BEAUTIFUL – THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL Comes to Van Wezel

Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing have announced the cast for the North American tour of the Tony and Grammy Award-winning hit musical Beautiful - The Carole King Musical. The tour will welcome Kennedy Caughell (Carole King), James D. Gish (Gerry Goffin), Kathryn Boswell (Cynthia Weil), James Michael Lambert (Barry Mann), Matt Loehr (Don Kirshner) and Rachel Coloff (Genie Klein) to the Company. Beautiful - The Carole King Musical will make its Sarasota debut at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall from Friday, December 13 through Sunday, December 15. To purchase tickets, visit vanwezel.org, call (941) 953-3368 or visit the box office. Tickets start at $42 with limited seating remaining.

"I am thrilled that Beautiful continues to delight and entertain audiences around the globe, in England, Japan and Australia and that we are entering our fifth amazing year of touring the U.S.," producer Paul Blake said. "We are so grateful that over five million audience members worldwide have been entertained by our celebration of Carole's story and her timeless music."

The ensemble of Beautiful includes Matthew Amira, Isaiah Bailey, Edwin Bates, Danielle Bowen, Antoinette Comer, Kevin Hack, Torrey Linder, Nick Moulton, Nya, Eliza Palasz, Ben Toomer, Nazarria Workman and Hailee Wright.

Since the tour's launch September 2015, Beautiful has played 1,442 performances in 94 cities over 182 weeks to nearly 2.5 million patrons.

For more information and a video sneak peek, please visit www.BeautifulOnBroadway.com.

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 show opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (125 West 43 Street) in January 2014, where it has since broken all box office records and recently became the highest grossing production in the Theatre's history.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical (Ghostlight Records) won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and is available on CD, digitally and on vinyl. In addition to the current Broadway and North American Touring productions, Beautiful is also playing internationally, with productions in Japan, Australia and touring the UK. An award-winning production recently concluded its run in London's West End after opening on February 25, 2015.

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 features a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, including "I Feel The Earth Move," "One Fine Day," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "You've Got A Friend" and the title song.

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).

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical is produced on Broadway 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, John Gore, BarLor Productions, Matthew C. Blank, Tim Hogue, Joel Hyatt, Marianne Mills, Michael J. Moritz, Jr., StylesFour Productions, Brunish/Trinchero, and Jeremiah J. Harris.

Tickets start at $42 with limited seating remaining. Purchase at VanWezel.org, the Box Office or by calling (941) 953-3368. Groups of 10 or more should contact (941) 363-2025.This show is sponsored by Wilde Lexus Sarasota and ABC7. Pre-show dining is available at Mattison's at the Van Wezel, located in the theater, and can be reserved at VanWezel.org or through the Box Office.