Directed by Marc
Bruni
Book by Douglas
McGrath
Words and Music by
Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
Michael Cassell In
association with Paul Blake & Sony/ATV Music Publishing & Mike Bosner
Sydney Lyric Theatre
Reviewed by Len Power
21 September 2017
Carole King’s ‘Tapestry’ is one of the best-selling albums
of all time, with over 25 million copies sold worldwide. ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ opened
on Broadway in 2014 and is still running there.
The Australian production, at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, has the same
director, choreographer and scenic, sound, costume and lighting designers.
The show tells the story of the early life and career of
Carole King from 1958. According to the script,
only men wrote popular songs in that era, so it was quite a break-through for
her to have songs performed and published.
The first act surprises with the number of songs credited to her that
we’ve all known for years. The second
act covers more of her personal life and marriage problems but has an upbeat
ending with the triumph of ‘Tapestry’ and her 1971 Carnegie Hall concert.
The show has strong performances by the entire cast and a
very appealing central performance by Esther Hannaford. She sings and plays the role delightfully and
puts her own stamp on the songs.
There’s a basic problem at the heart of this show,
though. Carole King, as presented in the
show, is a pleasant, occasionally funny but not very exciting personality. Her marital problems are nothing unusual and
her husband, Gerry Goffin, played by Josh Piterman, is a rather unsympathetic
character. Song-writers Cynthia Weil and
Barry Mann, friends of Carole King, are much more interesting and fun – she is
sophisticated and sassy and he’s a hypochondriac. So much time in the show is given over to
these two colourful characters and their music that it almost unbalances the
show. Amy Lehpamer is wonderful as
Cynthia Weil and Mat Verevis is terrific as Barry Mann.
Maybe because of this, the show isn’t as involving
emotionally as it should be. Still, it
looks and sounds good and is a slick, spectacular and expensive-looking
production that’s quite enjoyable. If
you’re a fan of that era of music, you’ll have an especially good time.
I saw the show at a preview performance two nights before it
officially opened. ‘Beautiful’ is
currently playing at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7’s new ‘On Stage’ program on Mondays from
3.30pm and on ‘Artcetera’ from 9.00am on Saturdays.