Beautiful: The Carole King Musical as presented by David Hennessy Musical & Dramatic Society

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical as performed by David Hennessy MDS:

Date of Adjudication: Thursday, 28th March 2024.

Director, David Hennessy, has shown, once again, that he has a very good eye for top-notch, hitherto-unseen, musicals, and this year, with Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, he has pulled out all the stops to present it at its finest, assembling a wonderful cast, making sure that the staging and the visual presentation are dynamic, and treating the Waterford audiences to something special and very different to the norm. Being of a certain age, sitting through this show was like taking a trip down memory lane with a group of old friends. Carole King’s Tapestry album was one of the first albums I ever bought, and I believe I may still have it at home, sleeping in the attic alongside albums by The Drifters, The Shirelles, The Righteous Brothers and several by Neil Sedaka. This was the music of my childhood, and every song in the show brought a memory back to me. Ah, sweet nostalgia!

Thinking perhaps that this was going to be little more than a Carole King song book, held together by a paper thin story, I was delighted to discover it was so much more than that, for linking all the great songs together was the often funny, frequently touching story of Carole King’s early years, from pregnancy at 16 to the end of her marriage, and the beginning of her recognition as a major celebrity. The set for the show had a recording studio feel to it, with the band permanently on stage on two levels at the back. The upper level had small stage spaces on it for singers and some movement, while the main stage served as a studio, several family homes, and a concert stage, depending on the variety and arrangement of furniture and props, which were generally excellent. They were also very efficiently maneuvered about the stage by cast and by a good stage crew, under the direction of Stage Manager, Brian Collins. As the action was very fast moving, with often a concert feel to it, the simplicity of the set worked brilliantly, and was always interesting to look at. What aided it significantly in its success was a very strong lighting plot, which gave us plenty of well-lit isolated areas, and fabulous atmospheric lighting for the performance numbers.

But what really set this show on fire for me was a truly wonderful cast, so annoyingly young to be so incredibly talented.

Alex Kavanagh, in the central role of Carole King, was nothing short of radiant. It was hard to believe that this lady was only 18 years old, such was the spectrum of her talent. From the moment she appeared, she captured the character of Carole, modest yet ambitious, vulnerable but adventurous. Her acting and her comedy were out of the top drawer, but her stage presence, combined with her superb vocals are what made her totally inhabit the role. She also mimed her piano playing with panache. Just as Carole King became a shining star with her Carnegie Hall concert, so Alex Kavanagh became a shining star playing this role.

Alongside her, Jenna Dunphy gave a wonderful interpretation of Cynthia Weil. Her comedic timing was exceptional, and her vocals were strong and confident. This was a delightfully quirky performance, with excellent delivery and great sincerity. The two girls together played off each other brilliantly, and Jenna’s bond with Pádraic Dí Fusco as Barry, was so strong and comfortable.

Danny Brockie cut a fine figure as Gerry Goffin, comical and likeable enough to win over Carole in the early scenes. I was not totally convinced by his bad-boy behavior when romance started to waver, but he did pull it all together again when he had his breakdown, and there was great sincerity in his final encounter with Carole. His vocals throughout were very good and very secure.

Another top-notch performance came from Pádraic Dí Fusco, as Barry Mann, hilarious in his hypochondria, sincere in his love for Cynthia, delightfully competitive with his writing, and vocally brilliant in the delivery of all his songs. From the gentle, melodic sincerity of Walking in the Rain to the powerhouse Rock delivery of the Animals hit, We Gotta Get Out of This Place, his vocals were superb, and he was just totally believable in his character. Very well-played.

The experienced Bill Stafford gave a very strong and balanced performance as producer, Don Kirshner, the balance being between the no-nonsense, business-minded executive and the affable, soft-centred friend and mentor that he proved to be to all his clients. Good humour and delivery where what made his performance shine.

As Carole’s mother, Genie Klein, a youthful and expressive Caz Butler Kelly, added a few years to give a captivating comedic performance. With a fabulous voice, great facial expression and excellent timing and delivery, she did not waste a line all night, making this a most enjoyable and entertaining role.

Where do I begin to talk about the most impressive newcomers to Musical Theatre? Kingsley Ekedoze. Ayo Akelede, Sean Murphy, and Donal Ojiekhudu stepped out together as The Drifters, sang brilliantly and performed routines that could have been lifted from footage of the original Drifters. They really were so talented, and they nailed their numbers with panache and authenticity.

Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, Precious Abimbola, Madeline Blackwell, Celina Kehinde and Angie Goma stepped up as The Shirelles to give a sublime rendition of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. The girls were as beautiful in their movement as they were vocally. Precious also doubled as Janelle Woods, capturing the character of Gerry Goffin’s ‘other woman,’ and singing with great tone and texture.

And just when I was thinking this show cannot get any better, up stepped Madeline Blackwell again, this time in the guise of Little Eva, and absolutely brought the house down with a quite magnificent rendition of The Locomotion. Vocally and from a staging point of view, this was the song of the show.

Congratulations to Paul Kavanagh and Andrew Lane for creating a great sound and the perfect look and character for The Righteous Brothers, delivering You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling quite brilliantly.

There were strong performances too from Samantha O’Regan as Marilyn Ward, Celina Kehinde as both Lucille and the ‘Uptown Singer,’ Charley Fitzgerald as Betty, Adam O’Neill as Lou Adler, Leon Sheehan as a very likeable Nick and Ivan Kiely as a young and perky Neil Sedaka.

A strong trio of featured singers, Brenda Giles, Hazel Tebay Kelly, and Susan Murphy gave great back-up vocals to several numbers with Carole.

If you are going to do a show about the music industry, it is essential to get the authentic sounds of the era, and that requires an excellent band with excellent leadership. How fortunate for this company that Musical Director, Jimmy Brockie, got it all right. The feel, the

rhythms, the tempi of every number was just perfect, played by a brilliant band who were obviously enjoying the experience. When they played the Overture, which was quite excellent, such was their strength and raw energy that I had initial worries that they would drown out much of the show, but all my worries were alleviated when I realized that an excellent sound system was in place to make sure that a good balance was always achieved.

There were plenty of ensemble pieces to keep the chorus occupied, all of which were performed with strong vocal quality and great energy in the dances. Michelle Condon’s greatest achievement with her choreography was in replicating the style and form of the era with authentic routines for The Drifters and The Shirelles, and then infusing the ensemble pieces with energy and creativity. Her dancers and movers all performed with great enthusiasm and precision, creating a really strong overall package.

The show was beautifully costumed, with great matching outfits for the Drifters and the Shirelles, snappy suits for The Righteous Brothers, and super outfits for the various chorus dance routines. There was a good distinction between fashion conscious Cynthia and homey Carole. All the outfits were era-appropriate, as were the make-up, wigs and hairstyles, so abundant in number that the teams must have been working long hours every night to get them right. The dressing of the stage was very impressive with good props and furniture, including the obligatory pianos, microphones, etc, that gave great authenticity, particularly in the studio scenes.

Everything about this production just seemed to click perfectly into place, and was a credit to David Hennessy, who obviously did extensive research to get it just right. I loved every moment of it. The fact that all the music was so well-known was a bonus for the audience, who were itching to sing along with every song. I resisted that urge, and instead, sang every song as I drove back to Galway, high on the energy of the performance, and thoroughly entertained.

Peter Kennedy

Gilbert Adjudicator 23/24

Photos by Colin Shanahan (Gallery below) & Darragh Carroll (above)