The life and career of singer/songwriter Carole King makes for an entertaining juke box musical in Beautiful, the season-opener at A.C.T. of Connecticut. With stellar direction and choreography by Parker Esse, this Broadway hit is a crowd-pleasing winner for the Ridgefield theatre.
Enjoying a six-year run on Broadway, Beautiful charts Carole King’s incredible life from a teenage song writer in Brooklyn to her amazing solo success, which includes her landmark album, “Tapestry”. With a book by Douglas McGrath and songs by King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, the musical focuses on those key players, played at A.C.T by Julia Bain as King, Jake Goz (Goffin), Barrett Riggins (Mann)) and Mary Grace Humphries (Weil). All four actors are terrific at A.C.T., and they are supported by an enthusiastic and multi-talented company of singer/dancers. The ensemble plays multiple roles and are especially good depicting popular boy and girl groups of the period, including The Drifters, Shirelles and Righteous Brothers.
Director Parker Esse, who choreographed an exemplary A Chorus Line at Goodspeed last season, deserves most of the praise here for his fluid and breathless staging. David Goldstein & Matthew Herman’s set pieces are perfectly handled by the cast throughout the proceedings. Everything moving on stage is tight and swift, proceeding like clockwork. The joyous song list includes “One Fine Day”, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, “On Broadway”, “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling”, “Up on the Roof”, “You’ve Got a Friend” and many, many more. You won’t stop singing along.
I found the first act of Beautiful very busy in introducing the major players, but each actor is so adept at characterization, we learn a lot in a relatively short period. I’m sure much of the story is idealized as to King’s actual experiences – McGrath doesn’t always smoothly avoid the “Star is Born” cliches evident in these types of musicals – but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. If Act Two sputters and suffers slightly in comparison, it’s only because the first act has more interesting things happening, while the second seems to be rushing to a conclusion that finds King performing the title song at Carnegie Hall. Don’t worry, it’s worth the wait.
Beautiful continues at the A.C.T. of Connecticut, 36 Old Quarry Road in Ridgefield, Connecticut through November 22, 2026. For further information or ticket reservations call the theatre box office at: 475.215.5497 or visit: www.actofct.org.
Tom Holehan is one of the founders of the Connecticut Critics Circle, a frequent contributor to WPKN Radio’s “State of the Arts” program and the Stratford Crier and Artistic Director of Stratford’s Square One Theatre Company. He welcomes comments at: tholehan@yahoo.com. His reviews and other theatre information can be found on the Connecticut Critics Circle website: www.ctcritics.org.
