long after the show is over.

Outside of the combustible chemistry of Rae and Corbin, the tapestry of BEAUTIFUL has many colorful patches that make up a stunning quilt.

One of the highlights of the show is the friendly rivalry between the teams of Goffin and King and Weil (the vivacious Alyson Snyder) and Mann (Cody Schmid). Mann and Weil compose hits like “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” “Broadway,” and “Take Good Care of My Baby,” but are often blocked from the top spot by King and Goffin’s compositions.

After King and Goffin write “Locomotion” for their childcare provider Little Eva (Giselle Amarisa Watts), Weil exclaims in disbelief, “They’re writing hits for their babysitter.”

Despite the rivalry, the couples become friends and even their biggest supporters. Ironically, Weil and King end up with each other’s dream. King wanted to be married to her writing partner but ends up divorced; Weil wanted a “friends-with-benefits” relationship with Mann, but reluctantly agrees to marry him.

The SNS production of BEAUTIFUL works not only because of the performances of Rae, Payne, Schmid and Snyder, but because of the actors who emulate the groups the song writing teams wrote for. Cory Velazco slips from being Neil Sedaka for one song to becoming half of the Righteous Brothers with Shreve for another. Lisa Glover, Sarah Hackshaw, and Winnona Maddrey not only play the Shirelles but a host of other roles. Kameron Askew, Antonio Emerson Brown, Marshawn Clodfelter, and Darius Fincher capture the sound and style of The Drifters.

Kate Lingnofski (who plays Genie Klein, King’s overbearing mother), Sarah Ashleigh Tuohy (who plays Betty and Marilyn Ward), and Emma Murphy also contribute greatly to the success of the show.

Jonathan Collura, who plays keyboards, directs a band consisting of Tyler Domer (keyboards), Luke Furniss (trombone), Ben Guegold (trumpet), William Mayer (percussion), Tom Regouski (reeds), Sara Smith (bass) and Drew Stedman (guitar). The results are tight and on the money as they reproduce the instrumental portions of so many classic hits.

Carole King might be a reluctant King of the pop music industry, but her forbearance and perseverance paved the way for so many singers who followed her. BEAUTIFUL lives up to its name while regaling her story.

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