BEAUTIFUL: The Carole King Musical preview thread — Page 3

He kinda got booed when I went to the first preview, but he was also so happy he was crying, so that was kind of a fun juxtaposition. :)

I forgot to mention Jake Epstein earlier too -- I really liked him in Spring Awakening, and I kinda liked him in Beautiful in SF, but I was back to the "really" this go around. I thought he talk-sang through a lot of SA, which was weird, so it was nice to hear him sing in this. I think he may have more to sing in the show now than he did before.

Agreed with Kelly about Up on the Roof. We already know what the Drifters sounded like singing it (and they already have On Broadway) -- let's let just Gerry sing it!

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"And that was kind of the problem in SF -- there was a great story there, but it seemed stifled by the heavy involvement of the relevant parties. But we'll see how it is here."

True! I read an article, stating that a lot of the "drama" per say, was left out of the musical because it was material the creators were NOT allowed to use in the show. King gave her approval, but apparently it came with conditions (you can't say this, or talk about this, etc). So, for what the creators HAD to work with may be the best results they could do!

Broadwaystar2-

I get that. But the only other times I said that was:

Christian Borale - starcatcher
Billy porter-kinky boots


Im 2 for 2.
Haha.... I never walk out insisting someone will win something, that's all. But, yes the season has just begun and it's a great one!

I guess having read more about the story online and especially about Gerry (as mentioned earlier in the thread), I can see how people feel things might be left out, but I really think they have plenty in there to tell the story they want to tell.

A musical that goes into the gritty details of Gerry's drug abuse and mental illness and all would be a very, very different show in tone than this one is. I don't think that's the story they're trying to tell. A lot of the other hardships in Carole's life mentioned earlier in the thread fall well outside the time frame this show is examining. I mean, I'd love to know a lot more about the darker side of her story, before and after Tapestry, but I don't think most of that has a place in this show, and not because of censorship. Does that make sense?

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I think the show beautifully expressed what it wanted to cover, which was Carole's start in the business and her transition to singer/songwriter. I think we saw enough of Gerry's struggles to see how they affected her life. Just my opinion!

I don't think this is a good show. The book is weak and much of the first act is simply performances of well-known songs strung together with "scenes" that are a few lines.

But I'll be damned if I wasn't entertained. The songs are impeccably performed, the design is wonderful, there are fun quick changes, and the voices of the cast are fantastic.

And, of course, Jessie Mueller. Enough cannot be said for how excellent she is. She truly transcends the material, and when she is able to let loose, the excitement is palpable. I would happily see her win the Tony for this.

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Updated On: 11/29/13 at 12:20 PM

Just caught the matinee - saw the opening night in SF and was eager to see what changes had been made. SPOILERS (I Guess) Act 1 is mostly the same - with an early introduction of Janelle and some changes to the "suicide" attempt. I really wish they would let Jessie blow the roof off during the One Fine Day Act 1 finale, I get that it is out of character (she does it at the curtain call), but it's let down after such an emotional scene.

Act 2 is very much a new work in progress - tons of new dialogue to make it more about the making/origin of Tapestry - but frankly some of these new scenes need some rehearsing - slow, and awkward (i.e. intro into Natural Woman, intro into It's Too Late, very looong intro into You've Got a Friend). All these new dialogue make Gerry's character practically gone for all of act 2. I am excited that they are continuing to tweak at this.

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I went Friday night and it was sold out. Jessie Mueller is, of course, incredible. The story flowed well and the running time was a nice 2 1/2 hours. The audience went crazy for the show - more wild applause than I have heard in a while. The cast was talented and energetic, and the show was aided by a very sleek and workable set design.

The book is not fantastic, but workable and combined with the performances made for a really great evening. Did I mention Jessie Mueller was incredible?

I didn't have a huge interest in this and was very happily surprised. Oh, by the way, Jessie Mueller was incredible.

'"I coached a client for the Carole cover." Can you further explain this comment?'

Sorry! I just saw this. Besides acting myself, I also do work as an acting coach here in NYC. A client that I've worked with was called in for an ensemble role that would have covered (understudied) the role of Carole. At that point, they were also wanting that track to cover the role of Cynthia, so I had to help her prepare both roles with the material from the script.

That's wonderful to hear! I do hope to see it again to see what changes they've made.

Saw the show tonight and absolutely loved it. For what it's worth, I didn't think It's Too Late lost its impact at all. It felt like such a catharsis to me the way it was done. I highly recommend this one. Is it groundbreaking? Not at all. But I would definitely say it's the best jukebox musical we've had since Jersey Boys by a lot. I kept thinking how this show did so many things right that Motown and Baby It's You did wrong. I also loved that the Shirelles were so much better and more convincing as characters in passing here than they were in the Broadway show all about them...

I saw it this afternoon and thought it was wonderful. I have been attending 3/4 things a year for the last decade and would put it in my top 4-5 along with Aida, Jersey Boys, Bronx Tale (play obviously) and Les Mes.
I agree with a recent post- it avoided things that Motown and Baby Its You did.
I thought it was stronger than Memphis which I also liked.
Ironically, Baby its You could not secure the rights for Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow which is absurd given it was their biggest hit.
What I liked about this show was there were some additional subplots that gave the other cast members a lot of time.
I sat in the front row for this which was actually pretty good since the pit took a few feet and most of the show takes part in the front half of the stage.
Was the most I ever paid for a broadway show (normal face) and was well worth it.
Perhaps they worked on the book more? I found it rather smooth unlike the choppy Motown one.
Question (as a piano player myself)- is she playing on any of the songs? (looked like she was doing some of the Bach) or is it merely the pit musicians- saw they had a few keyboardists/pianists.
I agree with a previous post that a little more could have been done with the Carnegie Hall Concert- was actually listening to that on my ride up today.