STAGE WEST: Moonlight Stage Productions' "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical"

Melissa Musial (center) in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical."                          Karli Cadel Photography

            I first saw “Beautiful:  The Carole King Musical” eight years ago at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood with Abby Mueller portraying the pop music icon. I remember enjoying it but very little specifically.
            Happily, a highly entertaining production of “Beautiful” at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista reminded me of all of this show’s charms.
            Some so-called jukebox musicals strain to weave a through-line in between the star’s hit songs. “Beautiful,” which was written by Douglas McGrath, does so organically, telling the story of King’s ascension from teenage dreamer to songwriter-for-hire (with husband Gerry Goffin) to record-breaking solo artist. In “Beautiful,” musical performances don’t happen because the narrative is dragging. King/Goffin or King songs aren’t thrown in out of context. What’s more, the dramatized portions are well-acted, involving and anything but filler.
            As at the cavernous Pantages, “Beautiful” benefits from the spacious Moonlight stage, particularly when re-creating producer/music publisher Don Kirshner’s busy studios or the famous Brill Building in NYC. It’s also conducive to accommodating production sequences when groups like the Drifters and the Shirelles perform their choreographed covers of King and Goffin’s songs.
            At Moonlight, Melissa Musial demonstrates her acting and singing chops as Carole Klein, then King. This is her second go-round in “Beautiful,” having played the minor supporting role of teenage Carole’s friend Betty in a production at La Mirada Theatre in L.A. She’s graduated with honors to the starring part and like Abby Mueller at the Pantages relies on her own vocal prowess without trying to imitate King.
            Brandon Keith Rogers, Tony Manero in last year’s production of “Saturday Night Fever” at Moonlight, is the troubled Gerry Goffin, and he has a better show to work with this time around.
            The standout supporting cast members are Allison Spratt Pearce and Bryan Banville as King and Goffin’s songwriting rivals – and friends – Cynthia Weill and Barry Mann. They brighten the stage every minute they’re on it, even when the two characters are squabbling.
            A terrific ensemble also includes Sandy Campbell as King’s unsolicited-advice-imparting mother, Dan Mason as a Don Kirshner probably funnier than he was in real life, and notable in musical performances Janaya Mahealani Jones, Brooke Henderson and Erica Marie Weisz.
            I’ve been a near-lifelong admirer and fan of Carole King. This show is a testament to the enduring quality and emotive power of her songwriting. I still get choked up hearing “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and “It’s Too Late,” all from her landmark 1971 album “Tapestry.” But even in the early ‘60s days collaborating with Goffin, King was a musical composer of the rarest kind, one who could write the two-to-three-minute radio-friendly pop song and never repeat herself. She – and Goffin, whose lyrics were a perfect match – had an intuition for what would soar up the charts.
            “Beautiful” shows us that King’s intuition also led her to recognize after her split with Goffin and as the record industry evolved that writing hits for other people was no longer a viable career path. It took guts, which King had plenty of, to move to L.A. and record on her own.
            It’s not an overstatement to say that “Tapestry” was and is one of the most popular albums of all time.
            “Beautiful” also shines a deserved spotlight on the songwriting team of Mann and Weill, who gave the world “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” and “On Broadway” among others.  
            Moonlight’s team of John Vaughan (director/choreographer), Elan McMahan (leading the excellent orchestra), Raven Winter (costumes), Blake McCarty (projection design) and others combine to make this a surefire crowd-pleaser, especially for King’s legion of fans.
            Jukebox musicals can be junk. This one’s a joy.
            “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” runs through Aug. 31 at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista.