PERFORMANCE GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
About Carole King.
Meet the Characters
Synopsis: Act 1
Synopsis: Act 2
The Sound of the 1960s
From Page to (Back) Stage
In the Spotlight
Study Guide materials assembled by: Frances Barnett, ArtReach Coordinator
Meredith Singleton, ThinkTheatre Coordinator
Carole King
Carole King
Singer Songwriter
Carole King is one of the most prodigious and decorated songwriters in history, defining the sound go the 60s and 70s with her heartfelt, infectious melodies. King was born Carol Joan Klein in New York in 1942. She began composing music as a teenager, recording her first single at the age of 16. She studied at Queens College where she met her writing partner and future husband, Gerry Goffin. Goffin and King began working together in 1959 and married not long after. The two worked together on Broadway, helping to define the “Brill Building sound” of the ‘60s. In 1961, when Carole was just 19, their song “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” became a number one single on the U.S. Hot 100. The duo wrote together for over 9 years, creating many songs that would become number one hits. Some of their songs include: Take Good Care of My Baby, The Loco-Motion, Up on the Roof, One Fine Day, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.
In 1968, Goffin and King separated. King moved to Los Angeles where she organized a short lived musical group called The City with her future husband Charles Larkey. King worked for a time with singer-songwriter James Taylor. She accompanied him on tour and, with his encouragement, began to perform solo. She released her debut album in 1970. Her second album, Tapestry, gained national attention. Tapestry held the Billboard number one spot for 15 weeks and remained a best seller for nearly 6 years. King continued to be a powerhouse in the music scene, and eventually moved to Idaho where she became an active part of Idaho’s environmental activism. In 2007, King reunited with James Taylor for a performance at the Troubadour, the famous Los Angeles music venue. After their performance, they embarked on an international tour. Their tour reignited King’s international stardom. King has been the focus of many awards, documentaries, articles, and a fabulous Broadway musical. King celebrated the 55th anniversary of Tapestry at the 2026 Grammys. She continues to support up-and-coming musical artists and wilderness preservation in her home state of Idaho.
Meet The Characters
Carole King
Played by Julia Bain
An aspiring singer/songwriter. A unique, appealing, funny, and vulnerable girl from a Jewish family in Brooklyn. Talented, good natured, and unassuming.
Gerry Goffin
Played by Zachary Freier-Harrison
Carole’s boyfriend and songwriting partner. He is smoldering, dark, and handsome. An ambitious artist always striving for more.
Cynthia Weil
Played by Madison Claire Parks
A songwriter and Carole’s best friend. She is sophisticated, smart, and chic with a quick wit. She is Barry’s writing partner.
Barry Mann
Played by Oliver Prose
A songwriter. He is good natured, ambitious and neurotic. He is Cynthia’s writing partner.
Donny Kirshner
Played by Abe Goldfarb
An influential music publisher and producer. He is a fast talking, energetic force of nature. Powerful, direct, and sometimes intimidating. A hit maker.
Meet The Characters
The Shirelles
Played by Sydney Archibald, Kianna Kelly-Futch, Tiffany Francés, Candace Haynes, and Tiana Marie Williams
Addie Harris, Shirley Owens, Beverly Lee, and Doris Coley formed The Shirelles in 1957 for their high school talent show
The Shirelles recorded “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” which was written by Carole King, and was the first song recorded by a girl group to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The Drifters
Played by Reggie Bromell, Jamonté, Daniel Jerome Hurt, Torrey Linder, and Jacquez Linder-Long
First formed in 1953, this R&B and pop group was originally made up of five members: Clyde McPhatter, Gerhart Thrasher, Andrew Thrasher, Bill Pinkney, and Jimmy Oliver.
The Drifters recorded “Up on the Roof,” which was written by Carole King. It reached #5 on the U.S. pop charts in 1963.
The Righteous Brothers
Played by Sean William Davis and Jack Mastrianni
Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield first performed as The Righteous Brothers in 1962. They were one of the first groups to create “blue-eyed soul,” or soul and R&B music sung by white performers.
The Righteous Brothers performed “Just Once in My Life,” which was written by Carole King in 1965 and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Meet The Characters
Neil Sedaka
Played by Jack Mastrianni
Neil Sedaka was a prominent singer and songwriter in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s He worked in the same building as Carole King and Gerry Goffin.
One of his first major hits was “Oh! Carole,” a song he wrote about a high school ex-girlfriend. That exgirlfriend was Carole King. His song inspired her to start publishing her own music.
Little Eva
Played by Sydney Archibald Eva Narcissus Boyd worked for Carole King and Gerry Goffin as their babysitter before they discovered that she could sing. She took the stage name Little Eva and recorded a song they had written called “The LocoMotion,“ which was a number one hit during 1962.
“The Loco-Motion” hit the charts three times after its initial release: once in 1972, again in 1973, and a third time in 1986
Before You Read:
This play includes:
References to drugs and alcohol
Brief moments of on-stage intimacy (kissing)
References to extramarital affairs and divorce
References to metal health and the depiction of a nervous breakdown
ACT 1
The play opens on a 16-year old Carole King who is going to Times Square to try and sell her music to Donny Kirshner, a music publisher. Carole performs “It Might as Well Rain Until September” and Donny loves it. He agrees to give her song to a singer and produce it. Later, Carole meets Gerry Goffin at the college they both attend. Goffin is an aspiring playwright who writes lyrics for songs Gerry and Carole form a musical partnership and a romantic one. As the two are getting ready to perform their new song for Donny Kirshner, Carole reveals that she is pregnant. Gerry asks Carole to marry him. Their song is a success and Carole and Gerry get an office in Kirshner’s building.
Gerry and Carole are happily married and have a lovely daughter While working on their next song, Carole meets Cynthia Weil, an aspiring lyricist who is looking for a composer to work with. Cynthia forms a partnership (again, in the musical and romantic sense) with a composer named Barry Mann. Carole and Gerry enter a friendly rivalry with Cynthia and Barry, as the two pairs frequently compete for the same slots. Kirshner needs a new song for the girl group The Shirelles to perform. Carole and Gerry perform “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” and Cynthia and Barry perform “He’s Sure the Boy I Love”. Kirshner picks Carole and Gerry’s song, and it flies to number 1 on the charts.
While the two pairs continue to write songs, Gerry admits that to Carole that he is unhappy in their marriage. He tells her that he wants to see other women, but that he doesn’t want to lie to Carole about it Carole is stunned and upset
ACT 2
At the start of Act 2, Carole is recording a demo for her newest song while Gerry is off having an affair with a woman named Janelle. A guitarist for the band comes up to Carole and asks if she would come sing with his band at a club called the Bitter End. Carole declines because she sees herself as a songwriter, not a singer. Carole checks in with Cynthia, who reveals that she has broken up with Barry. Carole realizes that she needs to come clean to Gerry about how she is feeling Carole leaves just as Barry comes back in He and Cynthia make up and perform their latest love song together.
Carole finds Gerry and begins to confront him. She stops when she realizes that he is having a nervous breakdown. They go to the hospital. After some time in the hospital, Gerry says that he wants to end his affair with Janelle and be a more devoted husband and father. He and Carole move into the suburbs at Carole’s suggestion.
Leaving the city has apparently not fixed Gerry’s mental state. After he leaves one night to clear his head, Barry and Cynthia reveal that they have seen him at restaurants with other women, particuarly a young singer named Marilyn Wald. Carole goes to Marilyn’s apartment and catches Gerry and Marilyn together. She ends their marriage. After some time apart with her daughters, Carole goes back to the Bitter End to perform on stage with the guitarist from earlier, as a singer and a songwriter. Carole then reveals to Kirchner, Cynthia, and Barry that she is moving from New York to Los Angeles to pursue a performance career of her own.
We cut to Carole a few months later in Los Angeles as she is recording her first album Tapestry The album is a complete success She travels back to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall. Moments before her show, she meets up with Gerry, who apologizes for mistreating her.
The Sound of the 1960s
Over the course of the 1960s, American popular music began to diversify, both in terms of what artists were popular and what genres of music were popular. The next two pages outline six genres that were popular in the 1960s and how they were influential to pop culture and music as a whole.
Blues Rock
Rockabilly
Rockabilly was first popularized by artists like
Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis in the mid 1950s. The rockabilly genre was heavily influenced by black singers and songwriters like Little Richard and Fats Domino, who themselves were inspired by black blues musicians. The white rockstars made the rockabilly genre popular with white teenagers Rockabilly singers, particularly Elivs and Buddy Holly, were incredibly inspirational to many of the popular acts music acts of the 1960s, including the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones.
Blues rock surged in popularity across the country after getting its start in Chicago. Performers like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors helped develop the standard sound for blues rock and caused its popularity to extend outside the US, paving the way for bands like The Rolling Stones. Blues rock also helped kickstart other rock subgenres like psychedelic rock, which was popularized by bands like The Grateful Dead. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Grateful Dead all performed at Woodstock in 1969.
The Boy Band
The Beatles first performed in front of an American audience in 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show. This performance made them an international sensation and solidified them as the first boy band. Though the term wasn’t coined until the 1980s, a boy band is often described as a band made up of young handsome men with a fanbase primarily made up on young women. Other boy bands who got their start in the 1960s include The Monkees, The Beach Boys, and the Jackson 5
The Sound of the 1960s
Motown Vocal Groups
Pop-R&B vocal groups are one of the longest enduring
musical trends to come out of the 1960s. In the late 50s and early 60s, Motown Records signed several prominent vocal groups, many of which are still popular today including The Supremes, The Temptations, and Gladys Knight & the Pips. Vocal groups were incredibly important in making AfricanAmerican music popular with white audiences, as most of the Pop-R&B groups were comprised of Black singers. These early group paved the way for later acts like Marvin Gaye and the Jackson 5
Dance Craze
Dance Craze songs capitalized on the emerging pop music scene by creating new dance trends for the teenage audiences to participate in. Songs like “The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva, “The Twist” by Chubby Checker, and “Mashed Potato Time” by Dee Dee Sharp all had specific dance moves that went along with them. This caused the songs to surge in popularity as teens danced along to them at parties and get togethers. Dance Craze songs still pop up today, with 90s classics like “Macarena” and newer songs like “Hot to Go!”.
Folk
As a direct response to the highly commercialized dance centric sound of pop music in the 1960s, there was a prominent revival of folk music. Artists like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan emerged on the scene and released some of their most well-known music. Folk music also tied in heavily to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, with many of Bob Dylan’s songs directly referencing the stuggles of Black Americans in the 60s. Folk music reflected the people’s views on the world around them.
Step 1: Creative Launch
All productions begin with the designers, production heads, and the director meeting together in something called a Creative Launch This is a time for everyone to share out their ideas about what this production will eventually look like. The director shares their overall vision and may include reference or inspiration imagery that they share with the rest of the team.
Step 2: Design
Once everyone has met, the designers begin designing the set, lights, costumes, and sound for the production. Some shows hire designers for other areas as well if there are things like puppets or projections. The designers go through multiple drafts of their designs, starting with pre-liminary sketches and then revisions The director is involved every step of the way, giving feedback on the designers’ work.
Step 3: Build
After the designers finish their designs, they pass them off to the production team. There are separate teams for lights/sound, carpentry, props, and costumes. At Gulfshore Playhouse, most of our props, scenic pieces, and costumes are not built in the theatre! Our teams build these things at our off-site Production Center. The set in particular is built in smaller chunks (parts of walls, doors, fireplaces, etc.) and then shipped over to the theatre. The Production Center houses all of the equipment our teams could need to bring to life the designers’ visions.
Want a tour of the Gulfshore Playhouse Production Center? Visit our website to learn more: https://www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org/shows-events/production-center-tour/.
Step 4: Load-In and Focus
After building all of the pieces of the set, the production team takes one week to put them all together on the stage. This process is similar to putting together a puzzle, or a very complicated piece of Ikea furniture. All of the pieces are labeled with where they are supposed to go on stage. While this is happening, the lighting team is working on something called “focus” . Focus is when the team gets the lights set up exactly where they are supposed to be for the show. Most of the lighting fixtures (called lamps) are hanging in the grid above the audience.
Step 5: Tech
Tech is when the actors come into play. Both groups, production and performance, come together to figure out how the technical elements of the show will work. This includes how costume changes will happen, when lights are supposed to turn on and off, and what the sound is going to sound like. This process culminates in final dress rehearsals, or runs of the show without an audience
Step 6: Previews
Previews are usually the first time a gets in front of an audience. Unlike regular performances, preview performances are not “frozen”. After each preview performance, the creative gets together to decide if anything needs to change If there are elements that did not work in front of an audience, such as a scene change not happening in time, the team will change it for the next preview.
Step 7: Opening
On opening night, the show is in its final form! The design team usually leaves Naples after opening to move on to their next project. It is now the stage manager’s job to keep track of everything in the production and make sure that is functioning properlyI. If the stage manager reports an issue (for example, if some paint is coming up on the set), Gulfshore Playhouse’s production team will step in to make the repair while they begin work on the next production.
In the Spotlight
Elizabeth Knudson is the Lighting Supervisor at Gulfshore Playhouse. She has been with Gulfshore Playhouse since Fall 2019.ShehasaBFAinTheatrefromEmporiaStateUniversity.
ElizabethoverseestheentirelightingteamGulfshorePlayhouse. When working on a production, the lighting team uses a lot of different equipment. The section below goes into three of the most common pieces of equipment Elizabeth and the lighting team use. On the following pages, Elizabeth gives us an inside lookintoherprocessforworkingonaproductionlikeBeautiful.
Gobos
A gobo is a small circular piece of metal that is put in front of the lens of a lamp. It has a pattern cut into it, so when the light shines through it, it creates different textures and patterns on stage. To the left are two gobo patterns that the team used in Beautiful.
Lighting Instruments
There are several different kinds of lighting fixtures (or “lamps” as electricians call them). Different lamps do different things! Some can move, some are more intense, and some are LEDs, meaning they can change color. Beautiful uses over 200 instruments!
Gels
A gel is a thin piece of plastic, similar to cellophane. Like a gobo, it goes in front of the lens of a lamp. When the light shines through the gel, it changes color. Gels come in many colors, but the most common gel in Beautiful is called “Hamburg Frost”. It is a pale white.
In the Spotlight
An interview with Elizabeth Knudson
Walk us through the process for a show like Beautiful.
Once I get the prelim plot from the Lighting Designer, I compare their needs to our inventory of fixtures and circuits. For anything not covered by our inventory I reach out to rental companies for quotes In Beautiful there are lot of set pieces that light up. I figure out the footage of LED tape needed, the specs the designer wants, and search for a tape that matches both requirements while staying under budget. Once I source everything needed for the plot, the designer and I make adjustments to keep the show in budget. Then they submit their final plot and I begin making paperwork for the crew. This includes power and data maps so they know where to plug everything in and how to label it For the set electrics, I coordinate with Scenery and Paints so we all align on how each piece is being built and who needs the pieces in what order. During load in, many crews share the stage and we meet each day to make sure we're completing our steps so another crew can start their work on the same piece. After load in we have focus where we make sure each light is pointing where it should be and doing what it should. Then we start tech with the actors on stage and the LD lighting each scene Then you can come in to watch the show!
Audience members may be able to see the lighting instruments themselves if they look above the stage, but are there any other accessories or types of equipment in use for this production?
Since it's a musical, we have spot lights at the back of the audience. There's a hazer above the stage. Several table lamps have wireless power to make scene changes easier by not tracking cables.
In the Spotlight
An interview with Elizabeth Knudson
Is working on the lighting team for a musical like Beautiful different than working on a play like The Importance of Being Earnest?
It's similar. All shows have plots and similar fixtures. Both shows have set electrics and practicals like lamps. A musical takes more time than a play because there's usually more moving pieces and flashy parts. They use the same tools and skill sets to create different results.
What does work for the lighting team look like once the show opens?
Once a show opens, anyone running the lighting console or spot light becomes the show crew. Their weeks are entirely about maintenance, notes, and running the assigned show. I transition to getting the next show prepped.
How did you first get interested in working in lights?
I started theater in high school because my friends were doing it. I'd seen a show and was interested in the lights above me so that's the crew I joined. From there I fell in love with how lighting can add to the story and shape emotions.
Is
there a
lighting feature that the team is proud of?
- There's 950ft of LED tape in the show Each slider panel is 150ft All the tape took about 80 hours of pre-installing and soldering before we got to load in. Running 2 other shows and prepping this in advance was a great accomplishment. It helped us during load in to only be making connections, not running all the tape for the first time. After Scenic finished these pieces with the pool noodles, it looks like a jukebox.
