Look at this beautiful bunch. I haven’t said much personally on social media about my experience with Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (other than PR).

I’ve shared some thoughts like this before and I’m echoing them now, but what I’ve known and expect community theatre to be is a positive, creative, storytelling escape; a cooperative community effort & uplifting event—family involvement on- and offstage; unfettered artistic vision (let artists be artists and trust one another); void of toxicity and free of ego (no “This is my moment” moments); with gratefulness and respect to our personal lives; custodial of what it means to be the most collaborative, live art form; judicious about what grows theatre, who moves you forward or holds you back; a simple desire not to be THE best, but be OUR best. We accomplish all of this together.

In my 30 years of theatre (Beautiful was my 100th production), I’ve been fortunate enough to have been part of three such productions over the past four years with some of the most diversified, fun-loving, talented, mature casts; qualified & skilled musicians & creative teams—I’ve ever done community theatre with. We never spotted Taylor Swift in the luxury suite, but Beautiful was as perfect as imperfect theatre gets.

I remind my casts to think about who they’re representing and what it means. What’s the ultimate goal here? Respect it. Enjoy it. Love it. Eat it up. Soak it in. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Forget about life for a while.” What keeps good casts and crew coming back for more is the sanctity of the process. Good plan. Good tone. Good people. Good support. Great show. It seeps into the pores of an audience and has staying power. When things got unexpectedly twisty, their ability to flawlessly pivot was a true testament to their preparedness, diligence, and trust in that process.

In my director’s note, I mentioned how Carole King set the standard for the rest of us. She became an artist to her own music with humility and the mutual support and encouragement of those around her. That sentiment resonated throughout our cast and crew. “A tapestry to feel and see; Impossible to hold.”

Jeff Hartman
Director & Music Director