(Photo by Indy Ghost Light)

Not everyone was watching the Super Bowl on Feb. 11.

Some of us — a full house worth, in fact — attended a Sunday evening performance of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre.

Some thoughts.

— Much of the schedule at Beef & Boards consists of revivals. That’s not surprising given the challenges of being a fully professional, for-profit theater that has survived for 51 season and often offers more than 50 performances of a given show. When it adds a new show to its repertoire, I try to get there, appreciating the risk.

— That being said, the theater isn’t taking too much of a chance with this show. “Beautiful” is a boomer-friendly by-the-books jukebox musical that doesn’t just draw from Carole King’s substantial songbook. It also pulls in tunes of her era by her pals Cynthia Weill and Barry Mann. And since King didn’t just write for herself, but cut her teeth writing for others, it offers ample opportunities to showcase hits she and others wrote for the likes of The Shirelles, Little Eva, and more. In other words, if you like hearing hits, this show’s got ’em. No surprise that audience lips were moving throughout “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “The Loco-motion,” “One Fine Day,” et al.

— “Beautiful” has just enough of a dramatic through line to keep the show from being a Vegas revue. After a brief opening, it flashes back to King (Devon Perry) innocently hustling her songs, falling for lyricist Gerry Goffin (Elliott Litherland, strong but sometimes playing to the balcony even though B&B doesn’t have one), and getting in good with record producer Don Kirschner (Don Farrell, in his element). Her friendly-rivalry-turned-deep-friendship with Weill and Mann (Devan Mathias and Kyle Southern, highlights on both the comedy and vocal fronts) adds forward motion while the crash of her relationship with Goffin provides end-of-act-one drama.

— We know where it’s going, of course. But we did with “Jersey Boys” as well and that didn’t keep it from being damn entertaining. Like “Jersey Boys,” “Beautiful” takes its rhythms from the personality of the lead act, although those personalities are very different. King’s songs for herself — “It’s Too Late,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and the title song — are introspective rather than aggressive. As the character matures into a kind of non-hip hippie, Perry’s performances gets richer, ultimately making a convincing case for why King’s “Tapestry” songs meant so much to so many people — and why the album was a blockbuster with record buyers and celebrated with multiple Grammy Awards.

— Music historians many note some modifications in King’s actual story. “Tapestry” is presented here as her big leap from writer to solo recording artist, conveniently ignoring her less successful first solo outing, “Writer.” The show also skips over the music group she formed once she hit L.A. But those seem dramaturgically necessary to keep the focus on the simple story of a self-doubting woman of talent finding the power of her own voice.

— The leads here are backed up with a talented ensemble, although the nature of the show doesn’t allow for much distinction between some of the acts they portray. Dustin Cross’ many many period costumes wisely avoid cartooning while Andrew Elliott’s wig design works wonders. It’s all pulled together by director Heather Patterson King and choreographer Kenney Green-Tilford into one of B&B’s strongest productions I’ve seen in a long time. I suspect we’ll be seeing it on this stage every few years.

— “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” runs through March 30.