Broadway’s latest import is a biographical musical about one of America’s greatest songwriters and it’s a lovely tribute to the natural woman.
Beautiful tells the story of Carole King, from her successfully selling her first song as 16-year-old Carole Klein, her many years as a writer behind the scenes, her relationship with Gerry Goffin, through to her performance at Carnegie Hall in 1971. As well as telling the story of King, we meet and hear songs from Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
Firstly I should point out that this is a jukebox musical, which is where the soundtrack consists of already existing songs, normally with a theme throughout, in this case the music of King, Goffin, Mann and Weil. However, many jukebox musicals make up a story to fit around the music, and the book is often very thin such as We Will Rock You and Mamma Mia!. Actually based on the story of the writers themselves, this was not the case and is a rare example of a good jukebox musical.
The set is great, with incredibly smooth transitions. Derek McLane has done a wonderful job by making the set look brilliant, and help forward the piece but never distract from the story and what is happening. One of the best parts of the set is the piano, which is on a track, that moves and rotates it to put it where it needs to be for each room. Seeing as this is about the songwriters, there is hardly a moment where the piano isn’t on stage and this is a great way of moving it instead of having people push it around. Most essential is the sound design, which is executed brilliantly by Brian Ronan. Alejo Vietti’s costumes, like the set are appropriate, great but never distracting. Overall, the choreography isn’t groundbreaking, but I wouldn’t expect it to be, with Josh Prince’s steps marrying the music. Altogether, Marc Bruni has directed a great piece of theatre.
“A rare treat in the form of a good jukebox musical”
The book is actually good! Whilst this isn’t the first biographical musical, it is the first one that I’ve been impressed by (Jersey Boys didn’t work nearly as well as this). Douglas McGrath has created a script that is often funny, with moments of seriousness and some highly touching scenes. Working with the wonderful music, each song is in the perfect place in the show. Highlights include ‘On Broadway’, ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’, ‘Walking in the Rain’, with signature songs ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ and ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ being some of the sweetest moments in the show.
The cast are just right too. Alan Morrissey makes a great Gerry Goffin, and even though there are times when you hate him, he is still very likable. Lorna Want and Ian McIntosh make a great pair as Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. All three of them, along with the ensemble, have beautiful and very impressive voices. But the star here is understudy Joanna Woodward as Carole King. I have to admit I was concerned when I wasn’t getting to see Katie Brayben but Woodward put all my worries to rest in her first performance as King. The likeness to King is uncanny so if Woodard is this good, I can only imagine how wonderful Brayben will be when I return (which I most certainly will!)
This is a show full of high production values that never distract from the characters you see. The sound is wonderful and it’s rare that you’ll hear this many pop songs of this caliber anywhere else. A rare treat in the form of a good jukebox musical, this is a tribute to King that is appropriately titled Beautiful. A fun night for all involved, I expect this show to run for a long time to come.
Photo credits: Brinkhoff Moegenburg
IBU LANGOO 