{"id":44264,"date":"2019-11-13T08:57:29","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T13:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=44264"},"modified":"2019-11-13T08:57:35","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T13:57:35","slug":"on-stage-a-musical-that-really-is-beautiful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=44264","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: A musical that really is ‘Beautiful’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>For more than a century, many beautiful national touring productions of Broadway shows have been presented at The Playhouse on Rodney Square (10th and Market streets, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-888-0200, www. duponttheatre.com<\/a>), which formerly has been known as the DuPont Theatre and the Playhouse Theatre.<\/p>\n

This week, the theater in downtown Wilmington will present another beautiful show — \u201cBeautiful: The Carole King Musical.\u201d The jukebox musical is running from November 14-17.<\/p>\n

Here are some songs that you almost certainly know — \u201cSome Kind of Wonderful,\u201d \u201cWill You Still Love Me Tomorrow?\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s Too Late,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ve Got a Friend,\u201d and \u201cI Feel the Earth Move.\u201d<\/p>\n

But you may not know what links these familiar songs together.<\/p>\n

All these classic hits were written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin.<\/p>\n

Do you know what bond links these familiar songs \u2014 \u201cOn Broadway,\u201d \u201cMake Your Own Kind of Music,\u201d \u201cWalking in the Rain,\u201d \u201cWe Gotta Get Out of This Place\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019ve Lost That Lovin\u2019 Feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

All these classic hits were written by Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann.<\/p>\n

These 10 songs and a whole lot of other all-time great pop songs are featured in the lively musical \u201cBeautiful: The Carole King Musical.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeautiful: The Carole King Musical\u201d tells the inspiring true story of King\u2019s remarkable rise to stardom \u2014 from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history.<\/p>\n

The hit show is a jukebox musical with a book by Douglas McGrath that looks at the early life and career of King using songs that she wrote with Goffin along with other contemporary songs by Mann, Weil, Phil Spector and others.<\/p>\n

The original production of \u201cBeautiful\u201d had its world premiere at the Curran Theatre, San Francisco in October 2013. It made its Broadway debut at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in January 2014.<\/p>\n

In the national tour, Kennedy Caughell plays King, James D. Gish plays Goffin, Kathryn Boswell plays Weil and James Michael Lambert plays Mann.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Broadway production just closed a week ago,\u201d said Gish, during a recent tour stop in Poughkeepsie, New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the only production of this show right now. This national tour has been out for four years. This company has only been out for a month-and-a-half.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s staged slightly differently and has an all-new cast except for two cast members. They brought me in for an audition in May. I had auditioned once before a long time ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was familiar with the show \u2013 and familiar with the music. It was he music I was raised on. It was all my parents listened to. I actually didn\u2019t get into current music until I was in college.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gish grew up in the small town of Bullhead City, Arizona, where he discovered his passion for music and live performance.\u00a0He then put himself through business school at the Barrett Honors College of Arizona State University by performing in productions culminating in over 400 performances.<\/p>\n

Gish\u2019s sound has taken him all over the U.S. in a variety of concerts and theatrical engagements alike. He moved to Nashville to produce his debut album with DW Music at Warner Brothers Studios \u2013 an album that featured a 53-piece orchestra and full supporting choir. His solo classical crossover album, \u201cSo In Love,\u201d\u00a0hit the Top 10 on iTunes for the full week of its release.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy audition songs for this show were \u2018Take Good Care of My Baby,\u2019 and \u2018Pleasant Valley Sunday,\u2019\u201d said Gish. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool and special to sing pop songs because I\u2019ve worked mainly with classical music as a tenor. My last show was the National Tour of \u2018Les Miserables.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Audiences love Carole King\u2019s music and love to hear it played live. On top of that, they get to hear the story of the pre-\u201cTapestry\u201d Carole King. They learn a lot about a songwriter\u2019s life in that era \u2014 going to an office building like the Brill Building every day to write songs. This show is based at 1650 Broadway.<\/p>\n

On his website, rock music legend Al Kooper wrote, \u201cThe greatest writers of the early-\u201960s \u2014 Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Howie Greenfield and Neil Sedaka, Jack Keller and Helen Miller \u2014 were all signed to the same publishing company. It was called Aldon Music and it was named after its two partners Al Nevins and Don Kirshner.<\/p>\n

\u201cSongs like \u201cWill You Love Me Tomorrow,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ve Lost That Lovin\u2019 Feelin,\u201d and \u201cUp On The Roof\u201d poured out of this genius monopoly like water from the tap. The Brill Building\u2019s finest moments were in the \u201940s and late \u201950s at best. The Brill Building was a throwback to the past and the original Tin Pan Alley.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rents were high, and so the embryonic music business minions of the early \u201960s flocked to 51st and Broadway to the renovated building with the reasonable, competitive rents known as 1650 Broadway. That\u2019s all it was called. It wasn\u2019t \u201cThe ______ Building.\u201d And while it was only 1650 Broadway, the brilliance of pop and soul music birthed there hides in revisionist anonymity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gish said, \u201cThis show sheds some very due light on Carole King and these other great writers. Carole King was the backbone of pop music in her generation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like playing Gerry Goffin because there are a lot more layers to him than a lot of other characters in musical theater. Gerry Goffin had a lot of inner demons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea that he struggled so much and that his life was so hard. He had electro-shock treatments for most of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Audiences of this show not only get to hear this array of great music but also have the opportunity to see what went on in the lives of the people responsible for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis show is so uplifting,\u201d said Gish. \u201cIt\u2019s happy and energetic \u2013 and it has a great ending.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for \u201cBeautiful: The Carole King Musical\u201d \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/IIz5Z2mAe5k<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices for \u201cBeautiful: The Carole King Musical\u201d start at $75.<\/p>\n

Another interesting stage production has arrived for an extended stay in the area. Now through December 8, the Arden Theatre is presenting \u201cTiny Beautiful Things\u201d at the Arcadia Stage (40 North Second Street, Philadelphia, Ardentheatre.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed, \u201cTiny Beautiful Things\u201d explores Strayed\u2019s time as the anonymous advice columnist, Dear Sugar. While navigating her readers\u2019 questions and pleas for advice, Strayed weaves together her own personal experiences and finds the courage to create a column full of light, laughter, and humanity.<\/p>\n

Strayed\u2019s best-selling book, which collects the highlights of The Rumpus’s \u201cDear Sugar\u201d advice columns, is loved for its insight, humor, and compassion. Nia Vardalos, the star of \u201cMy Big Fat Greek Wedding,\u201d along with Marshall Heyman and Thomas Kail, co-conceived a stage version inspired by Strayed\u2019s beloved book.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Emilie Krause<\/p><\/div>\n

The play personifies the questions and answers that \u201cSugar\u201d was publishing online from 2010-2012. When the struggling writer was asked to take over the unpaid, anonymous position of advice columnist, Strayed used empathy and her personal experiences to help those seeking guidance for obstacles both large and small.\u00a0 A NY Times Critics Pick, the play was called \u201ca theatrical hug in turbulent times\u201d by Variety.<\/p>\n

The Arden Theatre Company production will feature noted Philadelphia actress Emilie Krause, who is performing in her seventh Arden production, as Strayed, with Akeem Davis, Joilet Harris, and Bailey Roper rounding out the company. \u201cTiny Beautiful Things\u201d will also mark the Arden directorial debut of director Maura Krause, known for her work at Oribter 3, InterAct Theatre Company, and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my first show with the Arden Theatre,\u201d said Maura Krause, during a recent phone interview from her home in West Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had directed a show \u2013 \u2018Boycott Esther\u2019 \u2013 at the Azuka Theatre.<\/p>\n

\u201cTerry Nolan (Arden Theatre Producing Artistic Director) came to see it and was excited enough about the direction to talk to me. We were on the same page and he offered me this job.<\/p>\n

Krause is an award-winning director, creator, and producer of new work. She was the Artistic Director of Barrymore Award-winning company Orbiter 3, Philadelphia\u2019s first producing playwrights collective, as well as a National New Play Network Producer-in-Residence at InterAct Theatre Company.<\/p>\n

Krause has also worked with the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, EMP Collective, PlayPenn, Arcadia University, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, and Tiny Dynamite, among others.<\/p>\n

Selected recent projects include \u201cBoycott Eshter\u201d (Azuka Theatre), \u201cRed Ash Mosaic\u201d (Cleveland Public Theatre), \u201cBreathe Smoke\u201d by Douglas Williams (Orbiter 3), \u201cTilda Swinton Adopt Me Please\u201d (The Greenfield Collective), \u201cThis Is On Record\u201d (Applied Mechanics), and \u201cNow More Than Ever\u201d by Val Dunn (independently produced).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m actually a big fan of Cheryl Strayed,\u201d said Krause. \u201cShe wrote the book, \u2018Wild,\u2019 and I loved that book. It came into my life at a perfect moment. But I wasn\u2019t familiar with \u2018Dear Sugar.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she\u2019s a beautiful writer in a way that redefined vulnerability. She demonstrated that one of the ways you can communicate with people who are vulnerable is to delve into your own experiences \u2013 to tell people that pain is something you have to sit in and I\u2019ll.\u201d<\/p>\n

sit in it with you. She makes people feel less alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I\u2019ve read some of her \u2018Dear Sugar.\u2019 The book is just a collection of selected letters and columns from the internet. It included a lovely intro into how Cheryl Strayed got into \u2018Dear Sugar\u2019 \u2013 how she agreed to being Dear Sugar and how it opens her up.\u201d<\/p>\n

This play has its biographical aspect and also psychological aspects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe play is about Strayed finding her voice and about the people who write to her and share a space. It\u2019s abstract but there is a through line that condenses it into a metaphysical day. The script is extremely generous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for \u201cTiny Beautiful Things\u201d — https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZnMcdZEfGCE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Arden Theatre production will run through December 8 at the Arcadia Stage. Ticket prices start at $18.<\/p>\n

Another multi-night presentation coming to the area this week is not a theater production but rather a pair of rock concerts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Taking Back Sunday<\/p><\/div>\n

On November 13 and 14, Taking Back Sunday is bringing its 20th anniversary tour to Franklin Music Hall (421 North Seventh Street, Philadelphia, https:\/\/www.bowerypresents.com\/greater-philly\/shows\/franklin-music-hall<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The shows are part of the band\u2019s year-long anniversary celebration that has the internationally celebrated mainstream rock band touring the world and supporting the recent release of a 21-song career-spanning compilation (featuring two new songs), titled \u201cTwenty.\u201d<\/p>\n

On this tour, Taking Back Sunday\u00a0— Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals), Shaun Cooper (bass guitar), and Mark O’Connell (drums) — will be performing its debut album\u00a0\u201cTell All Your Friends\u201d\u00a0in its entirety. For tour stops where the band is performing over two-nights, each nightly set will offer a double-album play. Using a specially designed coin,\u00a0Taking Back Sunday\u00a0will flip to play either\u00a0\u201cWhere You Want To Be\u201d\u00a0or\u00a0\u201cLouder Now,\u201d in addition to\u00a0\u201cTell All Your Friends.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

In headline cities where they are playing only one night, they will perform\u00a0\u201cTell All Your Friends,\u201d\u00a0plus a selection of fan favorites from their extensive catalog.\u00a0Obviously, the Philly tour stop will allow TBS fans to \u201cdouble their pleasure, double their fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost every city is two nights,\u201d said Cooper, during a recent phone interview from a tour stop in Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe play \u2018Tell All Your Friends\u2019 and then flip a coin for the other album to be featured. It\u2019s been really interesting \u2013 and it keeps us on our toes. We play around a two-hour set but in one-city stops, it\u2019s about an hour and change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year was a 20-year celebration. We\u2019re letting people know that we\u2019re really grateful for all the support they\u2019ve given us for more than two decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking Back Sunday has the current four members \u2013 all of whom date back to the 1999-2001 era \u2013 along with a handful of former members. One of the former members is Coatesville\u2019s Fred Mascherino, whose current band is The Color Fred.<\/p>\n

The band’s first line-up change was in 2001 with the departure of bassist Jesse Lacey and drummer Steven DeJoseph who were replaced by current members Adam Lazzara and Mark O\u2019Connell. Not long after, original lead vocalist Antonio Longo also departed from the band, leaving Lazzara on lead vocals duty. Being left without a bassist, Eddie Reyes brought in Shaun Cooper to play bass guitar for the band. Soon after the band headed to the studio to record and release their debut studio album, \u201cTell All Your Friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s second line-up change came when Nolan and Cooper announced their departure from the band in 2003. Nolan and Cooper were replaced by Mascherino and Matt Rubano, with Mascherino performing guitars and vocals, along with Rubano performing bass guitar. With a fresh line-up, the band went onto release two more studio albums \u2013 \u201cWhere You Want to Be\u201d and major label debut, \u201cLouder Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s third line-up change came in 2007 when Mascherino left the band to pursue his solo projects — The Color Fred and Terrible Things. He was replaced by Matthew Fazzi on guitars, keyboards, and vocals in 2008.<\/p>\n

The next line-up change came in 2010 when Rubano and Fazzi announced that they were no longer members of Taking Back Sunday. Later it was announced that Nolan and Cooper had rejoined the band. With the reunion of the \u201cTell All Your Friends\u201d, the band went on to release \u201cTaking Back Sunday,\u2019 \u201cHappiness Is\u201d and \u201cTidal Wave.\u201d<\/p>\n

TBS\u2019s most recent line-up change came in 2018 when the band announced that it had parted ways with founding member and guitarist, Eddie Reyes<\/p>\n

\u201cComing back in 2010, Mark and I had always been the closest friends since kindergarten,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cEverybody from the original line-up got together to see if we had any chemistry left and if we were all on the same page. All awkwardness was gone in 30 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, the two-decade troopers seemed pumped and ready to move ahead on the next 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe band is always going to keep going,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cAnd. We\u2019ll never retire all the songs. We want to honor our history. Our last album was \u2018Tidal Wave\u2019 in 2016 and we\u2019ll have a new one soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, we\u2019re focusing on what will be the next step. We\u2019ll all get in a room together and work on new material. And, we also all write on our own. We have no idea what we\u2019ll do with the next album. Our influences just start showing themselves. We always want to try something that is new to us. We never start with a pre-conceived idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Taking Back Sunday \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/3FvVyMJMViQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The shows at Franklin Music Hall, which have Oklahoma City punk rock band Red City Radio as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 each night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times For more than a century, many beautiful national touring productions of Broadway shows have been presented at The Playhouse on Rodney Square (10th and Market streets, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-888-0200, www. duponttheatre.com), which formerly has been known as the DuPont Theatre and the Playhouse Theatre. This week, the theater […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[11832,12588,7426,12590,12589],"class_list":["post-44264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-beautiful-the-carole-king-musical","tag-emilie-krause","tag-featured","tag-taking-back-sunday","tag-tiny-beautiful-things"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44264"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44265,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44264\/revisions\/44265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}