It’s been 14 years since the Transcendence Theatre Company landed and took root in the Sonoma Valley with their Broadway-caliber musical revues. They added the occasional fully-produced Broadway show to their repertoire in 2018 with A Chorus Line, and in 2023 they showed The Full Monty in Glen Ellen.
After a few years of taking their shows on the road, the company relocated to Fazio Field in Sonoma’s Field of Dreams. Now, after a successful first year at the venue, they’ve decided to return to the world of Broadway book musicals with Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. The show runs in Sonoma through Aug. 17.
As the title makes clear, the show is a musical journey through the songbook of Carole King. Carole (Britta Rae), along with writing partner and husband Gerry Goffin (Billy Cohen), wrote such classics as “Some Kind of Wonderful” for The Drifters, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” for The Shirelles and “Pleasant Valley Sunday” for The Monkees.
The dissolution of King and Goffin’s marriage led to King’s blossoming as a solo performer, culminating in the release of her classic album, Tapestry, featuring such songs as “It’s Too Late,” “You’ve Got a Friend” and “Natural Woman.”
Beyond the King/Goffin contributions, we also get the works of their best friends, Barry Mann (David R. Gordon) and Cynthia Weil (Anne Terze-Schwarz), including “On Broadway” for The Drifters and “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” for The Righteous Brothers. All began their work under the tutelage of music impresario Don Kirshner (Tony Clements).
Yes, it’s a jukebox musical, but it’s a good one that puts Transcendence’s experience in mounting musical revues to good use. Director Tony Gonzalez and choreographer Vasthy Mompoint do an excellent job in guiding their talented cast through a very busy two-plus hour production. All the leads give excellent performances, with Bae truly inhabiting her character. Transcendence regular Gordon provides most of the comic relief, and both are well paired with their characters’ significant others.
A lot of credit goes to the ensemble, and their off-stage support, as they whisk set pieces on and off the stage and go through some very quick costume changes to become The Drifters (Kameron Askew, Conroe Brooks, Damon Mctoy, Nathan Andrew Riley), The Shirelles (Arielle Crosby, Charis Gullage, GiGi Lewis, Joy Pointe) and others.
Classic songs, great voices and energetic movement combine to make this production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Transcendence’s best fully-staged musical to date.
Transcendence Theatre Company’s ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ runs Thurs-Sun through Aug. 17 at the Field of Dreams, 151 First Street West, Sonoma. Venue opens at 5pm, show starts at 7:30pm. $35-$185. 877.424.1414. bestnightever.org.
