Broadway Understudy Julia Knitel to Lead BEAUTIFUL on Tour Starting in San Francisco

Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing have announced the National Tour of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning hit musical BEAUTIFUL - THE Carole King MUSICAL will welcome Julia Knitel (Carole King) and Erika Olson (Cynthia Weil) beginning September 13 in San Francisco, CA.

They will join a company that includes Liam Tobin (Gerry Goffin) and Ben Fankhauser (Barry Mann), with Curt Bouril (Don Kirshner) and Suzanne Grodner (Genie Klein).

The company of BEAUTIFUL - THE Carole King MUSICAL is currently performing at the SHN Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco through September 18. Following San Francisco, the company will move to Las Vegas, NV for a premiere engagement at the Smith Center September 20 - October 2. A current schedule can be found at www.beautifulonbroadway.com/tour.

"Carole King was only 16 years old when she sold her first song, so in that spirit, we've cast two wildly gifted young performers as BEAUTIFUL'S leading ladies for the second year of the tour," producer Paul Blake said.

"Julia Knitel has been the 'Carole' understudy on Broadway for the last year and has proven how brilliant she is every time she's 'played the role,' which is reinforced by the ovation she gets from audiences - I can't wait for audiences around the country to get to see her in action as 'Carole.'"

"Erika Olson joins the tour as 'Cynthia Weil,' fresh from Carnegie Mellon's prestigious Theater Program. She's talented, spunky and great fun - just like the real Cynthia Weil, the great songwriter and best friend of Carole."

"We welcome both of these talented women to our BEAUTIFUL family and I'm sure audiences around the country will be delighted by their performances."

The ensemble of BEAUTIFUL includes Brianna-Marie Bell, Sarah Bockel, Andrew Brewer, Rebecca E. Covington, Josh A. Dawson, John Michael Dias, Sidney Dupont, Matt Faucher, Rosharra Francis, James Michael Lambert, Traci Elaine Lee, Jay McKenzie, Alaina Mills, Paris Nix, Noah J. Ricketts, Ximone Rose, Salisha Thomas and DeLaney Westfall.

With a book by Tony and Academy Award-nominee Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni and choreography by Josh Prince, Beautiful features a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil.

The creative team of Beautiful also includes Derek McLane (Set Design), Alejo Vietti (Costume Design), Peter Kaczorowski (Lighting Design), Brian Ronan (Sound Design), Charles G. LaPointe (Wig and Hair Design), Steve Sidwell (Orchestrations and Music Arrangements), Jason Howland (Music Supervision) and John Miller (Music Coordination).

Long before she was Carole King, chart-topping music legend, she was Carol Klein, Brooklyn girl with passion and chutzpah. She fought her way into the record business as a teenager and, by the time she reached her twenties, had the husband of her dreams and a flourishing career writing hits for the biggest acts in rock 'n' roll. But it wasn't until her personal life began to crack that she finally managed to find her true voice.Beautiful tells the inspiring true story of King's remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Along the way, she made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation.

Beautiful-The Carole King Musical opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on January 12, 2014, where it continues its record-breaking run. The production won two 2014 Tony Awards as well as the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. A London production opened February 25, 2015 at London's Aldwych Theater, where it continues its run, and has won two Olivier Awards.

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical North American Tour is produced by Paul Blake, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Jeffrey A. Sine, Richard A. Smith, Mike Bosner, Harriet N. Leve/Elaine Krauss, Terry Schnuck, Orin Wolf, Patty Baker/Good Productions, Roger Faxon, Larry Magid, Kit Seidel, Lawrence S. Toppall, Fakston Productions/Mary Solomon, William Court Cohen, BarLor Productions, Matthew C. Blank, Tim Hogue, Joel Hyatt, Marianne Mills, Michael J. Moritz, Jr., StylesFour Productions, Brunish/Trinchero, and Jeremiah J. Harris.

ABOUT THE CAST:

Julia Knitel (Carole King) is overjoyed to be joining the cast of Beautiful after having spent the last year in the Broadway Company. Broadway: Beautiful, Bye Bye Birdie. Select New York/Regional: Nora in Brighton Beach Memoirs (Portland Stage Co.), Ingrid in Volleygirls (NYMF Best of Fest), Terry Randall in Kaufman & Ferber's Stage Door. Film: Miles. Julia is Featured on the World Premier Recording of POLKADOTS: The Cool Kid's Musical. Endless gratitude to the Beautiful team, Bill & Julia at Lava, her incredible family, & always, PJ.

Liam Tobin (Gerry Goffin) Toronto: Alfred Packer in Trey Parker's Cannibal the Musical, The Sound of Music. Tony in the Intl' Tour of West Side Story. Selected Regional: Lord Farquaad inShrek, Buddy in Elf (The Grand), Lancelot in Spamalot, Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, Lt. Cable in South Pacific (Drayton), Gabe in Next to Normal (Manitoba Theatre Centre), Link in Hairspray (Charlottetown), Joseph in Joseph...(Stage West). Liam is from Newfoundland, Canada. All my love to T House, Mom and Dad, and of course, Danielle!

Erika Olson (Cynthia Weil) is delighted to be joining BEAUTIFUL. A recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon with a BFA in Musical Theater/Acting, Erika just made her NYMF debut in Forest Boy. Other credits include Eurydice in Eurydice, Georgie in The Full Monty and Yelena in Uncle Vanya. She has also studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney, Australia. Erika is incredibly grateful for her friends and family for their love and support! @ErikaOlson_

Ben Fankhauser (Barry Mann) Broadway: Davey in Newsies (Original Cast). Off Broadway: Gene in Saturday Night (York Theatre). National Tour: Ernst in Spring Awakening (First National Tour). Regional: Huck in Big River (Sacramento Music Circus), Henry in Next To Normal (North Carolina Theatre). Ben is a frequent guest singer at 54 Below, Birdland, and other cabaret venues in New York. He can be heard on the OBC album of Newsies, as well as on numerous albums of new works and popular songwriters, all available on iTunes. Special thanks to the creative team and to Nicolosi + Co. BFA: Ithaca College.

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Las Vegas, NV - September 20 - October 2, 2016

Costa Mesa, CA - October 4-16, 2016

Seattle, WA - October 18-30, 2016

Portland, OR - November 1-6, 2016

Spokane, WA - November 8-13, 2016

Salt Lake City, UT - November 15-20. 2016

Tempe, AZ - November 22-27, 2016

Boise, ID - November 29 - December 3, 2016

Des Moines, IA - December 6-11, 2016

Detroit, MI - December 13 - January 8, 2017

East Lansing, MI - January 10-15, 2017

Hartford, CT - January 17-22, 2017

Baltimore, MD - January 24-29, 2017

West Palm Beach, FL - February 1-5, 2017

Naples, FL - February 7-12, 2017

Miami, FL - February 14-19, 2017

Greenville, SC - February 21-26, 2017

Memphis, TN - February 28 - March 5, 2017

New Orleans, LA - March 7-12, 2017

San Antonio, TX - March 14-19, 2017

Austin, TX - March 21-26, 2017

Kansas City, MO - March 28 - April 2, 2017

Omaha, NE - April 4-9, 2017

Schenectady, NY - April 12-16, 2017

Syracuse, NY - April 18-23, 2017

Richmond, VA - April 25-30, 2017

Cincinnati, OH - May 2-14, 2017

Louisville, KY - May 16-21, 2017

Nashville, TN - May 23-28, 2017

Appleton, WI - May 30 - June 4, 2017

Columbus, OH - June 6-11, 2017

Madison, WI - June 13-18, 2017

Milwaukee, WI - June 20-25, 2017

Toronto, ON - June 27-August 20, 2017

Chicago, IL - December 7-31, 2017

Additional dates to be added.