Review: Reagle Music Theatre's BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL Lives Up to its Name

When it comes to jukebox musicals, “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical” is one of the very best – a veritable Wurlitzer 1015.

With music by King and Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Phil Spector, and a book by Douglas McGrath, “Beautiful” is more than just a finely tuned machine that plays great songs, however – it’s a musical with a beating heart. After a pre-Broadway run at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre in 2013, the two-time Tony Award-winning show transferred to New York where it had a five-year run at Broadway’s Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Touring productions of the show have played Boston in 2015 and 2019. And a top-notch production is now on stage at Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston through June 22.

The story revolves around Carole King, the stage name of Carol Joan Klein, brought to vivid life in Waltham by Olivia Palmer who has previously appeared in productions of the show at the Paper Mill Playhouse, the Muny, and elsewhere. King’s legendary music career is tracked from her early days as a restless teenager and nascent tunesmith growing up in Brooklyn – but frequently drawn to 1650 Broadway with its music-industry offices and studios – to the enormous success she’s had as a songwriter, recording artist, and performer.

Along the way, we see King meet and become romantically entangled with the emotionally troubled Gerry Goffin (Shad Hanley), who becomes her songwriting partner and philandering husband. While working for music producer and publisher Don Kirshner (Jim Sorensen), King and Goffin meet Barry Mann (Luke Hawkins) and Cynthia Weil (Harley Seger), who become both a competing songwriting duo and their best friends.

The genuine friendship among King, Goffin, Mann, and Weil adds palpable warmth to the story, with Mann’s ever-present hypochondria also providing laughs. Hawkins and Rush are well-paired vocally as the couple whose mutual devotion builds more rapidly than their willingness to commit to each other. While Hawkins’s tallness and muscularity make him a less-than-perfect visual match for Mann, Rush captures Weil’s stylish sophistication in costumes designed  by Alejo Vietti for the original Broadway production.

The more tumultuous relationship between King and Goffin – with its professional highs and personal lows – is affectingly played by Palmer and Hanley with important insights into the characters provided by McGrath’s excellent book, and, of course, the duo’s songs, including “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” and “Up on the Roof.”

The songs are performed under the quick-paced direction of, and spirited choreography by, Deanna Dys, with the big names of the 1960s brought to life by members of the talented ensemble, including Martinez Napoleon, Noah Colvin, Brandon Howard, and Kenny Lee as the Drifters, Rachel Thompson as Janelle Woods, Dey Chante as babysitter-turned-hit-singer Little Eva (“The Locomotion”), and Sky Fortes, Ekaterina Hicks-Magaña, Chante, and Thompson as the Shirelles (“Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”).

The production is enhanced by the use of what are likely touring production sets by Tony and Emmy Award winner Derek McLane, based on his Broadway originals. Franklin Meissner Jr.’s lighting design is effective, throughout, including when Kevin Patrick Martin and Matthew Neal also take center stage for a well-sung “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” the Mann, Weil, and Spector composition that, after being recorded in 1964 by the Righteous Brothers and produced by Spector, went on to became one of the most-played songs of the 20th century.

Also strong in supporting roles are Jennifer Bubriski as Carole’s always loving and often meddlesome mother Genie Klein, Sorensen as Kirshner – the boss with a keen eye for talent and a clear focus on the bottom line – and Autumn Eliza Sheffy as Carole’s childhood pal, Betty.

While the acting is fine throughout, it’s the music that makes this show. Witness, under Mindy Cimini’s music direction, the smooth pairing of Hawkins and Seger on the Mann and Weill love song “Walking in the Rain,” Hawkins’ solo on “We’ve Got to Get Out of This Place,” and Palmer’s terrific takes on some of King and Goffin’s biggest hits like “One Fine Day” and “Chains.”

After King ends her marriage to Goffin and goes on to record her landmark, multi-Grammy award winning 1971 album, “Tapestry,” she finds her own voice and launches a solo career as performer. In this triumphant moment, Palmer takes to the piano to serve up some of King’s biggest hits including “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and “Beautiful” in a finale that brought the audience to its feet at Reagle’s recent press opening.

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