Beautiful - The Carole King Musical at The Chanhassen

photo: Dan Norman, 2024

There is nothing like a night at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. Yes, you have the drive there but you are rewarded with so much! A great dinner, great company, photo opportunities, and always a fantastic show. Last night I was rewarded with the opening night of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. I don't know much about Carole King beyond the fact she wrote a slew of pop songs, had some connection to the Brill Building, and had a stunning, critically acclaimed album Tapestry. 

After a delicious dinner, the emcee comes on to welcome everyone to the Chanhassen. We are given some history about the place, the fact that it opened in 1968, how many meals have been served since then, as well as welcoming specific people who are celebrating special events. Nancy Nelson (our emcee last night) also talked about the significance of this specific show. Michael Brindisi has been the Artistic Director of the Chanhassen for over 30 years. He has a daughter named Cat who some readers may know from Theatre Latte Da's Spring Awakening, as well as numerous other local credits (7th House Theater, Mixed Blood, The Guthrie). For the first time, father and daughter co-directed this production. And what a production.

Photo: Dan Norman, 2024

Beautiful, as the title tells us, is a musical based on the story of Carole King. We are introduced to King (Monet Sabel) seated on the stage of Carnegie Hall where she starts to tell us about her life. We are taken back to where it started, Brooklyn where King decides that she is going to take a song she wrote into the City and try to sell it. From that point, we see her meet Gerry Goffin (Shad Hanley), Synthia Weil (Shinah Hey), Barry Mann (Alan Bach), and Don Kirschner (Michael Gruber). If you have ever looked at the pop hit titles of the late 50's and through the 60's...I'm sure you recognize the names. The first act is song after song after song, all performed fantastically by the cast. While all these songs are smoothly running by, we get behind the scenes with the relationship between King and Goffin, as well as the relationship between Weil and Mann. The ins and outs of writing the songs, juggling children with the passion of song creation, figuring out how to deal and work through relationship issues...and how all of this may work itself into a hit pop song. I found the script, and the direction so smooth in guiding the audience to focus on the story that is being told, while also giving us time to enjoy all the music. I mean, 19 songs in the first act alone but it didn't feel long. The transitions between scenes was so smooth and film like, drawing the audiences attention to various parts of the stage to tell the next part of the story. Suddenly we are at intermission with the question of "what next" on our mind, while we are served dessert.

Photo: Dan Norman, 2024

King's story is really an amazing and interesting one. Her career in songwriting is phenomenal, and then to see her transition from that into being a performer...it was fascinating and truly enjoyable. The evening ends with the Carole King songs you have been waiting for all night (but didn't know you missed until now). It ends the way it started with, with King on stage at Carnegie Hall. We have come full circle and I was truly amazed at how much this one person had accomplished before starting an incredible "solo" career. 

The cast, as I stated, was amazing through out. The characters who played real people, especially the singers in groups (The Drifters, The Shirelles, The Righteous Brothers, etc) all did their part to sound like how we have heard them on various recordings. The production was flawless - the costumes, set, lights, music... all was perfect. It truly was a Beautiful night at the Chanhassen. The show plays through the spring and summer so go enjoy an evening out. There is an option for "Show Only" tickets if you are wanting to go for just the show. It is just as enjoyable.