Review: BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL at JCC CenterStage Theatre

Closing the CenterStage Theatre’s 2023-2024 season is the story of one of the of the 20th century’s most iconic musical voices. Carole King’s songs spanned decades and traversed the pop, rock, soul, and R&B charts, and it’s currently receiving a heartfelt production at the JCC.

"Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" tells the inspiring true story of Carole King (Sarah Del Favero)'s journey from teenage songwriter to one of the most successful singer-songwriters in music history. Set against the backdrop of the 1960s and 1970s, the musical follows Carole's rise to fame, her personal and professional challenges, and her ultimate triumph as a solo artist.

The story begins with a young Carole Klein, a talented songwriter eager to break into the music industry. Alongside her husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin (Lucas Casey Brown), Carole pens hit songs for popular artists like The Shirelles, The Drifters, and Aretha Franklin. Despite their success, Carole begins to feel stifled in her role as a behind-the-scenes songwriter and dreams of performing her own music.

As Carole navigates the complexities of her personal life, including her tumultuous relationship with Gerry and her struggles with self-confidence, she finds the strength to pursue her solo career. With the support of friends and collaborators like Cynthia Weil (Abby Kate Herron) and Barry Mann (Joseph Davilla), Carole discovers her own voice and releases her groundbreaking album, "Tapestry," which becomes a landmark in music history.

Through a soundtrack of Carole King's iconic songs, including "You've Got a Friend," "Natural Woman," and "Beautiful," the musical captures the essence of an era while celebrating Carole's enduring legacy as a trailblazing artist. "

Jukebox musicals like “Beautiful” feel like the perfect show for the JCC, which is already well known for its highly entertaining “Hitmaker” series which explores music of the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and beyond. Perhaps because “Beautiful’s” best moments are its big musical numbers, it often feels more like a concert with narrative interspersed than a traditional musical, which is perfectly fine with me, as songs like “Some Kind of Wonderful”, “Up on the Roof”, and “The Locomotion” are impossible to not dance and sing along to.

The large cast of “Beautiful” is stacked with familiar Rochester talent from top to bottom, but leading the very large crowd is Del Favero’s Carole King, who portrays the musical titan with vulnerability, sincerity, and emotion, in addition to delivering breathtaking musical performances, not least of which is “Will You Love Me Tomorrow"; the number of dry eyes in the audience as that song closed could be counted on one hand.

“Beautiful" is a timeless story of resilience, love, and the power of music to inspire and uplift audiences around the world. It’s playing at JCC’s CenterStage Theatre until May 19th, for tickets and more information click here.

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