Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is spectacular
Listen to this articleWith the very first note from the orchestra the air is electrified as the magical musical journey begins and the story of the utterly amazing Carole King unfolds. It begins with Carole King played flawlessly and with clear absolute conviction by Abby Mueller as she delivers the song “So Far Away.” Surprise! Next it is Neil Sedaka [John Michael Diaz] with a taste of his 1959 hit song “Oh! Carol” a product of Sedaka’s teenaged crush on Carole King.
Other songs early in Act One include “Be-Bop-A-Lula,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “Who Put the Bomp” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” Each song, each masterful performance rekindles musical memories of times long gone but happily remembered and all product of the genius that is Carole King.
The show takes you through the early days of Carole’s musical journey in her New York home with her less than totally supporting but clearly loving mom. While attending James Madison High School in the 1950’s Carol Klein changed her name to Carole King, formed a band called the Co-Sines and made demo records with her friend Paul Simon. She moved on to Queens College where she met and began writing songs with Gerry Goffin. Then let the journey begin.
I will not spoil the show by revealing details other than to say it is clearly a magical carpet ride complete with massive musical triumphs and dark personal challenges ultimately taking Carole King away from her beloved New York City to Los Angeles where she rekindled her music career.
Every performance by everyone on stage was theatrical magic at its finest. The music was completely captivating and the show Beautiful The Carol King Musical was nothing short of spectacular. Barry Mann, The Righteous Brothers, The Shirelles and The Drifters are all represented in the show that truly is beautiful.
You may enjoy Beautiful The Carole King Musical now at the Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90028. It runs now through July 17th with show times Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. More information including reservations available online Here or by calling 323-468-1770
Photos by Niederlander
Ron Irwin was born in Chicago, Illinois a long time ago. He served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, became a trial lawyer, TV and radio host, CEO of a public company and once held an Emmy. He never won an Emmy he just held one. Ron has written and published twelve books. His most important book to date is “Live, Die, Live Again” in which Ron tells of his early life and his unexpected and very temporary death in 2012. That experience dramatically refocused his life and within the pages of that book Ron reveals how he achieved a much healthier life, ridding himself of Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Failure. Now Ron enjoys writing about many things including health topics, travel [he has circled the globe several times], adventure, culinary experiences and the world of performing art. Ron’s motto is “Live better, live longer and live stronger because it feels great and annoys others.” Contact the author.