Actor overcomes car accidents to thrive in ‘Beautiful’
‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’Through July 25Olney Theatre Center2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832$31 -101Olneytheatre.org As Bobby Smith describes it, “not too long ago, some things tripped me up.” In late 2023, the celebrated, out actor was involved in two very serious car accidents and suffered severe injuries.
And then May brought the unexpected death of his beloved Vizsla hound Mabel, named for the heroine in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance.” So, for much of 2024, Smith had been spending time healing at his farmhouse in Ellicott City, Md.
Until now. Currently, he’s back on the boards at Olney Theatre Center playing record producer Don Kirshner in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” a fun juke box musical about the early career years of singer/songwriter King from her Brooklyn roots to writing hits from an office in Times Square with her lyricist husband Gerry Goffin and on to Los Angeles solo-stardom. WASHINGTON BLADE: Hey Bobby, you’ve been through a lot since we last spoke. BOBBY SMITH: It’s been a whole lot.
I spent the last seven or eight months either at home or going to doctor visits. BLADE: How is it being back on stage? SMITH: To be honest, it’s like learning to walk again. BLADE: And playing the famously deadpan Don Kirshner? SMITH: It’s good.
