Review: Moonlight’s well-staged ‘Beautiful’ so much more than a jukebox musical (original) (raw)

Since the early 2000s, many of the shows on Broadway have been jukebox musicals, which craft a story around the existing catalog of a songwriter, music group or record company.

These shows offers a new income stream for the writers and they reduce the financial risk for producers, who know audiences are more likely to buy a ticket to a show with music they already know and love. Some jukebox musicals have been terrific, like the La Jolla Playhouse-born “Jersey Boys.” Others have ranged from forgettable to dreadful.

Fortunately, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” is in the terrific category. Not only is it an enjoyable ride through some of the best pop songs of the 1960s and early ’70s, it also tells an enlightening story about the life and music of Carole King, as well as three other artists who worked with her in the New York music factory known as the Brill Building.

On Wednesday night, Moonlight Stage Productions opened the San Diego regional premiere of “Beautiful” at Vista’s Moonlight Amphitheatre, playing to a large audience of delighted baby boomers who bobbed their heads to the familiar music and sometimes sang along. The show’s casting is excellent, the production looks sharp and John Vaughan’s direction and period choreography make the show sparkle.

“Beautiful” is set between 1958, when the determined 16-year-old Brooklyn native Carole Klein (King is her stage name) set out to become a songwriter, and 1971, when she played Carnegie Hall after the release of her solo album “Tapestry.” By 17, she was married to her lyricist, Gerry Goffin, expecting their baby and celebrating her first No. 1 hit, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” In the years that followed, she wrote, or co-wrote more than 100 pop hits for herself and other artists, won 11 Grammys and became one of the most successful women songwriters in history.

The Shirelles and the Drifters perform songs by Carole King in Moonlight Stage Productions’ “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. (Karli Cadel)

“Beautiful” tells the backstory on many of King’s most famous songs with Goffin, as well as some of the songs she wrote for “Tapestry” after their divorce. It also tells the story and music of the couple’s closest friends at the Brill Building, the songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. In between the nearly 30 songs performed in the show, the story of King’s failing marriage and how she found the confidence to write and sing for herself rather than for other artists.

Leading the 18-member cast as Carole King is Melissa Musial, who is not only the cast’s vocal standout, she also imbues her character with the qualities of humility, heartbreak, and ultimately, comfort in her own skin. Bryan Banville is funny and vocally strong as they hypochondriac composer Barry Mann (his rendition of “We Gotta Get Out of this Place” is among the best-sung pieces in the show). Brandon Keith Rogers inspires deep empathy with his performance as the mentally troubled Gerry Goffin. And the always-entertaining Allison Spratt Pearce is spunky and formidable as the brainy Cynthia Weil.

Douglas McGrath’s musical book moves quickly, has a good amount of humor and features elaborate song-and-dance scenes featuring ’60s artists from The Drifters to the Shirelles. There’s not enough room to list all the familiar songs in “Beautiful,” but if you were listening to American music in the ’60s and ’70s, you will likely recognize every song.

‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’

When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Through Aug. 31

Where: Moonlight Amphitheatre, Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista

Tickets: 15−15-15−60

Phone: (760) 724-2110

Online: moonlightstage.com

Melissa Musial as Carole King in Moonlight Stage Productions’ “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. (Karli Cadel)

Originally Published: August 15, 2024 at 8:10 AM PST