BWW Flashback: Looking Back on the 'Some Kind of Wonderful' Leading Ladies of BEAUTIFUL!

By: Sep. 02, 2017
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From the Great White Way to across the pond on the West End, the story of Carole King has continued to inspire audiences to find their true voice with timeless music sung by talented leading ladies.

Long before she was Carole King, the chart-topping music legend, she was an ordinary girl with extraordinary talent. She sold her first hit, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, at just 17. By the time she was 20 she was writing number ones for the biggest acts in rock 'n' roll, including The Drifters, The Shirelles, Aretha Franklin and The Monkees. But it wasn't until her personal life began to crack that she finally managed to find her own voice and step into the spotlight, becoming the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century with music that would become the soundtrack of a generation.

Beautiful opened on Broadway in January 2014 at the Stephen Sondheim Theater, where it won two Tony Awards and the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The Broadway production has broken every box office record at the theatre, recently becoming the highest grossing show in the venue's history. The London production opened in February 2015, winning two Olivier Awards and the US touring production is currently wowing audiences throughout the country.

On Broadway, three talented ladies have portrayed the 'natural woman': Jessie Mueller, Abby Mueller, and Chilina Kennedy. On the West End, Katie Brayben and Cassidy Janson played the title role. Following the close of the West End production, Bronte Barbe will lead Beautiful across the UK and Ireland. Starting in September, Esther Hannaford will star in the Australian production.

BroadwayWorld take a look back on the Beautiful leading ladies and where they are now!

Jessie Mueller (Broadway, Original Cast)

Jessie Mueller won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and 2014 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for her star turn in BEAUTIFUL. Mueller made her Broadway debut in On A Clear Day, receiving a Tony nomination for her role as Melinda Wells. She went on to star in Nice Work If You Can Get It and The Mystery of Edwin Drood before prior to Beautiful. In 2016, she played the lead role of Jenna in the musical Waitress on Broadway, receiving a third Tony nomination. She will next grace the Broadway stage in the upcoming revival of Carousel and on the big screen in Steven Spielberg's THE POST.

Chilina Kennedy (Broadway, Toronto)

Chilina Kennedy began her role as Carole King in the Broadway production of Beautiful on March 7, 2015. In March 2017, Kennedy left the Broadway production to recreate the role exclusively for the Toronto engagement at the Ed Mirvish Theatre, alongside fellow Canadian, Liam Tobin, who originated the role of 'Gerry Goffin' on tour. Kennedy will return to the Broadway production following the Toronto run of Beautiful.

Kennedy also starred on Broadway as Mary Magdalene in Des McAnuff's Jesus Christ Superstar, and in the 1st national tour of Mamma Mia! as Sophie. Her other credits include Pheobe D'Ysquith in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (CT and San Diego Critics Circle nominations), Evangeline in Evangeline (original production and album), Ross Petty's panto The Little Mermaid (Toronto Theatre Critics' Award), three seasons at the Stratford Festival including Maria in Gary Griffin's West Side Story, three seasons at the Shaw Festival and The Lord of the Rings (world premiere, Toronto). Chilina is also a singer/songwriter with a debut album entitled What You Find in a Bottle.

Abby Mueller (National Tour, Broadway)

Abby Mueller, who originated the role in the first national tour of Beautiful, took over the title role in the Broadway company of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, on March 7, 2017 for Chilina Kennedy.

Before leading Beautiful across America, Mueller starred in Kinky Boots (Broadway), A Minister's Wife (Lincoln Center), and School of Rock (Off-Broadway Workshop, Gramercy Theatre). Regionally, she starred as AbiGail Adams in 1776 (American Conservatory Theater and Asolo Rep), Fantine in Les Miserables, Ellen in Miss Saigon (Ellen), Narrator in Joseph...(Fulton Theatre), Mary Zimmerman's Candide (Huntington Theatre Company), Catherine in Pippin (Utah Shakespearean Festival), Constance in The Three Musketeers (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Milly in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Fiona in Brigadoon, Cinderella in Into The Woods, and Georgie in The Full Monty (Marriott Theatre).

Sarah Bockel (National Tour, Broadway)

Sarah Bockel will soon be leading the North American tour of Beautiful following the Toronto engagement!

Beautiful is Bockel's first Broadway national tour, with her regional credits including Million Dollar Quartet (Chicago); u/s Dyanne, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre- Les Mis; Madame Thenardier, Shrek; Dragon, Select Chicago credits: Bohemian Theatre Ensemble;Parade, Lucille (Non-eq Jeff nomination) The Hypocrites; Into the Woods, Cinderella/ Rapunzel. Haven Theatre; The Wedding Singer, Holly. Paramount Theatre; Fiddler on the Roof, ensemble.

Katie Brayben (West End)

Singer-songwriter Katie Brayben originated the title role of Carole King in the West End production of Beautiful. In 2015, Brayben won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Beautiful.

Previously, she played Princess Diana in King Charles III at the Wyndham's Theatre and was also seen in American Psycho at the Almeida Theatre. Her other theatre credits include Joking Apart for Nottingham Playhouse, A Midsummer Night's Dreamand Ragtime for Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, 13 for the National Theatre, Company for Southwark Playhouse, Return to the Forbidden Planet on tour in the UK and Mamma Mia! both in the West End and on tour internationally. The screen credits include Vera and This Way Out.

Brayben was most recently seen in the BBC's King Charles III television film.

Cassidy Janson (West End)

Cassidy Janson took over the title role for Katie Brayben in November 2015 until the end of the West End run in August 2017.

Janson recently appeared as 'Ruth' in Dessa Rose at the Trafalgar Studios, for which she was nominated for a Broadway World Award for Best Actress. She appeared in the Menier Chocolate Factory's revival of CANDIDE in the role of 'Paquette' and in the principle role of 'Maggie' in the original West End cast of LEND ME A TENOR at the Gielgud Theatre. Prior to that she played 'Amy' in Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY at the Southwark Playhouse and lead role of 'Kate Monster' and 'Lucy The Slut' in AVENUE Q. She was in the original London cast of WICKED. She took part in the BRIDGET JONES: THE MUSICAL workshops directed by Stephen Daldry, and in the role of 'Myrna' in the workshop for a new musical MISS ATOMIC BOMB.

Bronte Barbe (UK and Ireland Tour)

Bronte Barbe is the newest natural woman to play Carole King, as she leads Beautiful across the UK and Ireland starting in September.

Barbe was a finalist in Andrew Lloyd Webber's BBC1 television series "Over The Rainbow" in 2010. Since then she has appeared on stage in both London's West End and around the UK. Previous credits include "Cool Rider" in the West End and 'Princess Fiona' in the UK Tour of "Shrek -The Musical". She most recently starred in "The Wild Party" at The Other Palace.

Esther Hannaford (Australia)

Esther Hannaford will lead the Australian production of Beautiful beginning this month.

Most recently she has been in LA performing with The Four Larks Theatre Company in their critically acclaimed production of The Temptation of St Antony. In Australia, she is currently working on Mr Burns for Belvoir Theatre Company and was recently honoured to receive the 2016 Sydney Theatre Critic Award and a Helpmann Nomination for her portrayal of Audrey in the National Tour of Little Shop of Horrors.

Prior to this she worked for The Melbourne Theatre Company in the production of The Last Man Standing, she also worked alongside comedy royalty, Colin Lane and David Collins in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's The Three Mikado's. She played Billie Bendix in the Gershwin Musical Nice Work If You Can Get It for The Production Company and played the wistful Bonnie-Mae in Nick Enright's musical Miracle City for which she received a Sydney Theatre Critic nomination.



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