“Beautiful, the Carole King Musical” is Paper Mill’s season closer for 2023/2024. What. A. Show. The target audience for this show is not by age, but affect. The turbulent late 50s and early 60s in New York City and the sense that there was possibility around every corner is abundant in this show. Douglas McGrath’s book, the words and music of legends like Gerry Goffin and Carole King with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil bring King’s story to vivid life. Casey Hushion’s expert direction, Wendy Bobbitt Cavett’s musical direction and Jennifer Werner’s choreography are seamless, energetic and, well, beautiful.
Kyra Kennedy is Carole King in every sense of the word. Seeing her in the opening, my mind went to the cover of Tapestry, the album (yes, vinyl album) that we all played the grooves smooth on during junior high, high school, college and whenever we first knew of it’s existence. Suzanne Grodner as Carole’s mother Genie is like so Brooklyn, she feels like home. Bryan Fenkart as Don Kirshner is wry and hard shelled with a soft-chew center and Marrick Smith as Gerry Goffin, Carole’s first husband, is astride the crossroads of what it meant to be a man in the increasingly complicated world around him. Yet Carole is the polestar around which her entire coterie revolves. She is heart-forward and full of love.
Samantha Massell is adorable as instant-bestie Cynthia Weill. If you’ve ever met someone that click-locked with you like a LEGO block, you’ll recognize the feeling! Jacob Ben-Shmuel as the charmingly neurotic hypochondriac genius Barry Mann, who is the perfect foil for Weill. And that frisson of “beshert” or “meant-to-be” will bloom in you when they meet.
Goffin is not always a likeable character, yet Smith always reveals the humanity in his struggle. Ms. Kennedy’s Carole is often at her wit’s end, and more loyal than the day is long. When she breaks free, we break with her, and it’s all with love.
The ensemble cast of Tavis Cunningham, Seth Eliser, Kevin Hack, Jana Djenne Jackson, Prentiss E. Mouton, Jay Owens, Olivia Palmer, Isaiah Reynold, Tavia Rivée, Danielle J. Simmons, Bronwyn Tarboton and Mikayla White play a wide and varied cast through Carole’s high school bestie to The Shirelles to The Drifters, The Righteous Brothers, Neil Sedaka and more and their dancing is glorious. Scenic design by Roman Tatarowicz with additional design by Kelly James Tighe is flexible brilliance that spans decades as do Jen Caprio’s costumes and Roxanne De Luna’s wigs, hair and makeup design. Sun Hee Kil’s soundscapes and Jess Kreager’s lighting keep our focus moving through the years and the lives of this cast and at the end, you’ll get a chance to singalong that carries you aloft into whatever is next for you. If it’s an evening performance, good luck sleeping! It’s all that good.
Get your tickets now for the best feel-good show of the Summer at: https://my.papermill.org/overview/beautiful. This show has been extended through July 3 and tickets are getting scarce.You will tap your feet through the whole thing and what a great way to introduce younger family members to the world of great pop. And wait until you see what Paper Mill has planned for the 2024/2025 season. Subscribe now.