Last night I had the privilege of attending the invited dress rehearsal of Beautiful, the Carole King Musical.  I went in with high expectations because I’ve been a huge fan of Carole King’s music for a very long time (although I do not want to write about how long that has been).   

I’ve got a lot of friends in the theater, but even I don’t get the chance to see a pre-preview of a brand-new show that often.  I’ve got to tell you that it’s one of the best things in the world.  The chance to see a work of art that’s in process and may not look or sound anything like what you’ve seen when it enters its final phase.   Not very many people get to experience that.

As I say, I went in with very, very, very high expectations.  I love all of Ms. King’s songs, so I was sure I’d like the musical numbers.  The question was whether the producers could make something intriguing and engaging out of the story.

And they did.  Although there were the same “and then we hit it big” and “and then we met with tragedy” moments I’ve seen in other bio-musicals like Jersey Boys, and although Carole comes off as a little too nicey-nicey in the face of adversity, the story holds.  Moreover, the music holds.

Bottom line:  Go see Beautiful. It is – or will be by the time tryouts are over – a terrific show.  Even in its first performance, it had the audience on its feet.  Sincerely.  There was no “good will.”’  We all had an amazing time.  The room was electric.  I can hardly wait to see what the end result is after a little – and I do mean a little – editing has been done.

More to follow after I’ve seen that.  In the meantime, make plans to see it.  Do it!