**** The Highland Park Players production of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”, directed by Catherine Davis, is nicely done. But there’s a big difference between watching community theatre versus a Broadway show. So it’s difficult to judge them along the same scale
The show is bookended by Carole’s performance at Carnegie Hall in the year 1971 at the age of 29. At the beginning, she sings “So Far Away”, and at the end, we hear “I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet”. In between, her story is told in flashback. Initially, we see Carole and her mother Genie Klein (Kim Buck) arguing about young Carole’s choice of career. But after proving to her mother that she could sell one of her songs, she is hired at age 16 in 1958 by Aldon Music and its executive Don Kirshner (Robin Treviño). It is then that she adopts the professional name of Carole King.
The show features such hits such as “You’ve Got a Friend”, “Natural Woman”, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, “One Fine Day”, “Take Good Care of My Baby”, and many others. The songs are memorable… and if you grew up with them, even more so! And the dance numbers designed by choreographer Annie Snow are very high energy, refreshing, and fun!
Costumes by Vicki Jablonski are perfect for this time period. The casual wear works well as do the more glamorous outfits for the production numbers. I especially liked the skirts with the black and white stripes and the polka dot ones in shades of purple. Intimacy director Britt-Marie Silverstein has done a fine job with the actors, considering their close contact in a number of places in the story. Set design by Joe Brhel takes maximum advantage of the theatre’s high proscenium, with the creation of multi-height levels for the performance. I especially liked the repeated pattern of circles throughout with “holes” in the middle, reminiscent of vinyl records, forming something of a divider between sections of the stage. These “records” are strategically lit from scene to scene by Kurt Ottinger, the lighting designer, with some of the moods done to perfection…. With the numerous scene changes in this show, various props are continually wheeled on and off the stage throughout; the most significant is the spinet piano. Portions of sets create illusions such as a living room, a bedroom, Don Kirshner’s office with desks, and the like. Prop movement and coordination is the province of Rick Doppelt, who, together with Bradley A. Rose, and Scott A. Schwartz, is one of the
show’s producers.
While the 24-member cast does a wonderful job portraying a whole host of characters and recording artists, the quality of the production is somewhat uneven. On opening night, the occasional microphone didn’t go on; the occasional spotlight wasn’t lit; and the occasional actor didn’t take the right mark and perhaps that’s why the light didn’t shine on them. Then there was the occasional singer who was off pitch and one or two who couldn’t last well through the duration. The one flaw which the audience was commenting on during the show itself had to do with a panel of yellow-flowered wallpaper that fell when one of the mobile wheeled props was brought in.
Inasmuch as I loved the orchestra, led by music director and conductor Anna Wegener, the most serious flaw in Friday’s performance had to do with the loudness of the orchestra relative to the singing. When the orchestra plays at full volume, too many words in the songs are being overpowered. And this ought to be fixed immediately! One suggestion is to have the musicians play softer as a group. A better (but more expensive) suggestion is to have its members shielded from the rest of the stage, perhaps with draping or plastic that muffles the sound somewhat. The balance is especially problematic during the opening and closing numbers when you can barely hear Abbate’s piano playing, not to mention her voice.
In all, the production is very entertaining and enjoyable. Not only do we learn about Carole King’s life, but for a lot of us, the performance brings back memories of the music which many of us once listened to—on 8-track tapes! As the story neatly compresses time, it heightens the audience’s emotion throughout with its sharp combination of carefree, frivolous songs and meaningful, evocative ones. I loved having a real playbill at my fingertips so that my guest and I could be on the same page before the show and during intermission to talk about the musical and all of the people who made it happen.
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” is playing for two weekends only, through July 26, 2026, at the McGrath Performing Arts Center (at Loyola Academy), 3461 Illinois Road, Wilmette, Illinois.
Tickets:
$45 – Orchestra/Mezzanine
$30 – Balcony
All tickets are subject to a $3 fee per ticket.
Performance schedule:
July 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 at 7:30 p.m.
July 19, 25, 26 at 2:00 p.m.
For more information, to purchase tickets, and to learn about their other offerings, visit https://www.highlandparkplayers.org/.
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical “.
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