Review: BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at The Phoenix Theatre Company

The fierce but friendly competition between the husband-wife songwriting teams of Carole King and Gerry Goffin (Will You Love Me Tomorrow, Up on the Roof, Locomotion) and Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann (Uptown, On Broadway, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling) spawned some of the most memorable rock and roll tunes of the 1960’s. It became the springboard as well for King to move on and define a distinctive niche and sound in the world of music that was firmly established with the release in January 1971 of her chart-topping album Tapestry. Five months later, Carole King made her debut at Carnegie Hall. The rest is Hall of Fame history.

It is the mileage that King traveled between her ambitious pursuit as a 16-year-old to clinch a career as a songwriter and the fulfillment of her dream at Carnegie Hall that is the focus of Douglas McGrath’s BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL and that is glorified in The Phoenix Theatre Company’s stellar production of the show. The story is the portal to appreciating and relating emotionally to the experiences and feelings that are embedded in her reflective lyrics.

Despite the wishes of her mother (Sally Jo Bannow), Carole leaves Brooklyn for Manhattan to pitch her song (successfully!) to music publisher Donny Kirschner (D. Scott Withers). She is off and running, soon into the arms of her future collaborator and husband Gerry Goffin (Naysh Fox). Fellow songwriters, Weil (Caelan Creaser) and Mann (Justin Albinder) befriend them, compete with them, and become first hand observers of Carole’s turbulent and ill-fated marriage.

In portraying King’s evolution throughout this thirteen-year period, Hahnna Christianson flourishes in the role. She does a formidable job in conveying her character’s range of emotions through King’s highs and lows and, when it comes to interpreting King’s classics, she sings her heart out.

As Gerry Goffin, Naysh Fox offers a marked contrast to King’s determination and tenacity with a performance that effectively reveals his character’s awkwardness, angst, and tortured self.

Caelan Creaser is in a zone of her own as Cynthia Weil, imbuing her role with solid acting and exceptional vocals worthy of Broadway. Hers is a standout performance that, in sync with Justin Albinder’s, brings a refreshing and uplifting dimension to the production.

Christianson’s fellow cast members shine in their respective roles. Such is the case with Sally Jo Bannow as mother Genie and D. Scott Withers as publisher Kirschner.

Beyond the story and the acting, however, is the ultimate star of the show: the music. And, in this regard, Michael Barnard, the Company’s Producing Artistic Director, once again demonstrates, as he has for the past twenty-four years, his acumen and brilliance in direction and staging.

With the benefit of a live orchestra, under the direction of Kevin Robert White, and Lauran Stanis’s exuberant choreography, the musical numbers soar and the house rocks. It falls to the ensemble to bring the classics to life. Ryan Ardelt and Josh Pike bring the necessary “lovin’ feeling” to their turn as the Righteous Brothers. D’Mariel, Matravius Avent, Chafik Jay, and Nate Summers are terrific in conveying the smooth cool style and vocals of The Drifters. Likewise, Jacqueline Castillo, Maya Christian, Sade Crosby, and Gabrielle Francine Smith recreate the distinctive sound of The Shirelles. All together, it's a class act and a songfest to behold and to groove to.

At the celebration of Cynthia Weil’s life last year, Carole King reminisced about their life-long friendship and their shared commitment “to be recognized not just as a lyricist but as the equal of any man in the music business” ~ a passion that is so poignantly reflected in the musical and echoed in Carnegie Hall’s footnote to King’s career:

The personal and emotional nature of King’s songwriting spoke to the cultural shift that was finally making room for more art by women, realized in their own voices. King and her kindred spirits ~ like Joni Mitchell, Roberta Flack, and Carly Simon ~ wrote songs that reflected women’s feelings of love, anger, betrayal, and triumph, in a way that hadn’t been heard on such a scale or received with such popularity and acclaim ~ King made history when she became the first woman artist to win all three major categories at the 1971 Grammy Awards. It was only fitting that she end her Carnegie Hall debut with You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman.”

That is the spirit and message that underlies and permeates The Phoenix Theatre Company’s tribute to Carole King and ensures that the music will linger long after the applause.

BEAUTIFUL runs through April 28th at the Company’s Mainstage Theatre.

The Phoenix Theatre Company ~ https://phoenixtheatre.com/ ~ 1825 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ ~ 602-254-2151

Photo credit to Brennen Russell, Blink Sessions Photography

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