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Beautiful: The Carole King Musical review – hits, heartache and rollerskates

Curve, Leicester Molly-Grace Cutler is in fine voice in this jukebox musical but the story shortchanges the singer-songwriter’s achievements

L ike her 2012 memoir, A Natural Woman, this jukebox musical is bookended by Carole King putting on a concert. The show opens and closes at New York’s Carnegie Hall in the wake of her phenomenally successful 1971 album Tapestry and traces King’s journey into the spotlight as a solo artist, focusing on her songwriting partnership with her first husband, Gerry Goffin.

Nikolai Foster’s touring production is staged with his customary elan and finds Molly-Grace Cutler in fine voice as a quirky and compassionate King. But the musical – which won Tony awards in New York in 2014 and Olivier awards in London the following year – shortchanges the singer-songwriter both in her personal and professional lives, never fully capturing her character or how she blazed a trail, on her own terms, through the industry.

Douglas McGrath’s book begins by minimising King’s childhood – her younger brother, who was moved into a residence for disabled people, goes unmentioned while her father, a firefighter, is defined primarily as an adulterer. The story hurtles into her meeting with mogul Don Kirshner (portrayed as a jovial uncle by Garry Robson) and her teenage achievements seem breezy as she crafts pop songs at a time when, one medley reminds us, the charts were full of yakety-yak, stupid cupids and splish-splashing on a Saturday night.

On the other side of Goffin and King’s cubicle in Kirshner’s hit factory is another songwriting couple, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, and the show captures their friendly rivalry as both duos pull an all-nighter to write a new song for Kirshner’s approval.

Several songs are smartly used to reflect King’s changing circumstances: Some Kind of Wonderful marks the discovery that she’s pregnant and Up on the Roof alludes to Goffin’s turbulent childhood, though it could equally have mirrored King’s career-long search for private space in a noisy industry. Will You Love Me Tomorrow? comments not on the pair’s first night together but King’s fears of her husband’s infidelity; One Fine Day presents his eventual affair from both women’s perspective.

Foster’s production, which cuts the original’s overture, has an attractively loose feel. Songs are often first heard in embryo form, followed by polished performances from the groups who recorded them. Within a giant mosaic frame, Frankie Bradshaw’s set features studios and writing booths but these busy anonymous settings also accentuate the lack of quiet intimacy in the script. In her song Goodbye Don’t Mean I’m Gone, King wrote of holding a baby in one hand and a pen in the other; her family life is never as convincingly evoked here as her job. Too often the script favours a quick gag over emotional depth. Tom Milner captures Goffin’s unpredictability but the book glosses over the severity of his mental illness, which resulted in electroshock therapy.

Seren Sandham-Davies is a brassy Cynthia, even before picking up her trumpet, and Jos Slovick’s hypochondriacal Barry is humorous. Concentrating on their relationship means we hear Weil-Mann classics like You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (played here for laughs) but at the expense of developing King’s characterisation and her long career beyond the release of Tapestry. It is a stark contrast to Katori Hall’s masterfully lean chronology in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical .

But Edd Lindley’s costumes are a delight (cloudy suits and eye-popping glitter jackets for the Drifters, fur-trimmed gowns for the Shirelles) and the multi-rolling support are strong. Give it up for Amena El-Kindy who, as King’s former babysitter Little Eva, performs The Loco-Motion on rollerskates and does it with ease.

At Curve, Leicester , until 12 March. Then touring .

• Curve theatre
• Carole King

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Theater | review: ‘beautiful: the carole king musical’ superb, the best at marriott theatre in years.

Liz Lauren/HANDOUT

Andrew Mueller and Kaitlyn Davis in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.

Kaitlyn Davis and cast in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.

The cast of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.

At that moment in Jessica Fisch’s superbly directed new production at the Marriott Theatre, the most artful show in years at this venerable musical house, the round stage suddenly fills with young people all in the everyday thrall of making and selling music. It’s a richly detailed piece of staging, no doubt forged with choreographer Christopher Windom, and topping even Fisch’s similarly witty treatment of the song “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” Both of these emotionally potent numbers are examples of how this fresh Marriott take improves upon director Marc Bruni’s original Broadway staging. Bruni did superb work, so that’s no faint praise.

Fisch’s production has certain extraordinary assets.

No. 1 is Kaitlyn Davis (as King), a vulnerable, unpretentious actress who rightly focuses on the fundamental King paradox: she always wanted a stable family, which proved elusive, far more than fame and acclaim, which did not. Unless I was occasionally deceived, Davis played the entire piano part live, which was not true on Broadway and as rare in jukebox musicals as a sympathetic record company executive.

No. 2 is Andrew Mueller diving deep into the role of King’s husband, Gerry Goffin. Mueller is the brother of this show’s original Broadway star, Jessie Mueller, and also the brother of Abby Mueller who took over the role on Broadway after Jessie. The Evanston Muellers, you might say, know their “Beautiful” and I suspect that all Andrew had to do to know was pick up the phone to know that he’s got a friend with tips. He’s quite spectacular in the part, turning what can be a cardboard villain into a deep and moving dive inside a troubled and dysfunctional soul, even suggesting that this songwriting combination is what helped produce so much excellence.

Fisch also has cast real actors, of the Chicago style, in the character roles: the likes of Lawrence Grimm as the gruff but paternalistic song broker of 1650 Broadway and Janet Ulrich Brooks as Carole’s mom. Fisch clearly understood that not everybody needs to sing, especially when you have the luminous Erica Stephan playing (sadly now the late) Cynthia Weil and the melodically caustic Justin Albinder as Barry Mann.

Watching “Beautiful” for the fourth time (the first three were the original 2014 staging), I was reminded how well bookwriter Douglas McGrath hit all the affectionate notes you have to hit for the core audience of King fans, but did so with the kind of wit and verve that none of the biographical jukes that have followed quite managed. Part of the secret sauce here is the size of the ensemble, and the show’s emphasis on all the Black artists who recorded the justly famed songs of King and Goffin and Weil and Mann. You get a cornucopia of musical delights from the 1960 and 1970s and lots of opportunities for fun cameos, all grabbed here by the likes of Melanie Brezill.

Finally, Marriott has dared to turn up the volume of its oft-repressed band. The show rocks when it needs to rock on “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and the scenic designer Andrew Boyce has created a classy and elegant set with a moving turnable and extensive video backdrops: you can believe you’re in Carnegie Hall when that moment comes, but this production is just as comfortable in the small Brooklyn home whence one of America’s greatest songwriters came.

Over the last couple of years, it often has felt like Marriott is stuck in another decade, understandably so, perhaps, given its core senior audience. But the reality is that today’s theatergoing grays grew up not with “Try to Remember a Kind of September” but with “It Might As Well Rain Until September.” And “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” A good question at any age.

Marriott is figuring out what Broadway also has realized. And with a director at the helm who can cast great singers but focuses on the acting, fusing Chicago’s musical theater and straight-play talent pool, it can do all kinds of exciting things. After a rough year or two, this new season in Lincolnshire already has offered a top-drawer “Gypsy,” both powerful and moving, and now a “Beautiful” that’s entirely worth the drive (it’s Not So Far Away) if you are a fan of this show or this artist.

Once King’s fans find this production and understand how much more it has brought to the table, it’ll be one of Marriott’s biggest hits.

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

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Review: “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” (4 stars)

When: Through Dec. 31

Where: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire

Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Tickets: $55-$73 at 847-634-0200 and www.marriotttheatre.com

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Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Tickets

Beautiful tells the inspiring true story of Carole King, from her early days as a Brooklyn teenager (named Carol Klein) struggling to enter the record business to her years spent as a chart-topping music legend.  

This show is closed.

Performances ended on Oct. 27, 2019.

News & Features

About beautiful: the carole king musical on broadway, video & photos.

After 6 years and 2400 performances on Broadway, Beautiful , the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical will play its final performance this October. Don’t miss your last chance to thrill to the inspiring true story of one woman’s remarkable journey from teenage songwriter to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. From the string of pop classics she wrote for the biggest acts in music to her own life-changing, chart-busting success with Tapestry, Beautiful takes you back to where it all began – and takes you on the ride of a lifetime. Featuring over two dozen pop classics, including “You’ve Got a Friend,” “One Fine Day,” “Up on the Roof,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and “Natural Woman,” this crowd-pleasing international phenomenon is filled with the songs you remember – and a story you’ll never forget.

"'Beautiful' is a joyous celebration! Douglas McGrath's smart, well-crafted, and funny book cleverly threads together a memorable catalog of early rock hits. " Entertainment Weekly Thom Geier

"Carole King fans will love it! With Marc Bruni's crisp direction and Josh Prince's precision choreography, the song hits segue seamlessly on Derek McLane's grid set - from drab office to glittery concert stage - with the efficiency of one of librettist Doug McGrath's snappy lines." Newsday Steve Parks

Cast & Creative

Broadway/ First National Tour:  Beautiful ; Betty/Ensemble. Regional:  Million Dollar Quartet  (Chicago); u/s Dyanne. Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre-  Les Mis ; Madame Thenardier.  Shrek ; Dragon. Select Chicago credits: Bohemian Theatre Ensemble;  Parade , Lucille (Non-eq Jeff nomination) The Hypocrites;  Into the Woods , Cinderella/ Rapunzel. Haven Theatre;  The Wedding Singer , Holly. Paramount Theatre;  Fiddler on the Roof , ensemble. Illinois Wesleyan University SoTA Alum. Proudly represented by Stewart Talent Chicago.  Many thanks to the  Beautiful  creative team and her superhero agents Jim and Sam. As always, for Mom and Dad.

Cory Jeacoma is stoked to be making his debut as the final Gerry on Broadway. He recently was a part of the world premiere of  My Very Own British Invasion  at Papermill as well as playing Bob Gaudio in the original cast of  Jersey Boys off-Broadway at New World Stages. Thank you to everyone who has pushed me along the way, Stephen Kopel, Buchwald, Pace MT, my incredible family and my girls, Beth and Jessie. 

Jessica Keenan Wynn is thrilled to be back on Broadway in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical . She recently wrapped filming Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again , playing Young Tanya in the prequel/sequel due in theaters July 2018. She made her NY debut in the cult-classic adaptation of Heathers , starring as Heather Chandler at New World Stages. Previous productions include: Les Misérables (25th Anniversary Tour), Hairspray (Hollywood Bowl), and Roger Bean’s Life Could Be A Dream . Jessica has participated in many readings, workshops, and demos for new musicals. Film:  Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again and The Mimic . TV credits: The Knick, Forever, Billions, Mysteries of Laura and her proudest The Golden Girls .

Ben Jacoby makes his Broadway debut in Beautiful. He was seen on the national tour of Cameron Mackintosh’s re-imagined, 25th anniversary production of The Phantom of the Opera (Raoul, original cast). Regional credits include  Sense and Sensibility (Milwaukee Rep.), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), South Pacific , 9 to 5 (Marriott Lincolnshire), Richard III, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Merry Wives of Windsor (Utah Shakespeare Festival), The Glass Menagerie (Weston Playhouse, Gulfshore Playhouse), The Light in the Piazza (Maine State). He's also been seen on TV's The Good Wife . Ben holds an MFA in Acting from the University of California, Irvine and is a proud graduate of Denison University.

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Carole King

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• Carole King Featured on Sierra Club Radio
• Carole King Attends 50th Annual Grammy Awards
• Carole King Memorabilia Included in Online Auction Benefit For Musicians On Call
• Carole King appears on 'Duets' Album
• Carole King Appears on Re-Air of PBS Program 'NOW'
• Carole King Comes 'Home For The Holidays' on CBS Television
• Carole King Appears on KCRW
• CaroleKing.com Mourns the Loss of Linda Lawley Pelfrey
• Rockingale Records Releases Carole King's 'Welcome To My Living Room' DVD
• Carole King, James Taylor and the Original Band Celebrate the "Troubadour's" 50th Anniversary
• Carole King Featured in 'Three Great American Voices' tour in Japan
• Carole King Performs on 'The Today Show' Friday, October 26, 2007
• Carole King Appears on "The Martha Stewart Show"on October 23, 2007
• Carole King Testified Before Congress October 18, 2007 in Support of H.R. 1975 (NREPA)
• Carole King Joined Garrison Keillor for 'A Praire Home Companion' on October 13, 2007
• Carole King Performs at Firefighters Benefit Concert September 29, 2007 in Idaho
• "Girl Power" Performed by Carole King at the U.S. Open
• 'Stop Global Warming Concert' Airs Saturday, July 14, 2007 on Sirius Radio Channel 18
• Carole King Performs in Japan
• "Love Makes The World - Deluxe Edition" is Released
• Carole King Joins Sheryl Crow in Performance at Earth Day Event in Washington DC
• Carole King Memorabilia Included in Online Auction Benefit for 'Musicians On Call'
• Carole King's "Tapestry" is #7 on the NARM/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 'Definitive 200'
• Carole King Records with Reb McEntire on 'Duets' Project
• Carole King Appears on Phil Ramone-Produced Compilation Album
• Carole King on HBO's 'Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry'
• Carole King Appears on PBS Program 'Now'
• Carole King Performs at Swearing-In for Speaker Pelosi
• Carole Wraps Up Successful Tour in Australia and New Zealand
• Carole King Wows Australia - Next Stop, New Zealand
• Carole King's The 'Living Room Tour' Receives Rave Reviews Down Under
• Carole King Appears on Idaho's 'Newmakers' in November
• Carole King Brings 'The Living Room Tour' Down Under
• Carole King Appears on 'Sunrise' and '7:30 Report'
• Carole King Performs at 2006 Gala for The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp
• Carole King Appears at Two Political Fundraising Events in Idaho
• Carole King's Rockingale Records Announces New Deal with Ryko Distribution
• Carole King Testifies Before Senate Subcommittee
• Carole King Appears on Idaho's 'Newsmakers'
• Carole King Appears on Sunrise
• Carole King Re-Enters Billboard Top 200
• Carole King Appears on Nicolette Larson Tribute Album
• Carole King Appears on Tribute DVD to Benefit MusiCares
• Carole King Performs at MusiCares Tribute to James Taylor
• Carole King Returns to the Hit Series 'Gilmore Girls'
• Carole King Testifies Before Congress
• Join Carole King on the Virtual March to Washington
• Singer/Songwriter to Launch 'The Living Room Tour 2005 on July 3, 2005
• Carole King on CBS Sunday Morning July 24, 2005
• Rockies Prosperity Act Has 187 Bipartisan Cosponsors
• Carole King's New CD Debuts at #17 on Billboard!
• Carole King's The 'Living Room Tour 2005' Receives Rave Reviews
• Carole King Performs on Today Show Concert Series July 15, 2005
• Carole King Opens Up Her 'Living Room' - Two-CD Set
• July 9, 2005 - Carole King on NPR's 'Weekend Edition'
• Help Fight Poverty On July 2, 2005
• Carole King Joins the Wallflowers for Some Oxygen
• Advance Concert Tickets Available at CaroleKing.com
• CaroleKing.com Proudly Announces the Grand Opening of the CK Cafe'!
• Carole King Returns to Stars Hollow
• Carole King Featured Artist in Rock & Roll Library
• Carole King's "Uncommon Love" Included on 'Love Rocks' CD to Benefit Human Rights Campaign
• Carole Plays for Peace 2004
• Carole King on Campaign Trail Through November 2, 2004
• Carole King Stumps for Kerry-Edwards
• Carole King Guests on John McLaughlin's 'One On One'
• Carole Takes a Break From Concert Tour to Campaign for Democrats in Idaho
• Carole King to Perform at Democratic Convention
• Honesty is Back - Carole King Announces Summer Concert 'Living Room Tour'
• Carole King and Vanessa Carlton Perform at Lifetime Television and 'Rock the Vote' Late Night Party
• Ray Charles Duets CD 'Genius Loves Company' Features Goffin & King's "Hey Girl" Performed by Charles and Michael McDonald
• Carole King 'Live' with Wolf Blitzer on CNN
• Carole King Featured on the Cover of Performing Songwriter Magazine
• Goffin and King "Inside the Hit Factory" One of the 50 Most Important Moments That Changed the History of Rock
• Carole King to Present Award at 'Spirit of Liberty Celebration' June 14th for People For The American Way
• Carole King Duets with Willie Nelson on 'Willie Nelson & Friends: Outlaws and Angels' On Memorial Day USA Network Television Special
• Carole King Marches for Womens' Lives
• Carole King Visits Rock Hall of Fame
• Carole King Adds Second Show in Boise for Kerry Campaign
• Carole King Presenter and Acknowledged at 46th Grammy Awards
• Rudy Guess on NPR and Other News from the Campaign Trail
• Carole King Adds Concert in New Hampshire
• Carole King Crisscrosses New Hampshire for Sen. John Keryy
• Carole King on C-SPAN from the Kerry Campaign in Iowa
• Carole King Performs in Concert at 'Kerry For President' Events in Iowa, New Hampshire and New York
• Goffin and King Names as Recipients of NARAS' 2004 Trustees Award
• Carole King's Landmark Album, 'Tapestry', #36 on Rolling Stone List - King Contributes Another Dozen Songs on Top 100 LPs
• "Love For Christmas" Available Exclusively at iTunes
• 'Love Makes The World', Carole King's Latest CD Now Available on iTunes Music Store
• Carole King Performs at Inaugural "Songwriters Salon" to Benefit Hearing-Impaired Children and Their Families
• Carole King Lifts Her Voice in Songs for Life - Multi-Artist CD to Help Fight AIDS in Southern Africa
• Carole King to Perform at Westport Country Playhouse Benefit
• NREPA Reaches All-Time High: More Than One Third of House of Representatives on Board
• Carole King Interviews Mandy Moore for Interview Magazine
• Carole King an "Inspiration" to Vanessa Carlton in This Month's Music Issue of InStyle Magazine
• Carole King in the Studio
• Carole King's "So Far Away" Artist's Choice on New Starbucks CD
• Yale University Hosts Carole King at a Master's Tea
• Carole King Visits 'Raising Helen' Set
• Carole King Recalls Little Eva in NPR Interview
• 'Tapestry' Added to National Recording Registry
• Carole King and James Taylor Join Representatives Christopher Shays (R-CT) & Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to Reintroduce Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act in 108th Congress
• 'Carole King: A New Colour in the Tapestry' Re-Airs on PBS
• Carole King's "It's Too Late" Inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame
• 'A Sugar Beats Christmas' is a Holiday Treat for All Ages
• Carole King Joins Studded Cast to Benefit The Painted Turtle Children's Camp
• Sherry Goffin Kondor's 'A Sugarbeats Christmas' Now Available Online
• Carole King's NPR 'Weekend Edition' Interview with Liane Hansen Available Online
• Carole King Interviewed by Liane Hansen for NPR's 'Weekend Edition'
• "Gilmore Girls' Soundtrack CD Features "Where You Lead", with Carole King and Louise Goffin
• Carole King Video Interview Available on CaroleKing.com
• King and Daughter Sherry Goffin Kondor at 'Hole in the Wall Gang' Came Benefit
• Carole King Guests on 'The Caroline Rhea Show' Wednesday, September 4
• Carole King is "Sophie Bloom" on the WB's Gilmore Girls Television Show
• Carole King to Headline Friday Concert on NBC'S 'Today'
• AC Radio Loves "Monday Without You"
• Carole King Performs at 20th Anniversary Celebration of Newman's Own
• "Love Makes The World" on 'World Cafe'
• What Year Is This?
• Grammy Hall of Fame Inducts "You've Got A Friend"
• Louise Goffin Releases 'Sometimes A Circle' on Dreamworks
• 'Love Makes The World' Added to VH1 Classics Channel
• Ms. King Goes to Sacramento
• 'Love Makes The World' Climbs to #27* on R&R's First 2002 AC Chart
• Response to Carole King's Christmas E-Card: Tremendous!
• Carole King Honored at Recording Academy's 2001 New York Hero Awards
• AOL Music Names Carole King "Artist of the Day"
• "United We Stand What More Can I Give" Concert Update From CaroleKing.com
• Carole King's 'Love Makes The World' Album Debuts on UK Chart at #86
• Rosie O'Donnell Hosts Carole King on October 24th
• 'Love Makes The World' Debuts on Billboard Charts
• Carole King Appears on Oprah - Friday, October 19th
• CaroleKing.com Street Team Up and Running!
• 'Tapestry' Jumps from #15 to #7 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Chart
• A Cause Worth Fighting For: Carole King on Capitol Hill
• Television Appearances Scheduled for October
• 'Love Makes The World' Released September 25, 2001
• King At The Castle
• Carole King and Louise Goffin Featured in GAP's 'My First Love' Fall Ad Campaign
• VH1 Names 'Tapestry' in Top 100 Greatest Albums of Rock 'n' Roll
• Rep. Maloney Tours Idaho Back Country
• A&E Documentary Features Goffin & King
• King Takes Rep. Shays On Tour Of The Northern Rockies
• King Tune Leads the WB's 'The Gilmore Girls'
• "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" Included in Nyro Collection
• Carole King & Semisonic - Now That's "Chemistry"
• "You've Got A Friend" Inducted into NARAS Hall of Fame
• King Named Most Successful Female Songwriter by Whitburn
• "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" Featured on Ally McBeal
• President Clinton Visits King Home For Fundraiser
• "Freedom Song" Receives 2000 Emmy Nomination for Best Song

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Put Another Quarter in the Jukebox

by Ann Marie Cusella

Beautiful: the Carole King Musical is playing from February 21-March 19, 2024. Photo Doug Weyand

Feel The Earth Move

Remember The Drifters? The Shirelles? The Righteous Brothers? No? Well you are in for a treat when you get yourself to MusicalFare to be entertained by a stellar cast in this jukebox musical that chronicles the early life of prolific composer and lyricist Carole King. You will also learn a great deal about the history of pre-and-post Beatles pop, R & B, and rock music, and how they evolved from the three minute songs that radio stations demanded into, well, however long the artists wanted their songs to be. Think Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd to name two.

If you do remember the Drifters et al, then you are also in for a treat, a walk down memory lane that will take you right back to those long ago days of the jitterbug and slow dancing in high school gymnasiums and music halls all over the country.

From Klein to Queen

Carole Klein was 16 when she first sold a song to Don Kirshner, a producer  who ran what was really a songwriting factory across the street from the Brill Building near a very sketchy Times Square in the 1950s and 60s. Kirshner hired Carole, who changed her name to King, on a contract basis along with lyricist Gerry Goffin, her lover. They married when she became pregnant with their first child. Their collaboration and marriage lasted for over a decade, and that is the period that is mainly chronicled in the musical.

The cast of 18, most of whom play different roles, have it all going on. The 1650 Medley near the beginning of the musical is a fast-paced song and dance filled introduction to the talent and high energy of the people writing and performing pop music from “Splish Splash” to “Poison Ivy.”

Maria Pedro plays Carole King, a nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn who is not schooled in the ways of charming men with a roving eye. Ms. Pedro has a fine-tuned comedic sense along with her powerful voice. She handles growing from a naive girl into a woman who finds her own voice with aplomb.

Sean Ryan is the appealing but selfish and troubled Gerry Goffin, a man who gives the impression he wishes he were better than he is. The interactions between the lovers are very sweet at first, but then become something else entirely. Mr. Ryan has a fine voice, and does not shy away from exposing the narcissism and severe anxiety of his character.

As rivals and friends of Carole and Gerry, Gretchen Didio is excellent as the confident lyricist, Cynthia Weil, who collaborates with composer Barry Mann, played by Josh Wilde who is very believable as that lovesick hypochondriac. John Kaczorowski has just the right energy as the slick, but caring producer, Don Kirshner.

A History of Pop

The songs come one after the other, from “So Far Away” to the goofy “Who Put the Bomp” to the Shirelles crossover hit, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”, to “Natural Woman”, and the brilliant “Beautiful.” They, and many more, are sung by this great cast with a genuine feeling for the songs and the times.

Costumes by Kari Drozd are very much in keeping with the eras depicted from Carole’s early frumpy look to the glittering gowns worn by the Shirelles, the flashy suits of the Drifters,and the hippie clothes of the later 60s. Susan Drozd is equally adept with hair, wigs and makeup.

Period choreography is by Robin Barker, Music Direction by Theresa Quinn who leads a stellar group of five musicians. Randall Kramer, Artistic/Executive Director of MusicalFare directs this delightfully entertaining musical.

So, if nostalgia and/or pop music and its history are your “bag”, or if you just really enjoy a well produced musical, get thee to MusicalFare before it is all sold out.

Dates, Tickets and More Information

Beautiful: the Carole King Musical is playing @ MusicalFare Theatre from February 21-March 19, 2024.

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Review: ‘A Beautiful Noise’ Spotlights a Morose Neil Diamond

In the new Broadway show, Will Swenson plays the superstar, who seems perpetually dissatisfied, as if on a quest — but for what?

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By Elisabeth Vincentelli

For decades, Neil Diamond was on top of the world. He toured arenas packed with shrieking fans. He wrote “Sweet Caroline,” an irresistible anthem that continues to trigger Pavlovian singalongs — a feat that would delight most performers, but Diamond didn’t leave it at that and was a prolific hit machine .

A 1986 profile in The New York Times described him in these words: “Olympian aspiration, raw aggression and agonizing self-doubt.”

As unlikely as this might sound, it is that last trait that forms the narrative engine of “A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond Musical,” the ambitious, often rousing, occasionally heavy-handed biographical show that opened on Broadway on Sunday at the Broadhurst Theater. We meet a superstar with no confidence, despite being known to engage the beast mode in concert and prowling stages in tight pants and a wide-open satin shirt. He seems perpetually dissatisfied, as if on a fruitless quest — but for what? What gnaws at him?

To answer those questions, the book writer, Anthony McCarten, put Diamond on the couch, or more exactly in an armchair: “A Beautiful Noise,” directed by Michael Mayer, is framed as an extensive therapy session between the aging singer (Mark Jacoby) and a psychologist (Linda Powell).

Diamond is there because his wife Katie — spoiler alert: she’s the third one — and kids forced his hand. Apparently Diamond is “a little hard to live with these days,” we’re told. Maybe his family is frustrated by his grouchiness and poor interpersonal communication skills, at least based on his laconic sullenness with the doctor. When she presses him for insights, he curtly says, “I put everything I have into my songs.” Fine, then let’s see what they have to tell us about the man who wrote them.

And so Diamond makes a second entrance, but now he is in his prime and portrayed by Will Swenson (“Les Misérables,” “Assassins”) in a gravity-defying statement pompadour. This is a swaggering coif that means business, but it is contradicted by the 1965 Diamond’s passive posture and apologetic stammering.

As the doctor and the older singer revisit his catalog — often commenting on the action from their chairs, like a double vision of the narrator in “The Drowsy Chaperone” — we retrace Diamond’s journey, starting with his early days at the Brill Building. One of the influential American hit factories, the location also played a key role in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” and it’s where the mighty Ellie Greenwich (an amusingly perky Bri Sudia) starts mentoring the shy young man from Brooklyn in the mid-1960s.

Diamond, after writing hits for others, like “I’m a Believer” for the Monkees, sets out to perform his own material, with smashing results. In one of the most entertaining episodes, he signs with Bang Records, a mob-associated label run by Bert Berns (Tom Alan Robbins), himself a songwriter good enough to earn his own tribute musical, “Piece of My Heart.”

By the end of the ’60s, Diamond was a serial chart-topper; by the early ’70s, he had mutated into the Lord Byron of soft rock, all strutting gloom and troubled romanticism. That turning point is when Swenson, a stage veteran and Tony nominee for the 2009 Broadway revival of “Hair,” really takes ownership of the role. While he doesn’t entirely let go during the concert scenes — a common issue with Broadway performers playing rockers — Swenson gets close to Diamond’s swaggering sexuality and delivers hit after hit with a relaxed confidence: “Sweet Caroline,” of course, and especially “Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show.” But there is no “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon,” the epitome of Diamond in his louche Lee Hazlewood mode, which could have really spiced up a musical that can feel timid; likewise, the show’s title echoes Diamond’s 1976 album and one can’t help but wonder what would have happened if his 1968 LP “Velvet Gloves and Spit” had inspired McCarten instead.

In any case, the superstar continues seeking, especially love. While still married to his first wife, Jaye (Jessie Fisher), he falls for Marcia (Robyn Hurder, channeling Ann-Margret). The latter gets some of the numbers directly connecting a character’s motivation or emotion with a song — she sings “Forever in Blue Jeans,” for example, when feeling neglected by her constantly touring husband.

But much of the time McCarten — who wrote the screenplays for the Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” and whose play “The Collaboration” opens on Broadway later this month — refrains from shoehorning new meaning into existing lyrics by manipulating the context in which the songs are used, à la “Mamma Mia!” Many of this show’s most effective moments simply use the songs as surface signposts, an approach that defeats the purported point of the book but reflects the way many listeners experience pop music: We associate it with events and moods, recall what was happening when a hit came on the radio or when we attended a concert.

One such scene is Diamond’s debut at the Bitter End. He performs “Solitary Man” and the audience members, sitting at nightclub tables, slowly lean forward, like flowers drawn to the sun. This is the most striking example of Steven Hoggett’s subtle choreography, which to its credit looks like nothing else on Broadway right now: The movement is fluidly, organically incorporated into the scenes, rather than awkwardly grafted onto them.

As Diamond sharpens his live persona in Act II, David Rockwell’s set, until then dominated by hanging lamps, morphs into a “Hollywood Squares”-like concert stage that incorporates the orchestra. (Considering how energized Diamond was when performing, having to retire from touring in 2018 because of Parkinson’s disease must have been especially painful.) It all looks and sounds great, but the clock is ticking — therapy! — and we are no closer to understanding the real Neil.

Until, at long last, the older singer cracks and stops obfuscating. Naturally, the source of his discontent can be found in his childhood, and the show finally makes the essential connection between Diamond’s artistry and his roots, including his Jewishness. By that point it feels rushed and not quite earned, not to mention a little too nakedly sentimental.

And yet, the beating heart of “A Beautiful Noise” is that sequence, featuring “Brooklyn Roads” and “America” leading into “Shilo,” which becomes Diamond’s Rosebud and is performed with almost unbearable grace by the ensemble member Jordan Dobson. Never mind: naked sentimentality is just fine.

A Beautiful Noise At the Broadhurst Theater, Manhattan; abeautifulnoisethemusical.com . Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes.

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Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Marriott Theatre

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Beautiful is the inspiring true story of Carole King's remarkable journey from teenage songwriter to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. From the chart-topping hits she wrote for the biggest acts in music to her own life-changing, trailblazing solo album, Beautiful takes you back to where it all began - and takes you on the ride of a lifetime. Featuring such unforgettable classics as "You've Got a Friend," "One Fine Day," "So Far Away," "Take Good Care of My Baby," "Up on the Roof," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," and "Natural Woman," this Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical phenomenon is filled with the songs you remember and a story you'll never forget!

Thru - Jan 7, 2024

Price: $55-$73

Show Type: Musical

Box Office: 847-634-0200

Running Time: 2hrs, 30mins

Marriott Theatre Seating Chart

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...Watching “Beautiful” for the fourth time (the first three were the original 2014 staging), I was reminded how well bookwriter Douglas McGrath hit all the affectionate notes you have to hit for the core audience of King fans, but did so with the kind of wit and verve that none of the biographical jukes that have followed quite managed. Part of the secret sauce here is the size of the ensemble, and the show’s emphasis on all the Black artists who recorded the justly famed songs of King and Goffin and Weil and Mann. You get a cornucopia of musical delights from the 1960 and 1970s and lots of opportunities for fun cameos, all grabbed here by the likes of Melanie Brezill."

Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended

"...Beautiful is a musical that expresses the power of music to communicate emotions, trials, tribulations, and, above all, love. With perfect lyrics, harmony, instrumental sounds, and vocals, music can evoke both good and bad memories."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Well, tonight, I was witness to an extraordinary job of direction (Jessica Fisch) and choreography (Christopher Windom) on what one might call a super-set (Andrew Boyce). In fact, one might say that the set changes were as well choreographed as any dance number in any musical. There are no walls. The set pieces must go up the aisles ( and down) to reach the stage and or upper floor. These were all done quickly and the show never missed a beat."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...In the first of three Chicagoland productions this season, the Marriott Theatre's ebullient biopic musical, which is pure theatrical joy, draws the audience into its catchy music and captivating story. The production grabs you and never lets go until after the final bows. Relating the artist's formative years, "Beautiful" celebrates the brilliant career of singer/songwriting legend, Carole King. Douglas McGrath's libretto depicts the many ups and downs experienced by this modest, gifted artist. From a precocious 16-year-old, who skipped two grades in high school to study music education at local Queens College, to her first published and recorded hit song, "It Might as Well Rain Until September," we watch a talented young lady grow from a sharp kid into a wise and gifted woman."

Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended

"...First off, the production has a wonderful Carole King. Kaitlyn Davis certainly knows the role, having played King in productions both nationally and regionally. But it’s not just that Davis plays Carole King. She really becomes Carole King. I’m a big fan of Ms. King, and Davis’ portrayal—throughout King’s career—is spot-on. Like King, Davis is an accomplished pianist, accompanying herself throughout the show—while also nailing the timbre and tone of King’s voice; seriously, this isn’t a theater person approximating a songwriter’s voice, it’s someone with a warm singer/songwriter’s voice who’s also got Broadway chops."

Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended

"...Marriott Theatre’s regional holiday production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, the first of three stagings planned for Chicagoland over the next year, sets an incredibly high bar, superseding the first name of its title with whatever the superlative of “beautiful” might be."

Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended

"...With terrific dance and song examples, “Beautiful’s” long Act I showed how the music of the King-Gofin partnership was picked up and performed by well-known groups."

Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended

"...There’s something magical and transcendent about a handful of albums in pop culture. It’s almost certain that “Thriller,” “Rumours,” or “Born in the U.S.A.” come to mind quickly. Still, Carole King’s 1971 “Tapestry,” which sold 25 million copies, holds its place firmly as one of the all-time greats. Douglas McGrath’s musical adaptation of King’s life & career, Beautiful, the Carole King Musical opens a magnificent portal to the past. Directed by Jessica Fisch, the staging of this outstanding production at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire is the feel-good experience we all need in our lives!"

Life and Times - Highly Recommended

"...Leave it to Marriott Theatre to top off the end of a stupendous season with its best show of the year. “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” is perhaps the best show Marriott has done in the last half of the decade."

Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended

"...This is entertainment worthy of the holiday season with heart, laughter, and pathos. At the finale, the audience was on their feet, rocking and rolling to “I Feel the Earth Move.”"

This show has been Jeff Recommended*

*The designation of "Jeff Recommended" is given to a production when at least ONE ELEMENT of the show was deemed outstanding by the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee.

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Production History

BEAUTIFUL – The Carole King Musical

Book by DOUGLAS MCGRATH · Words and Music by GERRY GOFFIN & CAROLE KING, BARRY MANN & CYNTHIA WEIL Music by Arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing

2023-2024 Season Mainstage Production History Running Time: 2 HOURS AND 25 MINS

The inspiring true story of Carole King’s remarkable journey from a teenage songwriter to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. From the pop classics King wrote for singers from Aretha Franklin to James Taylor, to her own chart-busting success as a solo artist, BEAUTIFUL – THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL takes you on the ride of a lifetime. Featuring over two dozen hits, including “One Fine Day,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and “Natural Woman,” this Broadway celebration is filled with the songs you remember and a story you’ll never forget!

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Review Roundup: BEAUTIFUL Opens in the West End - All the Reviews!

Joining Katie Brayben playing the title role in the West End production of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical is Ian McIntosh as song-writer Barry Mann. The musical just opened at the Aldwych Theatre and runs through 13 June 2015.

The leading cast members also include Alan Morrissey as King's husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, Lorna Want as song-writer Cynthia Weil, Glynis Barber as Genie Klein, King's mother, and Gary Trainor as music publisher and producer Don Kirshner.

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, is based on the early life and career of legendary singer/ songwriter Carole King. Beautiful has book by Douglas McGrath with words and music by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mannand Cynthia Weil and is directed by Marc Bruni. Choreography is by Josh Prince with set designs by Derek McLane, costume designs by Alejo Viettii, lighting by Peter Kaczorowski and sound by Brian Ronan. Orchestrations and Music Arrangements are by Steve Sidwell.

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical is the untold story of her journey from school girl to superstar; from her relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, to her remarkable rise to stardom. Along the way, she became one of the most successful solo acts in music history, and wrote the soundtrack to a generation.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph : ...it's the career-making, all-woman performance at its heart from relative newcomer Katie Brayben that lifts it into the realm of the "go-see"...This journey could seem quite pat, and at times, it does...Brayben is the clinching factor...she exudes an authenticity that lifts her far above the realm of a tribute-act impersonation. She captures King's familiar, plaintive intonations and her searing, sustained surges but when she sings numbers such as It's Too Late and You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman they appear to come from some core part of her. What could be the show's one-note trick, hearing songs emerging as if at the moment of composition, acquires real magic. Brayben's crowning achievement, written in the soulfulness of her performance, is to embody the take-home message that it's what's inside that counts, what comes from within that makes you beautiful.

Michael Billington, The Guardian : Fans of the singer-songwriter Carole King may be happy just to hear a replay of her biggest hits in this West End musical, an efficient re-creation by Marc Bruni of his original Broadway production but with a British cast. While the show is pleasant enough, it struck me as the theatrical equivalent of one of those bland Hollywood biopics in which a local boy or girl makes it to the top of the showbiz ladder...It's good to hear some of the old songs again, such as It Might As Well Rain Until September and The Locomotion...But the attempt to link the songs to the life feels strained...At the end, I felt I still didn't really know Carole King...Katie Brayben...makes the big leap into playing Carole King with admirable skill: she conveys her essential normality, love for music and longing for domestic harmony. Brayben also suggests a woman who backs nervously into stardom...But the show lacks the drama that some of us still hunger for in a musical.

Henry Hitchings, The Evening Standard : It's a great showcase for Lewisham native Katie Brayben. Without exactly capturing the particular qualities of King's voice and performance style, she sounds authentic and appealing -- achieving a reassuring warmth and moments of raw passion. She's adept at suggesting King's yearnings and vulnerabilities as well as her frankness and essential normality...This isn't exhilaratingly dramatic. But Marc Bruni's staging is slick and witty, Douglas McGrath's book nicely highlights the industrial efficiency of the music business, and Derek McLane's sets reinforce the impression of a world in which musicians are treated as soulless hirelings. Those who like their entertainment edgy may regard Beautiful as polite to the point of being tame. But this gently enjoyable show deserves to find an audience...Although the absence of a big name may hamper its chances, Brayben feels like a star in the making.

Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out London : The Brits love an underdog. The Yanks love a winner. And Carole King was both. So it's no wonder this biographical jukebox musical is shaping up to be a transatlantic smash, having already conquered Broadway...It's a heart-warming story, and Katie Brayben is winning in the extreme as the nerdy King. It'll probably run for ever. Except maybe one sliiiight problem: it turns out Carole King's life was really boring. Not, like, hideously boring. Probably marginally more exciting than, say, my life...Douglas McGrath's dialogue is charming and Marc Bruni's direction light and zippy. But plot-wise 'Beautiful' is basically two-and-a-half hours of Carole sitting in an office, writing songs, with the occasional cut to her marriage failing apart, poignantly but affably...Brayben is a good actor, a nice singer -- maybe a bit more Stevie Nicks than Carole King, but that's fine -- and a sweet fulcrum to all the action...But really, there's not a lot here beyond the songs.

Paul Taylor, The Independent : Katie Brayben...gives a wonderfully endearing performance that seems to soar beyond mere impersonation as it communicates King's warmth, modesty, self-deprecating humour, and touching integrity and projects the straight-from-the-heart candour of that nasal, husky, plaintively yearning singing voice...It feels to me, though, that McGrath's book and Marc Bruni's production...are happiest when treating the Fifties and the early Sixties with a tongue-in-cheek wit...But the deficiencies of the jukebox genre - the fact that there's too little time for sustained drama - become much more apparent latterly when Carole's dreams of a fulfilling marriage in the suburbs are dashed...It says a great deal for the depth of Brayben's performance that she can, nonetheless, give you a real tear-jerking sense of how far King has had come to earn the right to sing the jubilant titular song at the inspiring finale.

Quentin Letts, The Daily Mail : They don't erect statues to living people but no such qualms exist in musical theatre...Carole is played by Katie Brayben, who grows into the part as the story reaches the 1970s when a divorced, newly assertive King became the voice for a generation of women. Miss Brayben overcomes a shocker of a wig and wins us round as Carole the victor, Carole the decent, slightly square mother of two who also just happened to be an ace composer. Cue violins. This is a big American production and it is slickly done. A busy ensemble gives us the Drifters, the Shirelles and the Righteous Brothers in best karaoke fashion...Its Americanised, airbrushy niceness aside, this show is sweet and happy as pie. It milks the tear ducts, gives you a long list of searing songs and will send many a couple home arm-in-arm to the very suburbs Carole King adored.

Mark Valencia, WhatsOnStage : Douglas McGrath's book doesn't do subtlety; it just gets on with naming the names and teeing up the hits in a whistle-stop tour through the life and work of not one but four great American songsmiths...Beautiful is way too respectful towards its living subjects. Wait a few decades and perhaps some future dramatist will come up with a less antiseptic, more dramatically grounded musical about Goffin and King. For now, what we have is a collection of great songs linked by fragments of safe biography...The show is saved from ignominy -- and how -- by a star-making central performance by Katie Brayben...this human powerhouse lives and breathes her character at a level no one else in the company even approaches. However meagre the dialogue, however overfamiliar the song, her delivery is truthful and inhabited. At every stage of King's story, from "It Might as Well Rain Until September" until "You've Got a Friend", Brayben grows as her character grows.

Mark Shenton, London Theatre : Like Jersey Boys, the musical uses the songs to illustrate and punctuate the story of their own creators' lives. It delivers some appropriate transitions, but also some clunky ones...but then what numbers King wrote! I'd quite happily listen to them all night. And that's more or less what we do in between the exposition. As delivered with a rare mixture of ferocity and vivacity, passion and charm by Katie Brayben, the show's proof is definitely in its pudding of those songs and this performance of them. It is beautifully served, too, by a music department led by musical supervisor Jason Howland and musical director Matt Smith.

Check back for updates!

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EXTENDED AGAIN IN EVERETT!

6 performances added jan 31-feb 4.

Book by Douglas McGrath Words and Music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil Music by Arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Orchestrations, Vocal and Incidental Music Arrangements by Steve Sidwell

ISSAQUAH NOV 14–DEC 30, 2023 | EVERETT JAN 6–FEB 4, 2024

Buy Issaquah Tickets     Buy Everett Tickets

She wrote the soundtrack to a generation.  Beautiful  tells the touching and true story of chart-topping musical legend Carole King’s remarkable rise to stardom: beginning as an ordinary girl with extraordinary talent, charting her rock ‘n roll songwriting with husband Gerry Goffin, exploring her relationship to fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, and forging her path to becoming one of the most successful and enduring solo artists in popular music history.

Chock full of your favorite hits like “One Fine Day,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “The Locomotion,” “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” and so many more, Beautiful  is more than just beautiful music— it’s an inspiring story of a groundbreaking female artist who forged her own path in the male-dominated music industry, finding her own true voice and moving the earth for us all.

Music by Arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Orchestrations, Vocal and Incidental Music Arrangements Steve Sidwell

BEAUTIFUL is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are supplied by MTI.  www.mtishows.com

Originally Produced on Broadway by Paul Blake Sony/ATV Music Publishing Mike Bosner

• Running Time: 2 hours 40 minutes including intermission

Production Photos

CAST (In alphabetical order)

UNDERSTUDIES

Creative Team

LISA SHRIVER , (Director / Choreographer). Broadway: Jesus Christ Superstar, The Farnsworth Invention, The Story of My Life, Ring of Fire. Selected: Into the Woods (Roundabout Theater Company); Rock of Ages (The 5th Avenue Theatre); Austen’ s Pride (Carnegie Hall). Film: A Beautiful Mind, Disney’s A Christmas Carol. TV: A Very Murray Christmas, Broad City, The Detour, Evil. Other: Phish’s NYE concert, Disney Cruise Line, and Busch Gardens. Thank you, Adam Immerwahr and Max Grossman (A3 Artists). Love to Brian, Viola, and mom, Aggie.

R.J. TANCIOCO , he/him (Music Director / Conductor / Keyboard 1) Select musical direction credits include: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, She Loves Me, In the Heights, Hairspray, Disney’s Newsies, and Dreamgirls (Village Theatre); Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Into the Woods, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Urinetown, Mamma Mia!, Jasper in Deadland, Little Shop of Horrors, RENT, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and Hair (The 5th Avenue Theatre); The Winter’s Tale, As You Like It, The Odyssey, and Here Lies Love (Seattle Rep); A Christmas Carol (ACT Theatre); Twelfth Night (Seattle Shakespeare Company); Head Over Heels, Violet, and American Idiot (ArtsWest); The Spitfire Grill (Showtunes Theatre Company); Daddy Long Legs, and Bright Star (Taproot Theatre Company). A 2010 Gregory Award and 2011/2014 Gypsy Rose Lee Award recipient, Tancioco is a vocal coach, arranger, and composer who enjoys educating youth and cultivating new musicals. This one is for Pop—thank you for believing in the music. Much love to family and friends. Grateful.

GRACE LAUBACHER , (Set Designer) is a New York City-based scenic designer. Recent and upcoming work includes: Oklahoma! (West End and Young Vic, London); A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder and Don Pasquale (Opera Saratoga); Titanique (Daryl Roth Theater, NYC); The Sound of Music (Virginia Opera); La Bohème (Santa Fe Opera). Grace is a designer at Iron Bloom Creative Production, a multi-disciplinary design & production company in NYC. gracelaubacher.com

MELANIE TAYLOR BURGESS , (Costume Designer) is a Seattle-based costume designer having designed costumes for more than 170 productions for: Seattle Opera, Seattle Rep, The 5th Avenue Theatre, ACT Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Village Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, and others. Regionally for: The Guthrie, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Arizona Theatre Company, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Minneapolis Children’s Theatre, and others. She is the recipient of the first Gregory Award for Outstanding Costume Design 2010 and again in 2019.

ROBERT J. AGUILAR , he/him (Lighting Designer). Regional credits include work at: Village Theatre, Seattle Rep, Portland Center Stage, ACT Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, The 5th Avenue Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The Old Globe, Intiman Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Milwaukee Rep, among others. Film: The Jinkx and Dela Holiday Special, Potato Dreams of America. robertjaguilar.com, IG: @fake_robert

DARRON L WEST , he/him (Sound Designer). Making his Village Theatre debut, Darron is a Tony and Obie Award-winning sound designer whose 30-year career spans theater and dance, Broadway and off-Broadway. His work has been heard in more than 600 productions all over the United States and internationally in 15 countries. Additional honors include the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Audelco, and Princess Grace Foundation Statue Award. Thirty-year company member designing the productions of Anne Bogart’s SITI company.

AHREN BUHMANN , (Projection Designer) is a lighting and video designer based in Seattle. His previous shows include MISS STEP, Disney’s Descendants, and Eastbound (Village Theatre); Hometown Boy, This Bitter Earth, Pipeline, Mala, Dry Land, Fade, Grounded, and Vanishing Point (Seattle Public Theater); Or, Nonsense and Beauty, White, The Revolutionists, Burn This, The Pride, and Annapurna (Theatre22); The Angel in the House (Café Nordo), Dear San Francisco (7 Fingers); Solaris and My Antonia (Book-It Repertory Theatre); Parliament Square (Pony World); Cyla’s Gift (Samara Lerman); Out of Character, Angels in America, White Noise, and The Good Book (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), The Trial of Elizabeth Cree (Chicago Opera and Opera Philadelphia), Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (Tony Kiser), Every Five Minutes (Washington Ensemble Theatre), The Who’s Tommy (Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society), and Carefree (New Jersey Performing Arts Center). Ribbet.

LAUREL NICHOLS , (Stage Manager) is thrilled to return for this remarkable show! Previously at Village Theatre: Hello, Dolly!, Songs for a New World, The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes, Disney’s Newsies, Pump Boys & Dinettes, Cubamor, Writing Kevin Taylor, Billy Elliot. Other career favorites include: Mrs. Doubtfire (Broadway and The 5th Avenue Theatre); The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (Intiman Theatre and The Williams Project); Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Rock of Ages (The 5th Ave Theatre); and Revenge Song (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Proud AEA member. Love to Mr. Nichols! @laurelleemarie

ISABELLA MARZIELLO , she/her/ella (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to be back at Village Theatre! Isabella’s credits include: Hello, Dolly!, How to Break, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Village Theatre); Q Brothers Christmas Carol (ArtsWest); Dream Hou$e (Washington Ensemble Theatre), The Boy Who Kissed the Sky, In the Forest Grim (Seattle Children’s Theatre); Emerald City Development Workshop, Bruce, and Ghosts (Seattle Rep). Isabella holds a BA in theatre arts from the University of Puget Sound. In her free time, she enjoys reading and hiking through the forest. She sends her thanks to her friends and fiancé for their constant love and support.

MIRANDA C. PRATT , she/her (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working on this show with this amazing team! Miranda is also grateful to be serving as the theatre’s Resident Stage Manager. She has worked on a number of shows at Village since 2014, including Dreamgirls, Matilda the Musical, Songs for a New World, and Cabaret. In her spare time, Miranda also tries to stage manage for The 14/48 Projects whenever possible and loves lifting heavy things. All the love to Chris and Odin.

HARRY TURPIN , he/him/his ( Assistant Director ). Harry is pleased to be back at Village Theatre after many years, but now on the other side of the table. He made his recent directing debut with Village’s 24-hour Musicals this past summer. An award-winning director and choreographer, Harry has directed several productions including Little Shop of Horrors , White Christmas , The Music Man, Once on this Island , Hair , and Jesus Christ Superstar , among others. Harry serves as the President of the Board for the award-winning Reboot Theatre Company. Thank you to Lisa and Adam for the opportunity and Beau for everything. Trust yourself to be yourself.  Harryturpin.com

DANIEL CRUZ , ( Associate Choreographer ). Choreography credits at Village Theatre: Dreamgirls , In the Heights , Big River, Jesus Christ Superstar (for which Daniel won a Seattle BWW Award), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast , and Aida . The 5th Avenue Theatre: Rent and Pippin . Seattle Theatre Group: Dance This! Cruz Control Dance Company: Day of the Dead and Club Cruz Control (Moore Theatre). ArtsWest: Q Brothers’ A Christmas Carol . Other credits: Bungie, Valve, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Hello Kitty, T-Mobile, Read Across America, Seahawks halftime show, and America’s Best Dance Crew’s 8 Flavahz.

BRYNNE JOHNSON-MCKEEN,  ( Associate Costume Designer ) is a Seattle-based costume designer and a Seattle University graduate. She costume-designed The 25 th  Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee  and three seasons of the Beta Series for Village Theatre. In Seattle, she has designed  American Idiot  and  Death of a Salesman  (ArtsWest);  Hamlet  (Freehold Theatre); and  Always… Patsy Cline  (Taproot Theatre).

A Letter From Lisa

by Lisa Shriver, Beautiful Director/Choreographer

I stood in front of a gym filled with students and parents. The music of “You’ve Got a Friend” swelled and, in my most emotive voice, I sang into the mic, “Close your eyes and think of me.” It was one line, but I felt like a star!

I fell in love with this song—not only because it gave me a chance to step into the spotlight, but because I was entranced by the beautiful melody and lyrics that made even a 12 year old feel like they were her own .

Many years passed before I really knew of Carole King, how her songs shaped rock n’ roll and how she redefined the role of women songwriters in the music industry.

Only then did I realize how much of Carole King’s music had scored my own lifetime of moments:

• being serenaded with “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” by a high school crush shortly after the premiere of Top Gun
• nursing a broken heart with “One Fine Day” on repeat, and
• showing off on the dance floor of way too many weddings to “The Locomotion.”

It made sense that I knew the songs before I knew the writer.

One of the many unique qualities about Carole King’s stardom is that she never set out to be a star. Her music was the star.

And when she finally found her own voice as a lyricist and as a recording artist, she created one of the most iconic and beloved albums of all time .

Since its release in 1971, Tapestry has sold over 25 million copies worldwide. With its raw and soulful songs, it solidified Carole King as a voice of her generation .

You hear a few bars of any track from Tapestry and, like seeing an old friend, you are immediately transported back to the moments, the relationships, and the experiences colored by the sound and emotion of these songs—moments like a 6th grade chorus concert and a 12-year-old’s chance to shine.

I hope you’ll warmly recall your own “moments” when you hear the music of Village Theatre’s production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical .

And I hope your time in the theatre will provide you with a brand-new experience to enjoy and remember.

—Lisa Shriver, Beautiful Director/Choreographer

Photos by Auston James featuring Sarah Rose Davis as Carole King

Note:  All ticket prices include a $2 Facility Fee.  An additional $5 per ticket Service Fee applies to phone and online orders.  

Please view our seating charts for Section A+, Section A and Section B seat locations.

Issaquah Seating Chart                              Everett Seating Chart

Masks are not required at Mainstage performances in the 2023-2024 season, but are still strongly encouraged.

ASL and Captioned Performances

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation is provided during select performances.  Learn more »

• ISSAQUAH: Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 2:00 pm
• EVERETT: Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 2:00 pm

CAPTIONED PERFORMANCES Captioned performances are provided during select performances.  Learn more »

• ISSAQUAH: Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 2:00 pm
• EVERETT: Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 2:00 pm

Special Performances

PAY WHAT YOU WILL Tickets can be purchased in person or over the phone starting the day of the Pay What You Will performance.  Suggested ticket price is $10.   Learn more »

• Tuesday, November 14 at 7:30 pm
• Sunday, November 26 at 7:00 pm
• Tuesday, December 19 at 7:30 pm
• Sunday, January 21 at 7:00 pm
• Saturday, January 27 at 8:00 pm

IN @ MAIN (Institute at Mainstage) KIDSTAGE students are invited to attend and are given an opportunity learn more about the behind-the-scenes world.

• ISSAQUAH: Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 7:30 pm
• EVERETT: Friday, January 26, 2024 at 8:00 pm

PREVIEWS The show is almost complete and the audience is the final piece. Final adjustments could be made after this performance as we head to opening night. 

• ISSAQUAH: : Tuesday, November 14 at 7:30 pm; Wednesday, November 15 at 7:30 pm; Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 7:30 pm

OPENING NIGHTS The show is complete! Join us for the celebration.

• ISSAQUAH: Friday, November 17, 2023 at 8:00 pm
• EVERETT: Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 8:00 pm

CLOSING NIGHTS The final performance in each location.

• ISSAQUAH: Sunday, December 23, 2023 at 2:00 pm
• EVERETT: Saturday, January 23, 2024 at 8:00 pm

(425) 392-2202 [email protected]

Box Office Hours  Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Thursday: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Friday: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Saturday: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Closed daily from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Mainstage Performance Times

Wednesday: 7:30 pm Thursday: 2:00* & 7:30 pm Friday: 8:00 pm Saturday: 2:00 & 8:00 pm Sunday: 2:00 & 7:00* pm *performances at this time do not occur every week of the run

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7 Weeks Left!

Must end June 30th

JUST LIKE JERSEY BOYS   AND BEAUTIFUL, THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL , A BEAUTIFUL NOISE BRINGS THE HITS YOU LOVE TO LIFE LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN!

The songs you know. the true story you’ve never heard — until now..

Created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE is the uplifting true story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chartbusting, show-stopping American rock icon. With 140 million albums sold, a catalogue of classics like “America,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” and “Sweet Caroline,” an induction into the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and sold-out concerts around the world that made him bigger than Elvis, Neil Diamond’s story was made to shine on Broadway, where the biggest stars tell their story.

Like  Jersey Boys  and  The Carole King Musical before it, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL is an inspiring, exhilarating, energy-filled musical memoir, that tells the untold true story of how America’s greatest hitmaker became a star, set to the songs that defined his career.

Music was phenomenal. If you closed your eyes you thought you were at a Neil Diamond concert.

This show is both a concert of Neil Diamond’s greatest hits and a beautiful/heart-reaching love story. It will make you laugh, keep you singing along, and propel you to dance in the aisles.

Fantastic music and really well crafted story. Loved every minute.

So good… so good… so good, that I put Neil immediately in my Spotify rotation on the walk/train ride home.

It’s a MUST SEE in my book! Such a feel-good experience.

This was a true treat . The show about Neil Diamond’s journey was fantastic. The music, the dancing, the acting, the costumes, all great.

The storyline was perfectly scripted, visually exciting, and engaging. I laughed, I cried and sang along.

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Last Weeks!

Don’t Miss Your Chance to see A Beautiful Noise

'Beautiful Rebel' Review: Netflix biopic hits a sour note but Letizia Toni's fiery performance saves the film

MILAN, ITALY: 'Beautiful Rebel ,' also known as 'Sei nell'anima', chronicles the extraordinary life of Italian rock icon Gianna Nannini. This highly anticipated film, which arrived on May 2 on Netflix , isn't just a concert experience.

Directed by Cinzia TH Torrini, 'Beautiful Rebel' promises a captivating deep dive, following Nannini's journey from her formative years to her ultimate musical consecration. With a 1 hour and 52 minutes runtime, the film promises to captivate the audience with the passion Nannini holds.

Whether you're a lifelong devotee of Nannini's music or just discovering her powerful voice, 'Beautiful Rebel' seems promising through the trailer to be an enthralling exploration of the woman who defied expectations and became a rock legend. So, prepare to be transported to the heart of Nannini's story -and see if Torrini's piece of work can ignite a musical fire in the audience's heart or not.

'Beautiful Rebel' misses the mark on Nannini's story

Cinzia Torrini's 'Beautiful Rebel' chronicles the journey of Gianna Nannini, a fiery singer who defied expectations. Based on Nannini's autobiography, the film boasts period-accurate sets and costumes, bringing 1970s Italy to life. However, the storytelling falls flat.

The central conflict revolves around Gianna's desire to pursue music against her father's tennis aspirations. This repetitive back-and-forth culminates in a contrived scene where Gianna threatens to expose her father's infidelity to secure his approval. This heavy-handed approach weakens the narrative.

The film also glosses over intriguing aspects of Nannini's life. Her philosophy degree and participation in anti-nuclear protests are absent, details that could have enriched her character's motivations.

Instead, 'Beautiful Rebel' relies on tired tropes: a privileged young artist indulging in drugs and on the path to stardom. This predictable formula overshadows what could have been a more nuanced exploration of artistic rebellion and social awareness.

While the film succeeds in recreating the era, it fails to capture the essence of Nannini's spirit. Focusing on period details feels like a missed opportunity to present a compelling and original story.

Letizia Toni becomes a saving grace in 'Beautiful Rebel'

While 'Beautiful Rebel' may not reach its full potential, Letizia Toni shines brightly as Gianna Nannini. Her resemblance to the iconic singer is uncanny, but her talent goes far beyond physical embodiment.

Toni portrays Gianna with a captivating depth, channeling her rebellious spirit and unwavering passion for music. Despite a script that falters and a direction lacking in spark, Toni injects the film with undeniable energy.

Her commitment to the role is evident in every scene, as she strives to make Gianna a relatable and inspiring figure. Toni's performance holds the audience's attention even when the narrative falters. 

'Beautiful Rebel' is available for streaming on Netflix

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