Interview: The Wild West of Music: A Conversation About MSMT's BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL

“It was the Wild West of music,” declares actor Seth Eliser, who plays Neil Sedaka and a Righteous Brother in MSMT’s last main stage show of the 2024 season, BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL. “There were producers like Phil Spector at Gold Star Records, who created the wall of sound by literally running wires into a bathroom and letting the tape run so it would echo, or Lou Adler at Columbia with a much more elegant sound, or Sam Phillips at Sun Records with a little more raunchy sound. These [and other] great producers could elevate a sound to another thrilling place. There was always a race to find that new sound; there was teamwork but also competition.”

“This was a particularly fertile time for popular music,” adds MSMT Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark, speaking of the creative milieu in which Carole King rose to prominence as a singer-songwriter.

Clark and Eliser joined Kathryn Boswell, who portrays lyricist Cynthia Weil, and Alfie Parker, Jr., Associate Choreographer/Dance Captain, and an actor playing one of The Drifters, for a panel discussion moderated by Broadway World’s Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold on August 14th at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine.

The panelists began by exploring what made the second half of the 20th century such a vibrant time for popular music in America. Eliser continues: “The Brill Building and 1650 Broadway were like the Tin Pan Alley of their day.  There was music coming from every corner of the building and there was an opportunity for cross pollination of sounds. The scene was all about a collaborative effort, even though there was a friendly rivalry among the songwriters [who had offices there].”

“This show makes me very nostalgic for the past way of creating music when fewer people had control of the process.  I know it’s true that the modern system [with all its technology] has opened things up for many more people to participate in the industry, but I think it’s exciting to think about a time when certain people, like Donnie Kirshner, really did shape the industry and so much creativity happened in individual studios.”

“There was an interdependence among artists in Carole King’s day,” notes Parker.

“There was a kind of chemistry among creative people,” says Boswell. “Everybody in this show needed something from another person to create their best work; Cynthia and Barry [Mann] and Carole and Gerry [Goffin] needed black artists to sing their music. There is a very beautiful sentiment of community present in this show.”

The panel goes on to explore this creative interdependence and how it impacted women and minorities at the time.  Parker comments on the King-Goffin collaboration with African-American groups like The Shirelles and The Drifters.  “Music was so much more segregated then.  Black people were trying to get a foot in the door and crossover into white spaces to perform. Carole and Gerry broke barriers in that they wanted to use black artists to sing their songs. They helped pave the way for black artists to be seen and to enjoy more equality. Our show demonstrates how, [for example,] King-Goffin and The Drifters respected one another enough to have a true give and take – to ask for what they needed [creatively].

Boswell observes that both Cynthia Weil and Carole King were pioneers in their day – women in the men’s world of the music industry.  “They were two women who had to fight their way into a room to sell their work. In the scene where Cynthia pitches herself to Donnie [Kirshner], you can see her fierce ambition.  The show follows Carole’s journey from someone who wrote songs for others to someone who wrote songs for herself.  She had the courage to write about her hurt and pain and to be vulnerable; she paved the way for others like Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon. It’s an honor to play Cynthia; her struggle makes me stand a little taller.”  Boswell also comments on the scene where Carole and Cynthia discuss their mothers.  “Women were more confined to specific roles of being homemakers in that time. Cynthia really did fully love Barry, but she put that love on the back burner for her career. She wanted to be an independent woman and not financially dependent on a man as her mother was. She found a kindred spirit in Carole who also wanted a career. Carole credits Cynthia in an interview with  encouraging her to sing her own songs.”

“She also acknowledged Cynthia as the person who taught her a more modern sensibility about how a woman should be seen in the world,” adds Clark, referring to an interview King gave. “She told a reporter that at the beginning she was ‘an accidental trailblazer’ but now ‘I am trying to be a trailblazer.’”

Playing historical characters poses its own set of challenges for any cast.  “Playing someone who is real adds a level of responsibility for an actor,” says Boswell.  “When I first undertook this role, I watched every interview Cynthia and Barry gave.  It was fun to see how they talked over each other and finished each other’s sentences. It is special to walk in the shoes of a person who was just recently alive. [ Weil passed away a year and a half ago.] It is a real honor, but also a lot of pressure.”

Clark thinks the Douglas McGrath book for BEAUTIFUL “is one of the best books for any jukebox musical. It’s poignant, funny - a compelling tale about Carole’s life. The theme about wanting something that someone else wants and how competition fosters creativity is beautifully written into the show.”

Boswell agrees, praising the book for “so much authentic storytelling.”

The conversation turns to the specifics of MSMT’s stunning new production, directed/choreographed by Parker Esse.  Clark says “MSMT has wanted this show since Stephanie [Dupal] and I first saw it, and we finally got the rights.”

Eliser describes the rehearsal process with Parker Esse as “a game about discovery. Parker led such a creative and safe room.”

Boswell remarks,” When you’ve done a show before and rehearsal time is short, as it is here, there is a temptation to do what you already know. I am thankful to Parker and Curt for allowing us the space to discover, the willingness to try new things, to paint with a finer brush and discover a 3D technicolor version of this show that feels completely new. This is OUR beautiful version.”

Parker talks about helping to create choreography ‘that moves the plot forward. We did our homework to discover the period style. [For example,] The Drifters and The Shirelles wore suits and dresses; they had such formality and class. Most of the choreography of the period was very simple, so we tried to stay true to that by not overchoreographing, but giving it a spectacular quality that still catches the eye.”

Clark turns the conversation to the physical production. He notes that the video wall has been used differently in each of the summer’s productions. “By hiring different designers, we create different looks.  At first, after seeing a production of BEAUTIFUL that Parker and Alfie did in North Carolina that was so simple,  I wondered if we needed the video wall in BEAUTIFUL, but after I saw what our designer [Luis Garcia] did with it, I wouldn’t want to do without it.”

Parker talks about how the costumes and wigs “automatically put the actors into the time period.  They help the actor embody the physicality, the posture, the personality of the character and to tell the story better.”

Parker thinks all the visual details, as well as the many small nuances developed in the rehearsal process bear carefully watching. “If you see the show a second time, you will see so many little things that we have developed in the process of making music together. “

Clark segues with the example of the scene where Carole King comes to say goodbye to Donnie, Cynthia, and Barry. “On her way into the office, she stops and gives the secretary, Lucille, a hug.  There are no lights on them, but it is a beautiful moment that shows us the beautiful human being Carole is.”

Parker concurs,” There are so many little moments like this we’ve created that show the audience the layers of human relationships.”

“And that,” asserts Clark, “ is why seeing a show at MSMT is so special. Excellent professionals like this cast care deeply about their work, and they want these nuances to exist. When you combine all their work together, you get a layered performance that is unlike another you may have seen elsewhere - one that is singular and truly amazing.”

Photos courtesy of MSMT, Dane Whitlock & Cindy Lemieux, photographers

BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL runs until August 24, 2024 at MSMT’s Pickard Theater on the campus of Bowdoin College, 1 Bath Rd., Brunswick, ME 04011  207-725-8769   www.msmt.org

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