Tag: Beautiful

North Shore Music Theatre’s ‘Beautiful’ is Full of Feels

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Elena Ricardo as Carole King in “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical” at North Shore Music Theatre thru June 18, 2023. Photo @ Paul Lyden

Beautiful: The Music of Carole King – Book by Douglas McGrath. Words and Music by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil. Directed and Choreographed by Marcos Santana. Music Direction by Camille Villalpando Rolla. Scenic and Lighting Design by Jack Mehler. Costume Design by Travis M. Grant. Co-Sound Design by Alex Berg and Don Hanna. Hair and Wig Design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt. At North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly, through June 18, 2023.

by Linda Chin

North Shore Music Theatre’s season opener, Beautiful: the Music of Carole King, is not a stop that is part of a national tour/Broadway in Beverly – but a regional production that has been created and cast de novo with a blend of professional and emerging theater-makers. NSMT Producer Bill Hanney and Producing Artistic Director Kevin Hill, in concert with show director/choreographer Marcos Santana (Jersey Boys, 2022), have imbued Beautiful with their signature stamp of artistic excellence. On a similar note, Elena Ricardo, who played the titular role in NSMT’s Peter Pan at NSMT and understudied the lead role in Broadway’s Beautiful, does not attempt to clone Ms. King (née Carol Klein) nor actor Jessie Mueller, who won the 2014 Tony for her portrayal, but makes the role her own. Other actors, such as Jean McCormick as Genie Klein, play down the stereotype of an overbearing Jewish mother.

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Ogunquit Playhouse’s ‘Beautiful’ Cast Gives Its Love ‘So Sweetly and Completely’

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Sarah Bockel as Carole King and cast in ‘Beautiful’ at Ogunquit Playhouse. Photos by Gary Ng

‘Beautiful’ – Book by Douglas McGrath. Words and Music by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. David Ruttura, Director. Joyce Chittick, Choreographer/Associate Director. Nick Williams, Music Director. Derek McLane, Scenic Design. Alejo Vieti, Costume Design. Richard Latta, Lighting Design. Kevin Heard, Sound Design. Roxanne De Luna, Wig Design. At Ogunquit Playhouse through October 30

by Linda Chin

Back in the pre-music streaming, pre-CD teenage days, I stayed in bed all morning on many a Saturday listening to (and singing along with) Carole King’s Tapestry over and over, getting up only to advance the needle on the record player. I studied the album cover – her fuzzy sweater and jeans atop bare feet, tangle of frizzy hair, furry cat and confident but relaxed gaze so different from my own self-portrait; I absorbed her songs “It’s Too Late” (about the breakup of a loving relationship), “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” (about the aftermath of a one-night stand) as gospel, so foreign were these concepts from my own experience. Especially on those days when I didn’t get up with a smile on my face, King was the enthusiastic cheerleader, understanding therapist, reliable friend who’d come running if needed.

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