Beautiful The Carole King Musical: An Evening of Delicious Memories at DTW (Corrected)
by June August and Audrey Liebross
June’s Take
I felt like a kid again as I was taking my seat for the Desert Theatreworks (DTW) mainstage production of Beautiful The Carole King Musical. There I was, surrounded by a roomful of Carole King fans‚ all waiting eagerly for the show to begin‚ being treated to a soundtrack of her music. King’s album “Tapestry” will always be one of my favorites from that era.
Kudos to DTW for taking on a biographical musical. The casting alone can be a challenge. Their success with the Patsy Cline production a couple of years ago no doubt provided the encouragement. And once again DTW hit the mark. Members of the ensemble deserve extra credit for dissolving from one character to another with panache.
Except for a few opening night technical bumps‚ which the audience was willing to overlook‚ Beautiful provided an entertaining ride. The performers managed multiple costume changes in a timely way, and the crew skillfully handled the many scene changes. If I were to offer one note, it would be a critique of the structure of the book, including scene changes, some of which seemed longer than the scene that followed. That kind of activity would be facilitated in a theater with a revolving stage and a half dozen dollies for moving furniture. DTW performed magic without such facilities.
If you love Carole King’s work and would enjoy learning more about her life, be sure to take advantage of the Desert Theatreworks production. I know you’ll find yourself relating to the lyrics and moving to the music.
Audrey’s Take
(Correction: We mistakenly listed Lance Phillips as director. Rebecca McWilliams directed. Lance Phillips was the musical director).
I am not a fan of tribute concerts. I also generally avoid musicals about singers. In neither case is the lead performer likely to measure up to the original. This was especially true about Carole King, who was one of my favorite singers in the 1960’s and 70’s, and whom I had the pleasure of seeing live at what is now the Kia Forum. As a result of my misgivings regarding musicals about singers, I was ambivalent about attending Beautiful The Carole King Musical, at DTW.
Tara Howard’s charismatic performance allayed my concerns. Ms. Howard puts her own stamp on the title character, rather than try to channel Carole King’s mannerisms or distinctive — but not particularly mellifluous — voice.
Other than the well-known hair and a great New York accent, Tara Howard does not remind me very much of Ms. King. But she gives a great acting and singing performance, interpreting the role as an expert cover singer might. For me, with my dislike of tributes, that is a happy occurrence.
The musical numbers, unlike in a jukebox musical, are far more important than just an excuse to sing and dance. Nevertheless, because the actors only sing when their characters would sing, rather than singing to tell part of the story, I would consider Beautiful more of a play with music than a true musical. As a result, the audience members will recognize almost every song, all of which were written by Carole King herself, and her husband (Gerry Goffin) and best friends (Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil). Even if they have never seen Beautiful before, they will be strongly tempted to hum along because the songs are now part of the Great American Songbook.
Director Rebecca McWilliams has assembled a talented cast of singers, dancers, and actors to back up Ms. Howard. James Flaherty, Kirstie Acosta, Steve Giboney, and Doug Arbulu are terrific as Gerry Goffin, Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, and producer Donny Kirschner. I enjoyed watching the 1950’s and 60’s singers come to life — especially my old classmate, Jessica Schuler, as the lead singer for the Shirelles, and Cheyenne Pennington, as Little Eva, who owns the stage singing “Locomotion”.
Based on current ticket availability, it appears likely that Beautiful will sell out or come darned close. Prospective audience members had better hurry or they’re likely to be shut out.
Beautiful will run through Sunday, March 24, 2024, with performances Thursdays through Sundays. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. except for those on Sundays, which take place at 2:00 p.m. Check the ticket purchase information at www.dtworks.org for prices or call (760) 980-1455. All performances take place at the Indio Performing Arts Center, 45175 Fargo Street, Indio, CA 92201.
Photos: by Nick Cox
The rest of the cast:
GENIE KLEIN/ENSEMBLE - Alexana Thomas
BETTY/MARILYN WALD - Adah Burgen
LUCILLE - Bonny Link
LEAD DRIFTER/ENSEMBLE - Tegr Micheal Powell
DRIFTER/ENSEMBLE - Stephen R Lily
JANELLE WOODS/ENSEMBLE - Tamra Harkley
RIGHTEOUS BROTHER/ENSEMBLE - Kai Brothers
LOU ADLER/ENSEMBLE - Kevin Foley
UPTOWN SINGER/ENSEMBLE - Kylie Mitchell
NICK/ENSEMBLE - Matt Yenesel
ENGINEER/ENSEMBLE - Andrew Abril
The creatives and crew:
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR - Lance Phillips
CEO/TECHNICAL DIRECTOR - Ron Phillips
DIRECTOR - Rebecca McWilliams
CHOREOGRAPHER - Stacy Casaluci
MUSICAL DIRECTOR - Lance Phillips
TECHNICAL SUPERVISOR - Adriana Reyes
VOCAL COACHES - Kirstie Acosta & Tamra Harkley
STAGE MANAGERS - Pedro G. Leos & Violet Feath
SET - Ron Phillips
LIGHTING - Nick Wass
COSTUMES - Lance Phillips
SOUND - Nick Wass
HAIR and MAKEUP - Eabha Dunne
REHEARSAL ACCOMPANIST - Douglas Wilson
SHOW STAGE MANAGER/SOUND BOARD - Violet Feath
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS - Julissa Silva & Monica Sterling
BACKSTAGE CREW - Eabha Dunne, Jasmin Gutierrez, Jeremiah Woods, & Isaac Urrutia