Suzanne Grodner News

I felt the earth move under my feet when the audience of over 1000 people jumped to their feet to give the cast of BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL a standing ovation, accompanied by thunderous applause. The Wharton Center showing was absolutely fabulous! Sunday night is the final performance of this amazing show.

Even without eye-popping special effects, a gimmicky storyline, or those oft-used literary or cinematic source materials, some stage musicals just manage to entertain by sheer likability alone. A big warm hug of a show that's brimming with lots of surprisingly snappy wit and, arguably, some of the previous century's most melodious pop hits, BEAUTIFUL---the Broadway stage musical based on the life of treasured Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Carole King---is a show that certainly lives up to its title. This charming, swiftly-paced bio-musical's first national tour continues performances at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through October 16.

The National Tour of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning hit musical BEAUTIFUL - THE Carole King MUSICAL welcomes Julia Knitel (Carole King) and Erika Olson (Cynthia Weil) beginning tonight, September 13 in San Francisco, CA.

Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing are pleased to announce that the National Tour of this Broadway sensation will star Julia Knitel (Carole King) and Erika Olson (Cynthia Weil), who will be joining a company featuring Liam Tobin (Gerry Goffin) and Ben Fankhauser (Barry Mann), with Curt Bouril (Don Kirshner) and Suzanne Grodner (Genie Klein). For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit TheSmithCenter.com.

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.

In the opening scene of the jukebox musical Beautiful, Carole King (Abby Mueller) is seated at the piano in concert at Carnegie Hall and is describing to the audience how life takes a turn and what results is unexpected...and beautiful. In this Tony-winning show Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, we are taken through the musical history of the 60s when Carole King published music with her then husband Gerry Goffin (Liam Tobin). We see the Shirelles, the Drifters, the Righteous Brothers, for whom King and Goffin wrote tremendous hits like 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow', 'The Locomotion' and 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling'. We also see the harsh personal life that King suffered due to Goffin's drinking, infidelity and mental illness. Life was successful yet painful and eventually the pair parted, with the Brooklyn-born King going on to establish herself in LA in a whole new light with 'It's Too Late', 'You've Got a Friend', 'So Far Away' as well as 'Beautiful'. Now onstage at the Pantages Beautiful is bound to please every fan of the 60s era of rock 'n roll music and bring an uplifting spark of encouragement to live out your dream.

Unsurprisingly, the crowd at Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts for the Opening Night performance of the Tony-winning musical BEAUTIFUL, the final show of the 2015-2016 Broadway in Orlando season, was filled with baby boomers. Not only does that age group line up with traditional theatergoing demographics, but it also encompasses the generations that grew up listening to the music of the legendary songwriter and reluctant performer, Carole King, the show's inspiration. However, the musical, playing through Sunday, May 8th, will almost certainly appeal to music (and musical) lovers of all ages. In fact, the timeless tunes, inventive staging, and dynamite performances make BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL one of the most universally appealing shows in the Dr. Phillips Center's brief year and a half history.

King is being portrayed by the very talented Abby Mueller. Mueller. Sound familiar? Her sister, Jessie Mueller, won the Tony Award for her portrayal of Carol in the original Broadway production of the show.

Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing announce that the Tony & Grammy Award-winning Broadway hit Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter, will make its Cleveland premiere at Playhouse Square for two weeks, April 5 - 17, 2016. To purchase tickets visit playhousesquare.org, call 216.241.6000 or visit the Playhouse Square Ticket Office, located at 1519 Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland. Ticket prices start at $30. Beautiful - The Carole King Musical is part of the 2015-16 KeyBank Broadway Series at Playhouse Square.

Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing announce that the Tony & Grammy Award-winning Broadway hit Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter, will make its St. Louis premiere at the Fabulous Fox Theatre for 2 week February 23 - March 6, 2016.

The Chicago engagement of the first national tour of BEAUTIFUL--THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL rightfully earns the show's title. This entertaining and emotional production delivers tons of heart and talent at the Oriental Theatre. This engagement also signals the homecoming for lead Abby Mueller in the role of Carole King. Mueller grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and she has big shoes to fill in this role--her younger sister, Jessie, won the 2014 Tony Award for originating the same role on Broadway. There's no cause for concern, though, as Mueller, and the rest of the touring production's cast, deliver big-time. As King, Mueller provides the emotional and musical center of this production--and it is sheer pleasure to listen to her dive into some of the singer-songwriter's greatest hits.

The U.S. National Tour of BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL plays a two-week engagement at the Boston Opera House. Focusing on King's early life and career, the good-time time machine rolls out the incredible string of hits written by the composing teams of Carole King/Gerry Goffin and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil. Abby Mueller is a standout in the role of the music industry icon and BEAUTIFUL excels as a musical journey.

The Kennedy Center presents the Tony & Grammy Award-winning Broadway hit Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter. The production makes its Washington, D.C. premiere at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for three weeks from tonight, October 6, through October 25, 2015 in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Listening to the HAMILTON cast album on repeat since Monday? Gearing up for SPRING AWAKENING's Opening Night? Didn't have time to check in on your favorite Broadway stars? Well don't worry BroadwayWorld has rounded up some of the biggest stories from this week from Broadway and beyond with BroadwayWorld's 'This Week in Pictures.'

The North American Tour of the Tony® & Grammy® Award-winning Broadway hit Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, produced by Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, officially launched at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI, on September 18, 2015. The run at PPAC was September 15-20, 2015, and the production is now playing at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC from September 23 - October 4, 2015. Current schedule at www.beautifulonbroadway.com/tour. BroadwayWorld is excited to show you a first look at the cast in action below!

The North American Tour of the Tony® & Grammy® Award-winning Broadway hit Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, produced by Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, has officially launched at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI, on September 18, 2015. The run at PPAC was September 15-20, 2015, and the production will next play Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC from September 23 - October 4, 2015. Current schedule at www.beautifulonbroadway.com/tour.  BroadwayWorld is excited to show you the opening night pics below!

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Boston, Nashville, New Zealand and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include MY FAIR LADY at Lyric Stage, RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN in Nashville, and ERNEST RUTHERFORD in New Zealand, just to name a few.

The first North American Tour of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING will open at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI, later this month on September 15-20, 2015. Led by Abby Mueller (sister of Tony winner Jessie Mueller) as 'Carole King, ' it also stars NEWSIES' Ben Fankhauser as 'Barry Mann', LEGALLY BLONDE's Becky Gulsvig as 'Cynthia Weil,' Liam Tobin as 'Gerry Goffin,' Curt Bouril as 'Don Kirshner', and Suzanne Grodner as 'Genie Klein.'

The Kennedy Center presents the Tony & Grammy Award-winning Broadway hit Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter. The production makes its Washington, D.C. premiere at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for three weeks from October 6 - 25, 2015 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. 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 press opening night is Thursday, October 8, 2015 at 7 p.m.