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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT NOVEMBER 21, 2024
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Weaving a ‘Beautiful’ tapestry
Asolo Rep tells the musical story of Carole King’s life with more than song.
BY MARTY FUGATE CONTRIBUTOR
‘B
eautiful: The Carole King Musical” is singing the songs of Carole King on the Asolo Repertory Theatre stage. Douglas McGrath wrote the book for the hit show, which ran from 2014-19 on Broadway. Needless to say, King wrote the tunes — with a little help from friends like Gerry Goffin (her ex-husband), Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil — at the dawn of her career. This beautiful musical is packed with King’s music. But don’t call it a “jukebox” musical. At least not in front of Director Shelley Butler. “It’s much more than that,” she says, “It’s Carole King’s biography — the story of a life in song.” And what a beautiful life it’s been.
IF YOU GO
‘BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL’ When: Through Jan. 5 Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $35-$98 Info: Visit AsoloRep.org.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN NEW YORK CITY
King’s songwriting saga began in the Big Apple when she was only 16. Music publisher Don Kirshner was minding his own business — until a teenaged King walked into his recording studio to sing him a song she’d written. He told her that’s not the way it works. She sang it anyway. Kirshner liked her style — and raw talent. King quickly got to work in the Brill Building — a music factory that ground out hit after hit. The teenage talent created her own chart-toppers — “One Fine Day,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “The Locomotion” and “Up on the Roof,” to name a few. Bands and artists like Aretha Franklin, The Shirelles, The Chiffons and The Drifters sang King’s songs. But they were overproduced in the “Wall of Sound” style pioneered by Phil Spector, and other voices were singing her songs. But King found her own voice. In 1971, her voice rang out on “Tapestry,” her breakthrough solo album produced by Lou Adler. King simplified and got straight to the heart. No studio trickery, no lush arrangements. Just acoustic and electric guitar, piano, electric keyboards, congas, drums, string bass. And King’s voice. That was it, and that was all. It was more than enough. WEAVING THE TAPESTRY OF A LIFETIME
The Asolo Rep production isn’t Butler’s first spin on this musical merry-go-round. She’s directed and
Asolo Repertory Theatre puts its own stamp on its production of the hit Broadway show, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”
co-directed multiple iterations of “Beautiful,” including a production in Japan. Butler describes these early productions as a “revelation.” She already loved King’s music — but she didn’t know how much there was to love. “I knew and loved ‘Tapestry,’” she says. “But I didn’t realize that King and Gerry Goffin had written so many number one hits for so many other artists. And I had no idea James Taylor and Joni Mitchell sang backImages courtesy of Adrian Van Stee
SEE BEAUTIFUL, PAGE 2
Carole King and her first husband, Gerry Goffin, churned out songs in New York’s Brill Building that became hits for The Drifters.