Beautiful

It’s a great day to call Niagara Falls home and be proud.

About a month ago, maybe more, the Niagara Falls School District newsletter arrived in our mailbox. On the back page was an advertisement for the Niagara Falls Proscenium Players production of “Beautiful, the Carole King Musical.”

We went to see the show Saturday at 1 p.m. at Niagara Falls High School and were blown away.

The facility is professional. The production was professional. The entire affair, for $10 a ticket, was as good as a traveling show for which you might pay $60 or more to see at Shea’s or Studio Arena.

The temptation is to rave about Christina Custode who does a killer Carole King. We returned home and played “Tapestry” on vinyl. Custode’s voice is less nasal and as as emotionally connected as the original which, before now, I would call incomparable. It was all about the lead but so much more.

I could write one graph about every performer but the truth is the real sense of community made the individuals stand as one. From Tom Vitello to Dennis Wilson, Susan Marcolini and Danielle DePalma and everyone on stage and off pulled off a gargantuan production.

The craziest thing about the show was the complexity. There were more than 40 people in the cast performing 36 songs and 35 different scenes. Each scene needed a carefully coordinated set change with props hustled seamlessly on and off the stage. I am sure there were more than 1,000 carefully coordinated moves between sets. Even the program, attached below was well composed with more detail than I knew could be included. If you have a question about the show it is likely answered there.

We used to live in Clarence, which had an excellent music department and good productions and facilities. It was good, but not great. It did not compare to Niagara Falls.

My only regret is not going on the first night so I could spread the word and more people would have been able to attend.