'Beautiful' at Croswell Opera House explores life, music of songwriter Carole King

ADRIAN — Name a hit pop-music tune of the 1960s or 1970s, and there’s a decent chance Carole King had something to do with it.

King wrote, co-wrote, and/or sang some of the era’s most well known music, including “Up on the Roof,” “One Fine Day,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” and many others. One of her multiple chart-topping albums was “Tapestry,” which earned four Grammy Awards in 1971 and led to two top singles, “It’s Too Late” and “I Feel the Earth Move.”

The jukebox musical based on her life story, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 7, at the Croswell Opera House. Additional performances are 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 8; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 9; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 13; 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 14; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 15; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 16.

Tickets range from $22-$44 for adults and $15-$25 for students, and are available by calling 517-264-7469 or online at croswell.org.

“Beautiful,” whose book was written by Douglas McGrath, opened on Broadway in January 2014 and went on to win two Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards, with the soundtrack winning a Grammy the next year for Best Musical Theater Album.

The musical focuses on King’s career, her personal life, and the way she triumphed over adversity to become one of America’s great songwriters. To Debra Ross Calabrese, who directs and choreographs the Croswell’s production, King’s determination and resilience are a major part of what makes her story what it is.

“She was told no and kept moving forward,” she said. “She got a divorce and didn’t crumble. What an inspirational story.”

Calabrese has her own personal connection to “Beautiful.” One of her students, Sara Shepherd, was part of the Broadway production and played Carole King in the North American tour.

But besides that, King’s music formed part of the soundtrack of Calabrese’s early adulthood. “I was a senior in high school when ‘Tapestry’ came out,” she said. “I still have the album. I brought it in and showed it to the cast. … Every time I hear one of her songs, it’s a great memory.”

The Croswell’s cast is led by Emma Skaggs (Perrysburg, Ohio) as King, with Steven Kiss (Temperance) as King’s husband and songwriting partner, Gerry Goffin.

The couple’s friends and fellow songwriters, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, are played by Katelyn Lesle Levering (Toledo) and Sam Ramirez (Wyandotte). Lydia Schafer (Sylvania, Ohio) plays King’s mother, Genie Klein, and Chris Stack (Toledo) and Chris Smith (Temperance) play music producers Don Kirschner and Lou Adler.

The musical also features portrayals of some of the artists who recorded King’s songs. Playing the Shirelles, in addition to other roles, are Anjewel Lenoir and CaSaundra Taulton (both of Adrian), Autumn Bradford (Sterling Heights), and Sabriyah Davis (Toledo). Playing the Drifters, plus other roles, are Jonathon LaBelle (Adrian), JeeMell Green (Southfield), Domonique Glover (Toledo), and Brian Jones (Maumee, Ohio).

Sarahfay Hendin and Xavier Sarabia (both of Adrian), Gabrielle Blondin (Linden), Jared Freeman (Perrysburg), and Lilly Buck and Peyton Burnor (both of Toledo) are cast in a variety of roles. Buck also serves as the production’s assistant director/assistant choreographer.

“Beautiful” is billed as the true story of King’s life, and “it’s written with great respect,” Calabrese said. “And that was one of my goals with it — to show respect to Carole.”

In casting the lead role, “I kept my vision open,” she said, not being set on having an actress that looked or sounded like Carole King but, instead, going into the audition process with the idea that whatever it was she was looking for, “I’d know it when I saw it.”

She believes the result, from Skaggs on down, is a strong cast, one “that really comes together and helps one another. And they’re all so talented.”

Of course, the production’s actors are also of an age to not know much, if anything, about Carole King, Neil Sedaka, or the 1960s groups who show up in the course of the story. “I told the kids that Carole King was the Taylor Swift of her time,” Calabrese said.

It was important to her that her young cast understand King’s place in the history that’s led to the performers of today. “If you have any interest in music, you need to know the music that came before,” she said. “The music you know now came on the shoulders of those who came before.”

And, she said, the type of music King and her pop contemporaries created was groundbreaking in its own way.

“When you start naming off (singers) of that era — Carole King, Carly Simon, James Taylor — it was music you hadn’t heard before, and for some people of that time, like me, it spoke to us. It certainly spoke to me, and obviously it spoke to many people because it’s stood the test of time.”

If you go

WHAT: “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 7; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 8; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 9; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 13; 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 14; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 15; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 16

WHERE: Croswell Opera House, 129 E. Maumee St., Adrian

TICKETS: $22-$44 for adults, $15-$25 for students

HOW TO ORDER: By calling 517-264-7469 or online at croswell.org

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Preview: 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical' at Croswell Opera House