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WHAT: Youngstown Playhouse -- “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Powers Auditorium, 260 W. Federal St., Youngstown
HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $40 to $50 and are available at the DeYor Performing Arts Center box office, online at experienceyourarts.org and by calling 330-259-9651. Post-performance meet-and-greet tickets also are available.
'Beautiful' has Mahoning Valley theater community looking - and sounding -- great
By ANDY GRAY
Staff writer
YOUNGSTOWN -- Michael J. Moritz Jr. set a high bar for Youngstown Playhouse's production of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" by saying earlier this week it would be "Broadway caliber."
The cast, crew and everyone involved more than met those high expectations Friday night at Powers Auditorium. The fact that this "Broadway caliber" production was filled with people that local theatergoers have, in some cases, been watching for decades or grew up with or went to school with made it that much more special.
The pride everyone should feel for a job well done could shine brighter than Ellen Licitra's spectacular lighting design.
The score for "Beautiful" is an embarrassment of riches. Not only does it have the iconic songs King wrote by herself and with her husband Gerry Goffin, but it adds several hits by their friends and rivals Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann.
A cast filled with incredible vocalists is led by Brooke May as Carole King.
May, 19, was a vocal dynamo last year in Youngstown State University's production of "Zombie Prom," a fun but lightweight musical.
With "Beautiful," May not only has to sing lead or co-lead vocals on a dozen songs -- songs that many in the audience would consider the soundtrack to their lives -- she also has to play a narrative arc where she goes from precocious aspiring songwriter to wife and mother to heartbroken divorcee to a performer who finds her own voice and strength.
It's the kind of role performers win awards for -- Jessie Mueller won the Tony playing King on Broadway -- and May handles everything it demands with a skill far beyond her years.
Nothing displayed that more than the contrast between the two versions she sings of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow." In the first act, it’s a beautiful song of hope and innocence; in the second act it's the anguished cry of a woman who already knows the answer to the question she's asking.
And those aren't even the best musical numbers in the show. Maybe it's the perfect vocal blend and real affection that the listener can feel when May, Brianna Rae Quinn (Weil) and Connor Bezeredi (Mann) sing "You've Got a Friend." Maybe it's May's jaw-dropping rendition of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Maybe it's Joshual Green's smooth lead vocals for "On Broadway" or the knockout duo of Khaled Tabbara and Shawn Lockaton as the Righteous Brothers' on "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin.'"
The biggest challenge for audience members is simultaneously wanting to sing along and not wanting to do anything that would make them miss a note sung by the vocalists on stage.
The talent isn't limited to the actors. Moritz, a Youngstown native and a Tony and Emmy winner, was a product of the original Broadway production of "Beautiful" and wore multiple hats for the Playhouse's staging, including producer and music supervisor. He secured the multi-level set that fills the Powers stage and assembled a top-tier band that he led to accompany the cast. Credit also goes to music director Joe Spurio for his work with the cast throughout the rehearsal process.
NASCAR pit crews don't work with the speed and precision that director John Holt has this show flowing from one scene to the next. The songs are the stars here, but the music makes the impact it does because of the attention that Holt and the cast give to the story. Songs heard hundreds of times before take on new meanings or are heard in a different context when juxtaposed with King's and Goffin's tumultuous marriage. Sam Early was so convincing as the philandering, mentally troubled Goffin, that his appearance late in the second act generated some audible boos from the crowd.
And the show looks as good as it sounds. The costumes (designed by Brian Palumbo) capture the era and reflect the cultural shift that took place in the '60s. Licitra's lighting truly dazzles, whether it's bright and colorful or the stark white lights side stage that heightened the impact of that "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" reprise in the second act. Megan Cleland's choreography was energetic and lively on "1650 Broadway Medley" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday."
Local theater fans are used to having to make a pilgrimage to New York to see those Tony-winning shows or at least travel to Cleveland or Pittsburgh for the national touring productions. This weekend, a chance to see "Broadway caliber" theater doesn't require a trip on the turnpike. It's a great kickoff to the Playhouse's centennial season.
Have an interesting story? Email Entertainment Editor Andy Gray at agray@tribtoday.com.