Stage Review: A ‘Beautiful’ Beginning to Playhouse’s 100th Season

By J.E. Ballantyne Jr.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The American songbook has provided rich music and story lines that lend themselves well to the Broadway stage and I’m sure more are on the way.

But none captivate better than “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical,” which kicked off the 100th Youngstown Playhouse season on Friday at the DeYor Performing Arts Center.

With a book by Douglas McGrath and music and lyrics by Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Phil Spector, “Beautiful” traces the early life of Carole King – before she was a star. As a fledgling song writer along with partner, Goffin, King cranked out songs for other artists that were destined for classic status.

The Playhouse’s production is pure flash and spectacle. You won’t get anything closer to a full blown Broadway production in this town than this eye-opener at the DeYor.

Since the show is about Carole King, you had better have a good King to put out there on stage. And the Playhouse’s Carole King is a stunner. Brooke May takes on this challenging role and blows the socks off of the most hardened skeptic.

May, from Austintown, is small in stature but huge in talent and packs a wallop in this powerful role. With attention-grabbing vocals, she goes through the King songbook with ease making one feel like they are actually watching the real King on stage rather than an actress. But that’s not all – she can act too. Her command of the role never weakens as she easily navigates the many joys and sorrows King experienced along her journey. She handles the emotional range of the role like an experienced pro.

Vocally, she has many highlights. It is difficult to just pick a few but the ones that jumped out on my way home were “It Might As Well Rain Until September,” “It’s Too Late,” an emotional “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” But if I had more space, I could go on.

Much of King’s early writing was done with partner/husband, Gerry Goffin. Played by Sam Early, Goffin was an inspiration early on, but succumbs to his own demons as the relationship wears on.

Early presents a likeable character that the audience bonds with in the early going but the tide turns sour as he becomes unlikeable – and so did the audience’s feelings toward him. Boos rained down on him when he visits his former wife late in the show

Early handles the extreme highs and lows of the character very well. That’s something that many people in the entertainment industry wrestle with; I have seen it many times. But Early is the perfect complement to May’s Carole.

Best friends of the couple are Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, also songwriters, played by Connor Bezeredi and Brianna Rae Quinn, respectively. Both handle much of the comedy in the show and offer up some great numbers like, “Happy Days Are Here Again,” “Who Put the Bomp,” “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” and “Walking In the Rain.”

Bezeredi gives a lovable portrayal of Mann and shows comical frustration at Carole and Gerry for always beating them out for No. 1 hits.

Quinn is a strong actress with a good singing voice and gives a many layered performance of Cynthia. The only problem with Quinn was that she really didn’t fill the large theater enough with her dialogue. Even though she had a mic, many of her lines were lost because there just wasn’t enough oomph behind them. A mic won’t make you louder it just amplifies what you put into it.

The rest of this large cast is professional grade in every respect. Maureen Collins is always a sure bet as she is here as Genie Klein (King’s mother). Her appearances are few but she makes them memorable.

Many pop in and out in various roles: Shawn Lockaton, as Neil Sedaka and half of The Righteous Brothers, was entertaining. John Cox plays a pivotal role as music publisher Don Kirshner, who adds lightness and humor to a character that could get lost in the shuffle. Cox makes him stand out – you find yourself waiting for his next entrance.

James Major Burns, Logan-Lee Edwards, Joshua William Green, and Christian “CJ” Hall, who make up The Drifters were a big hit, as were Arielle Green-Hall, Reia Frost, Nikita R. Jones and Mikayla Moore as The Shirelles. Lockaton along with Khaled Tabbara as The Righteous Brothers gave a crowd pleasing rendition of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” Reia Frost also got a roar from the crowd as Little Eva with “The Locomotion.” Add to this a strong ensemble with great choreography, and you’ve got a Broadway show.

The cast, however, wasn’t the only thing to watch. A stellar set that was acquired from The Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia dazzles the entire production. Lights, lights and more lights with numerous flying pieces that jet in and out. Being a multi-level set afforded the opportunity for some creative staging during musical numbers. It is a feast for the eyes.

Lighting design by Ellen Licitra is perhaps the best she has ever created, and she has done some great work. Costume design by Brian Palumbo fit the time periods and are colorful. Choreography by Megan Cleland was perfect, especially with The Drifters and The Shirelles, and fit that style and time.

Stage managers don’t often appear in reviews but production stage manager Isa Foltz and assistant Caitlyn Santiago deserve a huge amount of credit for lightning-quick scene changes that flowed as smoothly as melted butter. Talk about choreography, well these were choreographed to perfection.

Being that this is the 100th season, it was fitting that many former Playhouse actors returned to appear in this production. It was great to see those faces back on a Youngstown stage.

This production was a great homecoming for Michael J. Moritz Jr., who produced the original production on Broadway and is acting in that capacity here as well, along with being music supervisor. Directed by John Holt, this was the biggest Playhouse production ever attempted and this show has Mike Moritz written all over it. You can tell this is his baby and he brought all the glitz and glamour from New York to Youngstown.

If you don’t have tickets yet, get them. This is an historic year for The Youngstown Playhouse and this is an historic production.

“Beautiful – The Carole King Musical” continues Saturday, Aug. 24, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 25, at 2:30 p.m.

Pictured at top: Maureen Collins and Brooke May in a scene from The Youngstown Playhouse’s production of “Beautiful: The Carole King Story.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.