Review: BEAUTIFUL THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at Ogunquit Playhouse

I first reviewed Beautiful The Carole King Musical last season at the Ogunquit Playhouse. A repeat performance (or perhaps a continuation of the demand to see the show) has premiered on the Ogunquit stage before the theater starts its traditional four show season this year.

Memories of the first time seeing the show linger. It was a great production. The prospect of a second time viewing brings a nervousness about what to expect. Will there be any changes in the production, or will it simply be a repeat from the first run?

Ogunquit audiences will be pleased that lots of the previous show remains in place especially the casting of Sarah Bockel as Carole King. But there are some new actors that bring a different energy to this show making it truly memorable.

The story line seems more powerful in this production and much more engaging for the audience. The dance numbers explode off the stage with a supercharged enthusiasm from each performer. Even the orchestra sounds more robust playing out the greatest hit tunes from the 1960s and 1970s.

And as for Bockel in the lead role, let's put it this way. Last year, I called her performance nothing short of spectacular. This year, I am saying that her performance and this production is absolute perfection and, by far, one of the best productions I've ever seen in this bustling seaside town.

The show is a deeply revealing story about the life of pop music icon, Carole King. While many know of her success as a solo vocalist and song writer after releasing the album, "Tapestry," few will know about her previous career as part of a songwriting team that produced a string of hits in the 1960s. Today, more than 400 of her compositions have been recorded by over 1,000 artists resulting in 100 single hits and six Grammy awards.

The story begins with 16-year-old high school freshman, Carole King (Sarah Bockel) and her dream of becoming a songwriter. She can write the music but needs a bit of help with the lyrics. She soon meets a fellow high school student (he's a junior), Gerry Goffin (Matt Amira) who is a poet and lyricist at heart looking for a musical collaborator. The stars align as King and Goffin start a high school romance that first blossoms into a music writing partnership, followed by an eventual marriage when King finds herself pregnant.

Together, Goffin and King created some of the best-known tunes to ever hit the charts in the 1960s and 1970s with encouragement from music producer, Don Kirschner (Matt Loehr). Their first #1 hit was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," sung by the Shirelles. King was 17 years old at the time. Other notables are "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Take Good Care of My Baby," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," and a slew of other tunes all performed by legendary groups like The Drifters and The Righteous Brothers.

Their success is paralleled by their best friends and song writer competitors, Cynthia Weil (Taylor Aronson) and Barry Mann (Ryan Farnsworth). This couple's journey, too, includes a nonstop array of hits. There's "On Broadway," "Walking in the Rain," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling."

There's wonderful playfulness as Goffin and King try to outdo Mann and Weil by comparing stats on how many top hits each one produces and how long they have stayed high on the music charts. There's a nice camaraderie among the foursome that blends their genuine friendship with their competitive spirit to outdo each other.

The show is a jukebox musical like no other. Oftentimes, the genre struggles in trying to mix the tunes with a compelling story. Beautiful has the perfect balance mostly because the story is so strong, and the music enhances the storytelling as an integral part of it. The audience experiences Carole King's marriage and birth of two daughters, played against a husband with a wandering eye for other women and an intense anxiety to stay on top of the music scene with competition from the likes of emerging rock n roll groups like the Beatles. The other story tract covers her intense desire to succeed in the music business and you experience her triumphs and struggles.

The most fascinating part of the show is when you see the beginnings of song writing collaboration as the composers play out the first versions of their tunes on a beat-up spinet piano while dreaming of stardom. That scene is often followed with a look at the pop group that performed the song and sent it to the top of the music charts. It is an amazing contrast that keeps your attention and the driver in the first act.

The second act concentrates on King's second career as a solo artist and songwriter who moves from New York to make it big in Los Angeles. This is more of the Carole King that most people know.

The show is gifted with an amazing cast of singers, dancers and musicians playing in small vignette scenes or polished numbers as idols of the music world. The recreations of vocal groups from the period are dazzling in every detail from the lead singers to the backup singers with fancy dance moves. Without a doubt, my favorite were The Drifters played by D'Marreon Alexander, J. Daughtry, Cedrick Ekra, and Jacquez Linder-Long. They captured the essence of the American doo-wop and R&B soul vocal group perfectly. What a performance.

As Weil, Aronson brings pure energy to the part. She's brassy and quick witted with a golden voice designed for the Broadway stage. As her musical partner and suitor, Farnsworth is a bowl of nervous energy always ready with a moment of comic relief. This team makes a charming couple and shine in their number, "Walking in the Rain," while Farnsworth shows some rock star talent in his explosive rendition of "We Gotta Get Out of Here."

Loehr returns to the stage as record producer Don Kirschner, a role he's played many times before. He's one of those engaging characters that doesn't have many lines, but who makes a big impact on the success of the storytelling.

As King's mother, Genie Klein, Suzanne Grodner has a comic flair. Think of a Jewish mother weaving her way in and out of her daughter's life, sometimes supportive, and sometimes overbearing. Add in her dose of perfect comic timing, and you've got a wonderful supporting character.

Amira, as Goffin, is very believable as King's success driven collaborator and morally corrupt husband. His portrayal is top notch.

Bockel, who played the role of Carole King on Broadway and in the national tour of the show, transcends reality. She becomes Carole King, physically and emotionally, from from an awkward 16-year-old to a doting mother and on to a woman in crisis who discovers her true self and makes her own success.

Bockel is vocally strong, and her acting is flawless trading scenes from jubilant performer to troubled soul at times. Her voice sounds like King without being an imitation of her and she is at her best playing out the tunes on a solo piano. Her best numbers include "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "It's Too Late," "Natural Woman," and the show finale, "Beautiful."

The set is a repeat of last year's production with the best elements placed in the insanely busy recording studio and rehearsal rooms. The backdrop curtain with instruments, musical notes, and sound equipment is simple and effective.

There's an orchestra that performs wonderfully in the show though many numbers are performed by individual actors playing their own instruments.

The play ends with a fitting moment in time when Carole King appears onstage at Carnegie Hall after the success of her album, "Tapestry." She's in her glory after winning Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards.

Beautiful The Carole King Musical is a powerful story of one woman's determination to succeed backed up with some of the best pop tunes ever written. See the show. Enjoy the story. Get high on nostalgia.

Photos by Gary Ng.

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