Songstress musical? Beautiful

Carole King has had something of a two-act career, starting out writing hits for teenagers with her partner/ husband, Gerry Goffin, and later, after the dissolution of her marriage and partnership, she wrote songs alone, for adults, and sang them herself. Both bases are nicely covered in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, a touring Broadway show that began a seven-show run Tuesday night at Robinson Center Performance Hall in Little Rock.

The show is a humdinger, and Sarah Bockel, who portrays Carole King, is a knockout. As she moves through the stages of King’s life, her voice goes from tentative to commanding. A packed house loved the show, roaring with applause as the hits just kept coming.

Douglas McGrath, who wrote the book, did an amazing job of crafting episodes of King’s life, both with and without Goffin’s presence, using songs the duo were writing and the songs she later wrote as a solo act. The raw emotions were on display especially on “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “It’s Too Late,” “You’ve Got a Friend” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

Andrew Brewer as Goffin was a tortured soul, never comfortable in his own skin, but still a sympathetic guy, and Sarah Goeke as Cynthia Weil and Jacob Heimer as Barry Mann, the best friends and songwriting rivals, were effective foils for Goffin and King.

Suzanne Grodner as Genie Klein, Carole’s mother, and James Clow as song publisher Don Kirshner have some great moments as characters who help King develop.

The show’s choreography was nicely done, as actors showed off the dance steps that accompanied the Goffin-King hits that were recorded and performed by acts that included The Drifters and The Shirelles.

Performances will continue at 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday, plus matinees at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call Celebrity Attractions at (501) 244-8800 or see celebrity attractions.com or ticketmaster. com.