Theater Review: RBTL presents “Beautiful”

The jukebox musical is a wild card in the world of theater.

Some jukebox musicals — in which the musical selections are
hits culled from a particular legacy — suffer from contrivance and
superficiality steeped in a desire to cash in on the popularity of the songs.
In these instances, like in the movie “Across the Universe” (featuring the
songs of The Beatles) and to a more problematic extent in Green Day’s musical
“American Idiot,” it feels as if the plots are being forcibly stuffed into the
songs.

The more effective and ultimately more engaging jukebox
musicals are those in which the songs are inextricably linked to the story. One
might even say the songs become interwoven parts in the “tapestry” of the plot.
This was certainly the case in the movie-turned-musical “Once,” which the
Rochester Broadway Theatre League presented in 2014.

The RBTL presents this successful formula again with
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” which began its Rochester run at the Auditorium
Theatre on Tuesday, March 8.

“Beautiful” charts the artistic and personal trajectory of Carole
King from a spunky and determined 16-year-old aspiring songwriter through her substantial
commercial success and her rise to prominence as a performer of her own songs on
the critically acclaimed 1971 album “Tapestry.”

Perhaps needless to say, the songs of “Beautiful” are pretty
much perfect: expertly crafted, direct, intelligent without being opaque, and
cohesive as a collection. The selections are comprised of a fairly even balance
between songs that King wrote with and without her first husband, the lyricist
Gerry Goffin, and compositions by another songwriting
team — composer Barry Mann and lyricist Cynthia Weil.

And therein lies the heart of the musical’s plot: The story
is not merely about one artist’s personal growth and creative ingenuity. At its
core, “Beautiful” is story of King and Goffin, two
artists whose mutual reliance on one another as muses helped to fuel some of
the most enduring songs of the 1960’s, and whose tumultuous romance undoubtedly
informed the tinge of melancholy that permeates the consummate emotional
erudition of “Tapestry.”

The ensemble number “1650 Broadway Medley” sets the tone
early with a nostalgic trip through classics from early rock ‘n’ roll. All the
singers in the cast imbue the songs with a fresh vibrancy that transcends the
stylistic era in which they were written, performing with technical polish but
raw emotionality. Among the supporting musical roles, Josh A. Dawson, Jay
McKenzie, Paris Nix, and Noah J. Ricketts shine with particular brilliance as
The Drifters in the sparkling “Some Kind of Wonderful” and the smooth and
sultry “On Broadway.”

In the starring role, Rebecca LaChance
possesses a bright, ebullient voice that is well-matched for the driven
optimism of King. A singer-songwriter herself, LaChance
was the understudy to Jessie Mueller’s Carole King in the original Broadway
production of “Beautiful.”

Liam Tobin is seductive yet stormy as the charismatic but
restless Gerry Goffin, and the pair has a sweet and
believable chemistry that isn’t forced or overwrought. During “Take Good Care
of My Baby,” Tobin’s voice cuts with an especially resonant, winning timbre. By
the middle of Act I with “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” LaChance
fully embodies the musical essence of King and her signature down-to-earth
soulfulness.

Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann are portrayed skillfully by Becky
Gulsvig and Ben Fankhauser,
respectively, as the songwriting team with which King and Goffin
develop a healthy competition and ensuing friendship. Gulsvig
and Fankhauser achieve a rare warmth and intimacy
during the duet “Walking in the Rain.”

The songs aren’t incidental, but instead indispensable in
articulating the emotional perspective of the characters. Keep your ears perked
for two exquisite highlights in particular: “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural
Woman.”

In Act II, selections like “It’s Too Late” and the reprise of
“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” take on renewed poignancy in the biographical
context of King and Goffin’s marriage. In the former
song, LaChance is bit punchy on the volume, and the
connective tissue of the phrasing gets lost as a result, but the actress
expertly appropriates King’s distinct singing style.

For the most part, LaChance’s
musical impersonation is excellent, but there are moments — as in a touching
rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend” — where she breaks vocal character slightly.

Whereas Act I feels like an introduction into King’s world,
Act II is where we meet the woman behind the music, a woman whose strength of
character elevates her above every obstacle. It seemed fitting that on
International Women’s Day, the audience was shown female empowerment
personified.

Replete with the timeless music of Carole King, energetic
performances from LaChance, Tobin, and company, and a
clever, playful script from Douglas McGrath, “Beautiful” is highly engaging and
exceedingly fun, a point driven home by a curtain call that turned into a
raucous concert singalong with “I Feel the Earth Move.”

This article appears in Mar 9-15, 2016.