Photo Coverage: Chilina Kennedy Takes First Bow as Carole King in BEAUTIFUL

Broadway welcomed back Chilina Kennedy yesterday, March 7, succeeding Tony winner Jessie Mueller as legendary songstress Carole King in BEAUTIFUL. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you photos of last night's curtain call!

Kennedy made her Broadway debut as 'Mary Magdalene' in Des McAnuff's 2012 revival of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, which also enjoyed lengthy runs at the Stratford Festival of Canada and the La Jolla Playhouse. Her other credits include the orginal cast of A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER at Hartford Stage and the Old Globe, as well as the national tour of MAMMA MIA!. Most recently, she lead the cast of Theatre Aquarius' MARY POPPINS. Kennedy's additional regional credits include Ross Petty's THE LITTLE MERMAID panto, Stratford's WEST SIDE STORY and A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO FOROUM, the world premiere of THE LORD OF THE RINGS in Toronto and others.

The current Broadway cast of Beautiful also includes Scott J. Campbell as 'Gerry Goffin', Tony Award-nominees Anika Larsen, Jarrod Spector, Liz Larsen, and Paul Anthony Stewart.

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 husbandGerry 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."

Photo credit: Jennifer Fallon Gordon