Abby Mueller, who kicked off the national tour of Broadway hit Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, steps into the title role on Broadway on March 7. The show's new star is the sister of the role's Tony-winning originator, Jessie Mueller, who is about to finish up her run in Waitress. Beautiful plays the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
Chilina Kennedy exited the show on March 5 to lead the musical's Toronto premiere, playing June 27 through August 20 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. After the Toronto run, she'll return to the Broadway production.
Beautiful marks Abby Mueller's return to Broadway after making her debut in Kinky Boots. Also joining Beautiful is stage and screen vet Evan Todd, taking over the role of Gerry Goffin from original cast member Jake Epstein.
The current cast of Beautiful also includes Jessica Keenan Wynn as Cynthia Weil and Ben Jacoby as Barry Mann.