The jukebox musical uses hits by King and others to tell her remarkable life story. The show is bookended with scenes of King, in her signature unruly curls and a flowing bohemian dress, preparing to take the stage at Carnegie Hall after the massive success of her 1971 album "Tapestry." In between, it charts her transformation from a sweet Brooklyn girl with precocious musical talents into a young wife and mother and bestselling solo artist.
The drama centers on her troubled marriage to first husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin (Jake Epstein), the man who brought some of her most indelible melodies to life with tender, sophisticated lyrics ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "Up on the Roof").
But the title tells only part of the "Beautiful" story, which also focuses on Goffin and King's friendly rivalry with the songwriting duo of Cynthia Weil (Anika Larsen) and Barry Mann (Jarrod Spector). Weil and Mann worked in the same legendary hit factory at 1650 Broadway as Goffin and King, were likewise romantically involved, and their equally memorable songs ("On Broadway," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'") make up nearly half the numbers in the musical.
In this way, "Beautiful" also provides a glimpse into a bygone era of songwriting. As Weil put it in a telephone interview, "Back in the '60s, there was no Auto-Tune. It was simply the piano and the writer and the ashtray."
A 'Beautiful' tapestry of Carole King's life - latimes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment