Cast Announced For BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL At La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT announce full casting for the second show of its 2023-2024 “Soundtrack of Your Life” season, the Southern California regional theatre premiere of the Tony Award-winning, BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL, book by Douglas McGrath; words & music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil; music by arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing; orchestrations, vocal, and music arrangements by Steve Sidwell; musical direction by Ryan O'Connell; choreography & associate direction by Joyce Chittick; and direction by David Ruttura (based on the original Broadway direction by Marc Bruni and original Broadway choreography by Josh Prince). 

BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL will preview on Friday, November 10 at 8 pm & Saturday, November 11 at 2 pm (with a press opening on Saturday, November 11 at 8 pm) and will run through Sunday, December 3, 2023 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.  

Follow the inspiring true story of Carole King's remarkable rise to stardom – from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history.  Along the way, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation, with countless classics like “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “You've Got a Friend,” “So Far Away,” “It Might as Well Rain Until September,” “Up on the Roof,” and “The Loco-motion.”  Don't miss this smash Broadway hit that ran for 6 years! 

The Cast of BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL features: Sara Sheperd as “Carole King,” Miles Jacoby as “Gerry Goffin,” Sara King as “Cynthia Weil,” Trevor James as “Barry Mann,” Valerie Perri as “Genie Klein,” and Brian Ibsen as “Don Kirshner.”  

The Ensemble features (in alphabetical order) Briana Brooks, Fatima El-Bashir, Rosharra Francis, David Ginlet, Cornelius Jones, Jr., James Larsen, Jazz Madison, Kenneth Mosley, Melissa Musial, and Monet Sabel. The Swings are Mitchell Lam Hau, Keturah McIntyre, and Michael Swain Smith.

David Ruttura (Director) is currently an Associate Director of Moulin Rouge on Broadway and tour.  David most recently directed the regional premiere of Beautiful at Ogunquit Playhouse and an all-new production at Theatre Aspen and Tuacahn.  Directing credits include Million Dollar Quartet (Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Pittsburgh CLO), Footloose (Norwegian Cruise Line), Chick Flick (Westside Theater), Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Ogunquit Playhouse), A Christmas Carol, The Cher Show, Memphis, White Christmas (Gateway Playhouse), Hot Mess in Manhattan (Araca Project), Electra in a One-Piece (Good Company/The Wild Project), He Who Laughs: Live by Isaac Oliver (Ars Nova). As Associate Director: Beautiful, Network, School of Rock, Spider-man, Follies, Lombardi, Million Dollar Quartet, White Christmas, A Man for All Seasons (Broadway); Beautiful, School of Rock, The Phantom of the Opera (National Tour).

Joyce Chittick (Choreography & Associate Direction) Originally from Maine, Joyce began her career while still in high school and went on to perform in eleven Broadway productions, plus numerous Off-Broadway, Regional, and National Tours, including work at The Public Theater, Lincoln Center, and Manhattan Theatre Club.

Joyce has remounted Beautiful in Japan, Australia, and every incarnation of the U.S. National Tour, while maintaining the Broadway company for the majority of its run.  In 2020, Joyce was asked back to Japan to remount the original production via Zoom.  She has directed shows at The Cape Playhouse, Ivoryton Playhouse, and was recently a theatre instructor at the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts.  Joyce has also overseen the direction of many TV performances, including “America's Got Talent,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “The View,” “Good Morning, America,” two seasons of “AUDC” (Lifetime), and PBS' “A Capitol 4th” starring Carole King.

RYAN O'CONNELL (Musical Director) is excited to return to La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts after music directing Grease last season!  Ryan has worked on more than 75 musical productions as a music director, orchestrator, and composer. Favorite credits: Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (2nd Stage NYC), Ragtime (1st National Tour), Mary Poppins (MTW), Bonnie & Clyde (Candlelight Pavilion), In The Heights (Broadway at the Gardens), and Loch Ness (The Rev).  He has helped create music for NBC, CBS, Fox, Netflix, Cartoon Network, Disney World, and Disneyland, where he currently works as a music director and teaching artist. He also writes choral arrangements for Shawnee Press/Hal Leonard. 

Douglas McGrath (Book) was a filmmaker and playwright.  He directed the HBO documentary “Becoming Mike Nichols” and collaborated with Woody Allen on the screenplay for Bullets Over Broadway, for which they were nominated for an Academy Award. 

He wrote and directed the Oscar-winning Emma from the Jane Austen novel, Company Man, Charles Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby (which won the Best Ensemble Cast from the National Board of Review), Infamous, and the HBO documentary, “His Way,” nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Nonfiction Special.  His play, Checkers, opened the 30th anniversary season of New York's acclaimed Vineyard Theatre.  His book for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical was nominated for Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards.  He began his career as a writer for "Saturday Night Live.”  He wrote essays on the arts and politics for the New Republic, the New Yorker, The Nation, The New York Times, and Vanity Fair. Douglas McGrath passed away on November 4, 2022.

Gerry Goffin (Words and Music) Born in Brooklyn in 1939, Gerry Goffin met Carole King at Queens College, and their musical collaboration began almost immediately.  They married in 1959, and that same year wrote their first hit song “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” (The Shirelles).  The duo penned more than 50 Top-40 hits including "The Locomotion," "Natural Woman," and “Up on the Roof.”  In 1987, Goffin and King were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Goffin has left an indelible mark on American music.

Carole King (Words and Music) Pop music would be very different without the contributions of Carole King, who at age 17 wrote her first #1 hit with Gerry Goffin, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” for The Shirelles.  The dozens of chart hits Goffin and King wrote during this period became legendary, but it was 1971's Tapestry which took King to the pinnacle, speaking personally to her contemporaries and providing a spiritual musical backdrop to the decade.  More than 400 of her compositions have been recorded by over 1,000 artists, resulting in 100 hit singles and six Grammys.

Barry Mann (Words and Music) has written the melodies of some of the most influential pop songs in musical history.  In addition to "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," the most-played song of the last century, and the songs heard in Beautiful, he composed later standards like "Somewhere Out There" (winner of two Grammys), "Here You Come Again," "Sometimes When We Touch," "Just Once," and "Don't Know Much."  Together he and Cynthia Weil have amassed an incredible 112 pop, country, and R&B awards from Broadcast Music Inc. for significant radio air play.  He has been inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.                                       

Cynthia Weil (Words and Music) was the acclaimed lyricist of classic songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," the most-played song of the 20th century.  In addition to the songs heard in Beautiful, she set the words to later standards including "Somewhere Out There," "Here You Come Again," "He's So Shy," "Just Once," and "Don't Know Much," to name just a few.  Weil was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, honored with multiple Grammy nominations, and two Grammy awards for "Somewhere Out There" as the Motion Picture Song of the Year and Song of the Year.  

Weil passed away on June 1, 2023.

The Design Team for BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL is as follows: Set, Props and Costumes provided by Ogunquit Playhouse (Scenic Design by Derek McLane & Costume Design by Alejo Vietti); Lighting Design by Ethan Steimel; Sound Design by Josh Bessom; Costume Coordinator, Adam Ramirez; Hair/Wig/Make-up Design by Kaitlin Yagen; Properties Supervisor Kevin Williams.  The Casting Director is Julia Flores.  The Production Stage Manager is Monica Dickhens.

BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL will preview on Friday, November 10 at 8 pm & Saturday, November 11 at 2 pm (with a press opening on Saturday, November 11 at 8 pm) and will run through Sunday, December 3, 2023 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.  

Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 pm; Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 2 pm & 8 pm and Sundays at 1:30 pm & 6:30 pm.  There are no performances on Sunday, November 12 at  6:30 pm or Thursday, November 23 at 7:30 pm (Thanksgiving).  There is an added performance on Wednesday, November 22 at 7:30pm (due to the Thanksgiving holiday).

There will be an Open-Captioned performance on Saturday, November 25 at 2 pm.  Talkbacks with the cast and creative team will be on Thursday, November 16 at 7:30 pm and Thursday, November 30 at 7:30 pm.          

 

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