OCT presents tuneful review of hits which made songwriter such a pop music mainstay

Back in the early 1970s, it seemed as if everyone had a copy of Carole King’s album "Tapestry." That was one of the reasons it stayed on the charts for six years. The other reason was that the album was full of great songs: "So Far Away," "It’s Too Late" and "I Feel The Earth Move."

"Tapestry: The Songs of Carole King," which opened Friday at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland, is also full of great songs. All the 44 songs in the show are by King, with lyrics by King, her former husband Gerry Goffin and others. The songs come from the album and the enormous repertoire King has generated since 1961.

OCT Artistic Director Jim Giancarlo directed and choreographed the show, which was conceived essentially as a revue. Since the songs are grouped thematically rather than chronologically, Giancarlo was able to give the revue a story line with characters we could believe in and care about.

"Tapestry" opens on a Manhattan apartment building in 1967 and introduces us to six friends who live there. Set designer Craig Hudson has done it again. This is his 82nd set for OCT, and it absolutely clinches our association with the Manhattan apartment. The building has a fire escape, a front stoop with concrete stairs, a gas meter on the wall and a live band tucked into the basement garage.

The band is a tight little trio fronted by musical director and keyboard player Jay Wright who stepped in since Darcy Danielson is performing with the Green Show at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Wright is responsible for the smooth arrangements in the show. Rounding out the band are percussionist Jim Malachi and reed player Eryn Vercammen of Portland.

Advertisement

When we first see the cast, they use all of Hudson’s spaces to make their entrances and all of Kerri Lea Robbins eye for detail in their period costumes. I miss those clothes! The first number, "Music," serves up some great harmonies and establishes the three couples. That’s when I sat back and realized I was in for a pleasant musical ride through the 1960s and ’70s.

I have to say that while most people may have had a copy of the "Tapestry" album, I didn’t. I was not a fan of Carole King the singer. But I did like a lot of her music. And hearing it delivered by the fine cast at OCT made all the difference.

Two songs in particular come into strong focus for the first time: "You’re So Far Away" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" Each got a poignant treatment that revealed the pain, longing and expectation that are at the core of both. When Nicole Boote launched into "You’re So Far Away" it was like a new song. And that voice! Marc Swan joined her, singing "Home Again" and the two songs wove together two people and two hopes like threads in a tapestry.

When Michele Gray sang "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" to her philandering boyfriend, again I heard a new song. Without the "sha-la-las" from the Shirelles, the song actually meant something.

Caleb Reese sang a beautiful rendition of "Where Does Love Go?" Jimmy Garcia did a wonderful job with the complex "Growing Away From Me." Both songs reminded us again of the depths available to plumb in King’s compositions.

But profundity and depth flew right out the window when the whole cast came on stage for a ’60s medley to close the first act. The women, in long dresses, heels and beehive hair-dos, became every girl group there was back then.

The guys in their psychedelic pink shirts and overblown choreography were a perfect counterpoint to the women. Marc Swan had a field day with "Every Little Breath I Take" and for Jessica Blaszak, the whole medley was a field day. Her expressions and gestures were hysterical.

After intermission, the second act returned us to the Manhattan apartment. The friends we met in Act 1 are having a reunion. Only now it is 1974. Much has happened in the world at large and in the private worlds of the six friends who have weathered much and have settled into being three committed couples.

Blaszak delivers a touching "Child of Mine" and Boote does likewise in "No Easy Way Down," followed a few songs later by the men delivering a perfectly choreographed version of "Hi-De-Ho" that ended with an exquisite piece of harmony.

The whole show ends with King’s anthem, "You’ve Got a Friend." If you’ve got a friend, be a friend and bring that person to the Cabaret for an evening of great music.

If you go

For ticket information, call 488-2902.

Reach Arts and Entertainment Editor Richard Moeschl at 776-4486, or e-mail rmoeschl@mailtribune.com.