by Terrance Mc Arthur

“So Far Away.” “Some Kind of Wonderful.” “Take Good Care of My Baby.” “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” ”The Locomotion.” “One Fine Day.” “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” “It’s Too Late.” “You’ve Got a Friend.” “Natural Woman.” “I Feel the Earth Move.” All those songs—and more—are part of Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, which has returned in a Good Company Players production to Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater through March 16.

Carole King (born Carol Joan Klein) became a professional songwriter at 16, married Gerry Goffin at 17, and they created many hits of the Rock era. Beautiful captures her life, talents, and troubles, along with the spirit of the Donny Kirshner (Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert series of the ‘70s) Brill Building era, and Goffin-King’s competitors/friends, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” “Walking in the Rain,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”).

Carole King (Meg Clark) in GCP’s production of “Beautiful”

This is an amazing cast, partly because of the number of GCP heavy-hitters involved, and also because many of the performers were in the 2024 production. These people know what they’re doing, and they do it well.

Carole King is a role that puts great demands on an actor, and Meg Clark meets that challenge. Her confidence in revisiting the character translates to easy transitions as she grows from bubbly teenager to mother to singer-songwriter with one of the best-selling albums of all time. She sings with strength, and every word is heard.

Jonathan Wheeler isn’t suave as Goffin—he’s intense, darkly flawed—but you have to watch him. He blends well with Clark, which makes the Goffin-King story more…you feel what draws them together, and you feel what drives them apart.

Carole King (Meg) and Goffin (Jonathan Wheeler) in GCPs production of “Beautiful”

It’s hard to imagine the same person who played Maria in The Sound of Music would play the wisecracking lyricist Cynthia Weil. However, it’s Haleigh Cook, and she did it, and it is good. Adrian Ammsso makes an engaging hypochondriac as Barry Mann, and he rips it up on “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” the hit Mann & Weil wrote and the Animals charted.

Steve Souza gives us a jovially-contradictory Don Kirshner, a far cry from the monotone Kirshner of his Rock Concert introductions. The reliable Jacquie Broach is great as Carol’s mother. Ed Burke plays record producer Lou Adler and lends his rich voice to songs of the Drifters, with excellent tag-team support from Tony Sanders. Camille Gaston and Janet Glaude appear repeatedly in singing groups of the ‘60s, and Rex McTeer brings the Bobby Hatfield to the Righteous Brothers, while Trinity Mikel bounces like a Tigger as Carole’s babysitter who turned “The Locomotion” into a hit.

Cast of GCP’s production of “Beautiful”

Laurie Pessano manages to round up all the musical numbers into a solid story with her deft directing. Malinda Asbury, Pessano, and Salisha handled the massive choreography chores. Michael Fidalgo coached the vocals, and David Pierce created the multi-level, multi-location set that glows with the silhouettes of the city. Ginger Kay Lewis-Reed creates the timeline of the ‘60s from the depth of her costume shop (My wife still wants one of those wiggly/shimmery costumes from the Shirelles.).

The GCP Junior Company youngsters honor songwriting teams with their pre-show medley. My favorite was Campbell Sloas putting the Boop-oop-a-doop into “I Wanna Be Loved By You.”

Cast of GCP’s production of “Beautiful”

Do you want to immerse yourself in the songs of the Rock era, revel in Carole King’s music and life, or watch experienced performers do what they were born to do? Go, see Beautiful.

Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater is at 1226 N. Wishon Ave. at Olive Ave. For tickets and further information, go to gcplayers.com, or call (559) 266-9494.

If you love local theatre, be sure to check out Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, which features mysteries read by local actors. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and also on podbean.

Check out more theatre reviews & other local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section. You can also find more theatre coming up on KRL’s Local Theatre event page.

Terrance V. Mc Arthur worked for the Fresno County Public Library for three decades. He is retired, but not retiring. A storyteller, puppeteer, writer, actor, magician, basketmaker, and all-around interesting person, his goal is to make life more unusual for everyone he meets.