Review: BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at THEATRE UNDER THE STARS

BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL started off in 2013 in a San Francisco theater and moved to Broadway by 2014. The narrative dramatizes the early days of the singer/songwriter from when she first joined the Brill Building Collective (a sort of factory of pop music composers, which included people like Burt Bacharach, Sonny Bono, Marvin Hamlisch, and Kander & Ebb) up to the release of her biggest album, TAPESTRY, in 1971. BEAUTIFUL has a ton of great songs in it, but the book by Douglas McGrath glosses over Carole’s life a lot during her days with her first husband and lyric writer, Gerry Goffin. THEATRE UNDER THE STARS has produced a local production here under the direction of Dan Knechtges and starring a veritable “who’s who” of local Houston musical talent. They have brought in Kyra Kennedy to reprise the Carole King role for her fourth time. This is a Valentine for fans, a soft presentation to hang some of her biggest hits on. The production and the cast are amazingly well thought through, and TUTS does a wonderful job of bringing this one to life in HTown. 

You have to give it up for this cast and crew that Theatre Under the Stars has put together for their staging of BEAUTIFUL. One of the things I love is to see how robust the talent pool here in Houston truly is, and this production shows it off. Three of the leads were imported, but most of the people working on this have a 713 or 832 area code. Kyra Kennedy, based in NYC, does a great job as Carole King. What is amazing is that she gives the singer-songwriter her own voice rather than trying to do a vocal impression, which elevates the material a lot. She’s plaintive and sweet, and the songs come alive with her performance. Dylan S. Wallach (also from ”the Big Apple”) cuts a square-jawed and handsome profile as Carole’s first husband and most prolific writing partner, Gerry Goffin. He’s a great presence and a wonderful singer. Barrett Riggins rounds out the trio of New York talent as composer Barry Mann. As the New York Times proclaims, he’s “very funny!” He gets most of the evening’s best lines and bits. But then we come to folks we know, like Mark Ivy, Holland Vavra, and Teresa Zimmermann, rounding out the main cast. All three here are remarkable, but Zimmermann is a force as Cynthia Weil. She glows and hits home in her role.  The ensemble sparkles as well. Ayssa McDonald, Gloria Prince, Sarah Sachi, and Raven Troup add great color to the Shirelles. Labraska Washington, Kristopher Ward, Kaleb Womack, and Evin Johnson do the same as the Drifters. Labaraska gets a chance to deliver a shimmering version of “Up on the Roof” in the first act. Ben Chavez and John Ryan Del Bosque nail the vocals for the Righteous Brothers.          

Director and choreographer Dan Knechtges creates wonderful stage pictures out of every moment. He turns BEAUTIFUL into something large and cinematic with his staging. Stephen W. Jones wrangles the music, and it is pitch-perfect in sync with what Carole King’s song catalog should sound like. It’s warm and inviting. Colleen Grady’s costumes are cohesive and evoke the period with elegance rather than caricature. It’s great work! Jonathan Spencer’s lights carry Dan’s cinematic cues by becoming intensely small to widescreen in an instant. They are choreographed as tightly as Dan's dance moves. BEAUTIFUL is a testament to how TUTS can construct a show that looks as luminous as any tour coming through town. 

My only beef with BEAUTIFUL is a common thread that runs through most jukebox musicals. The book tiptoes around the more complex issues, such as Gerry’s abusive nature and his rather prominent drug use. We see him in the hospital, but nowhere is it mentioned that the episode was brought on by an overdose of LSD. Carole King’s life was not as easy nor as clean-cut as this production would have you believe. But man, it’s the songs that make this special. I will admit that I have a beaten-up copy of TAPESTRY that I pull out anytime I need a warm hug from an old friend, and this show captures that aspect of her music perfectly. You’re coming for the songs, and not the revelations, and this musical seems to encourage that. If you are a fan of Carole King, BEAUTIFUL is a wonderful tribute to the artist and the work of her first husband and close friends from the Brill. TUTS makes it live up to its name. It’s a handsome production, a great cast, and it feels like an old faithful friend. When you’re down and troubled, and you need a helping hand, just call the box office. 

BEAUTIFUL runs at the Hobby Center through May 31st. The show is in two rather long acts, and the first one is roughly ninety minutes. The entire production runs about two hours and thirty minutes, and has one fifteen-minute intermission. Parking on-site runs $20, and they do have concessions and a full bar. Diana Grill is available, but reservations are strongly encouraged.

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