Pictured: Julia Knitel and the company of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Photo by Adrian Van Stee.

A high-energy jukebox musical charting King’s rise from plucky unknown to breakout superstar, Asolo Repertory Theatre’s production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a beguiling beast of a production in all the best ways, somehow managing to be both a candy-coated toe-tapping romp through the music of yesteryear and a quiet but deeply affecting story of a woman finding her voice through betrayal and self-doubt. One moment, you’re fighting not to sing along; the next, you’re fighting back tears. And when they do eventually fall, they’ve become tears of laughter at the most hilariously self-serious and stoic performance of You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling you’re likely to ever see.

And that’s just Act 1.

Julia Knitel shines in the lead role—and not just because of her musical talents (but also because of those). As the central dramatic figure, it often falls to Knitel to carry the emotional weight of the narrative, buoying the audience with her exuberant presence and then breaking their hearts with a single inflection or crack of the voice. She’s the heart of the play and she wears it on her sleeve.

As the boyfriend turned husband turned a**hole, Devin Archer plays the easy-to-hate Gerry Goffin with an intensity that almost rivals Knitel for the spotlight at times, but this is fitting. And as the drama heats up on that side of the stage, Emma Flynn Bespolka and Ryan Vona provide a much-needed comic counterbalance as fellow songwriting couple Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann.

And not enough can be said of the ensemble and supporting cast, who are arguably most responsible for imbuing the production with its wildly infectious energy and good cheer, appearing onstage almost as punctuation marks between scenes, each performance an unabashed love letter to King and the music of the ‘60s. These are also the moments Banji Aborisade’s choreography gets to shine, filling the stage with dancers like it’s an old beach party film of the time. Coupled with set design cleverly evoking the likes of American Bandstand and an explosion of concert lighting, the transportive effect is like the grooviest time machine around.

Onstage at Asolo Repertory Theatre and directed by Shelley Butler, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical runs through January 5.

Pictured: Julia Knitel and the company of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Photo by Adrian Van Stee.

To learn more, visit.