Paul Anthony Stewart Joins 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical' Starting September 23

Paul Anthony Stewart (right) won rave reviews last year for
his performance in "Harbor" (pictured here with Randy Harrison.

Tony winner Jessie Mueller, as well as Tony nominees Anika Larsen and Jarrod Spector, have extended their contracts in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" on Broadway. Mueller, who takes on the title role of the singer/songwriter, will play her final performance on March 6, 2015. Larsen and Spector, who play Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, will remain in the show at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre until September 2015. Additionally, beginning September 23, Paul Anthony Stewart will step into the role of Don Kirshner, taking over for Jeb Brown.

Stewart last appeared on Broadway in The People in the Picture. His additional Great White Way credits include "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Cyrano – The Musical." He also starred as Danny Santos in the long-running CBS soap opera Guiding Light, and played Casey Bowman in ABC's Loving.

Featuring songs written by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and a book by Douglas McGrath, "Beautiful" tells the story of King from her early days as a Brooklyn teenager (named Carol Klein) struggling to enter the record business to her years spent as a chart-topping music legend. Additional cast members include Jake Epstein as Gerry Goffin (Scott J. Campbell will take over on September 23) and Liz Larsen as Genie Klein.

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), John Miller (Music Coordination) and Stephen Kopel(Casting).

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."

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