‘Beautiful’ at The Gateway is… beautiful!

Carole King’s muse was an almost divine-inspired, non-stop floodgate, racking up 188 pop hits, many of which she wrote with lyricist husband Gerry Goffin (they wrote more than 50 top 40 hits together).Kaitlyn Davis as Carole is a stunner in song and character, playing the girl wonder, pounding the piano, her belting, strong voice conveying joy, love, longing, loss and all teen things, mesmerizing the audience for over two hours in The Gateway’s new production of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” in Bellport.

Davis portrays Carole as a talented but modest, empathetic woman with a spine from Queens, who struggled with wanting a quiet family life, listening to her creative call, and dealing with a troubled mate. Bill Coyne as Gerry Goffin was stunning as King’s husband—a talented, intense man, at times tormented, probably bipolar, not satisfied with his creative output or his home life—not an easy role.

Directed by Larry Raben and choreographed by Debbie Roshe, the show is a gorgeous arc of King’s journey, spanning from the late 1950s to the early ‘70s. It also provides a peek at the music business back then, before the internet, when hopefuls like King and Goffin, and writing team Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, played their latest creations for music publisher and manager Don Kirschner in Broadway’s Brill Building.

“When I write a song, it’s like someone understands,” Carole tells her mother as a 16-year-old before meeting with Kirschner, who wants “girl songs,” all the rage. King and Goffin also worked with Mann and Weil, and the output of both couples was amazing.

And that’s the second plotline here. Emily Grace Tucker as Weil and Lukas Poost as Barry Mann are hilarious as they sling back and forth insults, flirting and flexing competitive chops as they try to outdo King and Goffin.

(It’s a friendly, caring rivalry; you could do that back then.)

Tucker plays a fun, sassy character with an edge, worried about losing her persona if she marries. Poost as Mann is a hoot as the talented, hypochondriac smitten with Weil. Both are Gateway alums.

There are 26 wowee numbers we’ll have to condense.

“Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Up on the Roof,” and “On Broadway,” sung by The Drifters ensemble cast are slick, gorgeous renditions with sassy tuxes in pink and turquoise and synchronized steps, gliding, back stepping. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles, in glam satin costumes, is a soaring, heartfelt wondering of should I or not. (Good woman power here.) A lot of fun, fabulous movement in “The Locomotion” by Little Eva (Grace Ellis Solomon).

“We Gotta Get Out of This Place” by guitar-playing Poost as Barry Mann is absolutely searing. (Wow!)

There’s plenty of humor throughout the story, even with the ups and downs, and Daniel Robert Sullivan as Don Kirschner lightens up the scenes with panache. Kind of fatherly, kind of “come on, kids, write!” role. He pushes, but does care about his talent.

Kudos to the set designer and the orchestra.

It’s a good story, and a mostly accurate one, with life lessons mixed in. Follow your yearning, love with all your heart, and if disappointed, negate bitterness. Davis sings a luminous  “You’ve Got a Friend,” and her rendition of “Beautiful” at the baby grand, that upbeat tune we should all emulate, got a bit of gospel vocals from the cast. It sent the exiting audience out with smiles.

“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” is playing at The Gateway in Bellport to Sept. 8. For tickets, call 631-286-1133 or click on TheGateway.org.