Review: Carole King musical has theater goers dancing in their seats

“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” is a high-energy entertaining musical which follows the early years of Carole King’s rise to success.

This Tony-nominated musical, with book by Douglas McGrath, directed by Casey Hushion and with an outstanding 18-member uber-talented cast is a must-see and currently playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse.

The show opens with Carole King (Klein at the time) played by Kyra Kennedy as a 16-year-old who loves writing songs, begging her mom, Genie Klein, played by Suzanne Grodner, to let her go from their home in Brooklyn to Manhattan to try and sell her music to Don Kirshner, the famed music publisher, played by Bryan Fenkart.

As her music previously had been rejected, Carole and her mom make a deal that this would be her last try and if it doesn’t work out, she will give it up and become a teacher. Kirshner loves her music and hires her but in King’s early days her music is given to other acts to sing and perform.

While at Queens College at 16 – she had skipped two grades – she meets another college student, the handsome Gerry Goffin played by Marrick Smith.

Goffin is talented at writing lyrics and King feels she is better at writing music, so the two team up and over time become a hit-writing powerhouse – and at the same time become romantically involved.

Kennedy who is in almost every scene in the show, belts out song after song with a perfect Carole King type of voice which takes you back in time to the sixties and seventies.

With her wide engaging smile and likable, down-to-earth personality, the audience roots for her as she becomes increasingly successful in the music world but encounters difficulties in her marriage to Goffin.

Smith gives a realistic portrayal of Goffin as a tortured man who wants to be a good husband, but married young because King got pregnant, and so now feels stifled by the marriage.

He sees other women and eventually has a nervous breakdown.

King takes him back, but in the end, he is unable to stay faithful to her and they divorce.

Broadway actress Grodner is hilarious and smart as King’s mother. As with many mothers and daughters, King’s mother gets on her nerves, but in the end, she gives her great advice and believes in her to help her get back on her feet – musically and personally – after the breakup of King’s marriage.

Barry Mann played by Jacob Ben-Shmuel and Cynthia Weil played by Samantha Massell are another real-life songwriting team who come up at the same time as Goffin and King in the same music studio with the four becoming friends.

It is amusing to watch Mann’s and Weil’s relationship develop as they zing one-liners at each other. Ben-Shmuel and Massell are wonderful in their roles.

Tavis Cunningham, Prentiss E. Mouton, Jay Owens and Isaiah Reynolds are show-stopping and incredible as The Drifters. Their singing and dancing are exciting and fun. Tavia Rivee, Jana Djenne Jackson, Danielle J. Summons and Mikayla White as The Shirelles are also fantastic and have beautiful voices.

The costumes by Jen Caprio, whether they are the shimmery, shining costumes of the singing groups or the period costumes of the sixties – are all fabulous.

The choreography by Jennifer Werner, scenic design by Roman Tatarowicz and lighting by Jess Creager are outstanding and all together make this show a do-not-miss.

All of the words and music in this show, which include the hits “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” “Up on the Roof” “Locomotion” “One Fine Day” “Natural Woman” and many more, are written by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.

Those of you who are of a certain age will be dancing in your seats and singing along with every song. But even if you are one of the many young people, like 24-year-old Sammi Glennon, who never heard of Carole King, you will still enjoy this show. Glennon, who lives nearby in Springfield, accompanied her mom to be a good daughter.

She did not think she would know any of the songs but she did recognize some of them and said she would have enjoyed the show either way because it was so good.

“I loved it. It was a lot of fun,” said Glennon. “My mom was dancing and singing the whole time, which I couldn’t do because I didn’t know it, but I liked the story.”

Glennon also said she liked seeing a woman become empowered to do things on her own.

“I liked her becoming more independent throughout the story,” Glennon said. “I liked seeing the progression of her music and how she became a singer as well as a writer and producer. That was really cool. And I loved the music.”

You will love it too. So grab a friend – or a son or daughter – and give yourself a step back in time and a real treat.

“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” is playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse through July 3.

  Carole King, Paper Mill Playhouse