Musical a 'Beautiful' showcase for Chicago-area veteran

Musicals are made up of multiple threads. First and foremost, there's the score and book. Then there's the direction, choreography, sets, costumes, lighting and, of course, the performances.

Ideally, every one is strong. But one weak thread doesn't necessarily mean the tapestry will unravel.

Take for example the jukebox tuner “Beautiful — The Carole King Musical,” whose national tour arrived in Chicago buoyed by a lot of local pride for star Abby Mueller. An Evanston native and Marriott and Drury Lane Theatre veteran, Mueller took over the titular role from sister Jessie Mueller, who earned a 2014 Tony Award for her performance.

Back to those threads. The songs — most by King and Gerry Goffin along with several by Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann — are terrific. Marc Bruni's direction is crisp and efficient. Josh Prince's retro-inspired choreography is stylish, and costume designer Alejo Vietti's sharp suits and glittery dresses for hitmakers The Drifters and The Shirelles are first-rate. The cast sounds wonderful, as does Abby Mueller, whose depth and musicality make “Beautiful” sing.

Unfortunately, the bio-musical suffers from a paint-by-numbers book by Douglas McGrath. The show also has a tendency to use its top-40 tunes as a kind of emotional punctuation mark. For example “Some Kind of Wonderful” heralds the start of King and Goffin's romance. Mann and Weil's “You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling” reflects the marital problems. By the second act, it's all worn a bit thin. Still, I must confess, “You've Got a Friend” — sung by King as a farewell to her longtime mentor and songwriting pals — choked me up.

The musical chronicles King's life from 16 — when, as a Queens College student, she began writing songs for teenage pop stars — to age 29, when she made her debut at New York City's Carnegie Hall on the heels of her seminal solo debut, 1971's “Tapestry.”

We watch as Mueller's earnest, determined teenage prodigy rejects the advice of mom Genie (Suzanne Grodner) to pursue a teaching career. Instead, she gets a job composing tunes for music publisher Don Kirshner (Curt Bouril), at his Brill Building-style hit factory. At the same time, she begins a romance with fellow college student and burgeoning lyricist Gerry Goffin (Liam Tobin, who possesses a crystalline voice and effortless charm). They marry in their teens and have a child soon after. At the same time, they're composing a string of hit songs including “Some Kind of Wonderful” for The Drifters, conjured by fine singer/dancers Josh A. Dawson, Paris Nix, Noah J. Ricketts and Dashaun Young. For The Shirelles (a lovely, elegant quartet made up of Ashley Blanchet, Britney Coleman, Rebecca E. Covington and Salisha Thomas), they write “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” For their baby sitter Little Eva (also played by the winsome Blanchet), they pen “The Locomotion.”

A friendly rivalry develops between the couple and another Kirshner songwriting duo: quick-witted lyricist Cynthia Weil (Becky Gulsvig, a clarion-voiced charmer who recalls a young Kristin Chenoweth) and her hypochondriac writing partner, composer Barry Mann (the adorably nebbish Ben Fankhauser). Put in music industry terms, the Weil-Mann romance is the B-side to the King-Goffin affair.

As it turned out, Weil-Mann had more staying power. Goffin's increasing insecurity and wandering eye leads to divorce and King's eventual re-emergence as a singer/songwriter in her own right.

That's really what “Beautiful” is all about: evolution — the transformation of a girl to a woman, the transformation of an artist from duo to solo. Mueller executes it brilliantly in a performance noteworthy for its clarity and authenticity. To that end, Mueller's voice, like her appearance, changes as the character matures. Any actress worth her salt can convey in her expression a character's joy, fear, pain and resolve. But we hear it in Mueller's voice — the hesitation in “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” the wistfulness in “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” the triumph in “Beautiful.” And that makes all the difference.

“Beautiful — The Carole King Musical”

★ ★ ★ ½

<b>Location:</b> Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or <a href="http://broadwayinchicago.com">broadwayinchicago.com</a>

<b>Showtimes: </b>7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 21, 2016

<b>Running time: </b>About two hours, 20 minutes with intermission

<b>Tickets: </b>$30-$140

<b>Parking: </b>Paid lots nearby

<b>Rating: </b>For teens and older; some references to mature subjects