BEAUTIFUL Receives Actors' Equity's 8th Annual ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus

Actors' Equity Association ("AEA" or Equity) today announced that Beautiful - The Carole King Musical will receive the eighth annual "ACCA" Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. Presented by Equity's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA), the ACCA Award is the only industry accolade of its kind to honor the distinctive talents and contributions made by the original chorus members of a Broadway musical.

The winners of the 2014 ACCA Award - all of whom were part of the Beautiful chorus on the musical's January 12 Broadway opening night - are Ashley Blanchet, E. Clayton Cornelious, Josh Davis, Alysha Deslorieux, Kevin Duda, James Harkness, Carly Hughes, Sara King, Rebecca LaChance, Douglas Lyons, Chris Peluso, Gabrielle Reid, Arbender J. Robinson, Rashidra Scott, Sara Sheperd and Melvin Tunstall.

The award will be presented on Tuesday, June 17 at 4 p.m. during Equity's National Council meeting in New York.

In reviewing the chorus of each Broadway musical that opened during the 2013-14 theatrical season, ACCA considered the chorus requirements made by each show's director, choreographer and musical director; the caliber of technical skill used to execute those requirements; and the unique contributions made by the entire chorus to the overall production.

Past Broadway chorus recipients of the ACCA Award are Legally Blonde (2007), In the Heights (2008), West Side Story (2009), Fela! (2010), The Scottsboro Boys (2011), Newsies (2012) and Pippin (2013).

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter is now playing at the Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd Street) on Broadway. Tony Award winner Jessie Mueller stars as 'Carole King'; she's joined by Jake Epstein as 'Gerry Goffin', Tony Award nominees Anika Larsen and Jarrod Spector as 'Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann', Jeb Brown as 'Don Kirshner' and Tony Award nominee Liz Larsen as 'Genie Klein.' With a book by Tony and Academy Award nominated writer 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. Visit, www.beautifulonbroadway.com/. Twitter, @BeautifulOnBway

Founded on May 26, 1913 by 112 actors, Actors' Equity Association ("AEA" or "Equity") is the oldest performing arts union representing more than 49,000 professional stage actors and stage managers in the United States. AEA seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions for its members, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. Visit, www.ActorsEquity.org.

Photo by Joan Marcus