BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL Heading Down Under Next Spring; Rebecca LaChance to Star?

BroadwayWorld is excited to report that the multi award-winning Broadway hit musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will make its Australian premiere at a newly refurbished Sydney Lyric Theatre from September 2017.

Rebecca LaChance is currently promoting the show in Australia, as captured on Instagram by AussieTheatre.com. Watch her sing below!

Casting for the Australian production will commence later this year; no official word on whether LaChance will take on the lead role in Sydney.

The true story of the legendary singer's journey from schoolgirl to international superstar features a book by Tony and Academy Award-nominee Douglas McGrath, direction by Marc Bruni, choreography by Josh Prince and a stunning array of beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil.

Hits include Will You Love Me Tomorrow, It's Too Late, Take Good Care of My Baby, Locomotion, You've Got a Friend, (You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman, So Far Away, One Fine Day, Tapestry and I Feel the Earth Move along with chartbusting Mann/Weil tunes such as You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, On Broadway and Uptown.

In celebration of Carole King's phenomenal recording career, NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events, the Hon Stuart Ayres MP made the official announcement of the premiere Australian season at Sydney's Trackdown Studios: "Bringing the Australian premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical to the Sydney stage is a major coup for NSW. Carole King's legendary catalogue of hits will come to life in this blockbuster production, which will be a major drawcard for visitors to NSW. We expect about 60,000 overnight visitors to travel to Sydney to see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, generating $26 million for the state's economy."

Australian Producer, Michael Cassel said:"This show is simply 'some kind of wonderful'. I am very excited to bring this sensational show to Australian shores - Carole King might be a native New Yorker but her music is loved the world over and her story is universal. Carole King wrote the soundtrack to a generation and I can't wait for Australian audiences to experience this smash-hit production in Sydney."

King, who famously didn't see the show on Broadway until a surprise visit three months after the official premiere said: "It took me a long time to see BEAUTIFUL when it opened on Broadway in 2014, but once I did, I became an instant fan. I'm thrilled to see it travel across the world to Australia, where I hope audiences down under will treasure it as much as I do."

Paul Blake and Mike Bosner, the original Broadway producers said: "It is a thrill for us and everyone in the Beautiful family to have our musical premiere in the great theatre town of Sydney! We hope audiences in Oz will love the show as much as they do in New York, London and in theatres across America."

The Sydney Lyric Theatre will undergo a transformational refurbishment that will be completed for the opening of Beautiful in 2017.

The ticket waitlist is now open at www.beautifulmusical.com.au.

BEAUTIFUL opened on Broadway in January 2014 at the Stephen Sondheim Theater, where it won two Tony Awards and the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The Broadway production has broken every box office record at the theatre, recently becoming the highest grossing show in the venue's history. The London production opened in February 2015, winning two Olivier Awards and the US touring production is current wowing audiences throughout the country.

Long before she was Carole King, the chart-topping music legend, she was an ordinary girl with extraordinary talent. She fought her way into the record industry as a teenager and sold her first hit, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, when she was just 17. By the time she was 20, she was writing number ones for the biggest acts in rock 'n' roll, including The Drifters, The Shirelles, Aretha Franklin and The Monkees. But it wasn't until her personal life began to crack that she finally managed to find her own voice and step into the spotlight.

BEAUTIFUL is the the inspiring true story of King's journey from schoolgirl to superstar;from her relationship with husband and song-writing partner Gerry Goffin, their close friendship and playful rivalry with fellow song-writing duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, to her remarkable rise to stardom. Along the way, she became one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history - and her music became the soundtrack to a generation.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM:

CAROLE KING (WORDS & MUSIC) - Pop music would be very different without the contributions of Carole King, who wrote her first #1 hit at age 17 with Gerry Goffin, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" for the Shirelles. The dozens of chart hits Goffin and King wrote during this period became legendary, but it was 1971's Tapestry that took King to the pinnacle, speaking personally to her contemporaries and providing a spiritual musical backdrop to the decade. More than 400 of her compositions have been recorded by over 1,000 artists, resulting in 100 hit singles and 6 Grammys.

GERRY GOFFIN (WORDS & MUSIC) - Born in Brooklyn in 1939, Gerry Goffin met Carole King at Queens College, and their musical collaboration began almost immediately. They married in 1959, and that same year wrote their first hit song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" (The Shirelles). The duo penned over fifty Top 40 hits including "The Locomotion," "Natural Woman," and "Up On The Roof." In 1987, Goffin and King were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Goffin has left an indelible mark on American music.

BARRY MANN (WORDS & MUSIC) - Barry Mann has written the melodies of some of the most influential pop songs in musical history. In addition to "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," most played song of the last century, and the songs heard in Beautiful, he has composed later standards like "Somewhere Out There" (winner of 2 Grammys), "Here You Come Again," "Sometimes When We Touch," "Just Once" and "Don't Know Much." Together, he and Cynthia Weil have amassed an incredible 112 pop, country and R&B awards from Broadcast Music Inc. for significant radio airplay. He has been inducted into both the Songwriters Hall Of Fame and The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

CYNTHIA WEIL (WORDS & MUSIC) - Cynthia Weil is known as the lyricist of classic songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling", the most played song of the 20th century. In addition to the songs heard in Beautiful, she has set the words to later standards like "Somewhere Out There," "Here You Come Again," "He's So Shy," "Just Once," and "Don't Know Much" to name just a few. Weil has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, honored with multiple Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards for "Somewhere Out There" as Motion Picture Song of the Year and Song of the Year.

DOUGLAS MCGRATH (BOOK) - Douglas McGrath is a filmmaker and playwright. His play Checkers opened the 30th anniversary season at New York's Vineyard Theatre. He collaborated with Woody Allen on the screenplay for Bullets Over Broadway, for which they were nominated for an Academy Award. His first film as writer/director was his adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. He has also written and directed Nicholas Nickleby, which won the Best Ensemble Cast from the National Board of Review; Company Man; Infamous; and His Way. His essays have appeared in the New Yorker, The New Republic, Vanity Fair and The New York Times.

MARC BRUNI (DIRECTOR) - The Explorers Club (MTC), Old Jews Telling Jokes (Westside), Pipe Dream (Encores!), Fanny (Encores!), Ordinary Days (Roundabout), Nerds (NC Theatre), Irving Berlin's White Christmas (Paper Mill), 25th Annual...Spelling Bee (PTC/Paper Mill), In the Mood (Berkshire Theatre Festival), Such Good Friends (NYMF Directing Award), High Spirits (York), Glimpses of the Moon (Oak Room) and 6 shows for the St. Louis MUNY including The Music Man, Sound of Music (Kevin Kline nominations), Thoroughly Modern Millie, Legally Blonde, My One and Only, Seven Brides. Associate on numerous Broadway shows and tours including Book of Mormon and Anything Goes.

PAUL BLAKE (ORIGINAL BROADWAY PRODUCER) - Is currently enjoying his emeritus status after 22 seasons as the executive producer of the legendary St. Louis MUNY, where he produced and/or directed more than 150 shows. His Roman Holiday (book writer), with songs by Cole Porter, played to capacity last summer at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Mr. Blake's Tony-nominated Irving Berlin's White Christmas (co-writer and co-producer) had two highly successful seasons on Broadway and has become the most highly requested holiday musical in theatres across the country.

SONY/ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING (ORIGINAL BROADWAY PRODUCER) - Established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and Michael Jackson, Sony/ATV is the world's leading music publisher and owns or administers more than 2 million copyrights including those from such iconic music catalogs as EMI Music Publishing, Leiber & Stoller, Mijac Music, Motown and Famous Music. Sony/ATV controls many of the best-known songs ever written, like "New York, New York," "All You Need Is Love," "You've Got a Friend," "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Over the Rainbow" and "Stand By Me." In addition, Sony/ATV represents the copyrights of such legendary artists as The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Sting, The Supremes, Hank Williams and Stevie Wonder, among others. Its ever-growing list of chart-topping artists and songwriters includes Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, P!nk, Shakira, Taylor Swift and Kanye West.

MIKE BOSNER (ORIGINAL BROADWAY PRODUCER) - Mr. Bosner is thrilled to be taking Beautiful down under! Beautiful continues its highly successful run on Broadway, London's West End, and across the US in a National Tour. Before Beautiful, he served as associate producer of the St. Louis MUNY for five seasons. At the MUNY, Mr. Bosner oversaw more than 35 productions alongside executive producer Paul Blake. He is truly honored to be working with this legendary material, inspiring group of collaborators and his mentor and friend, Mr. Blake.

MICHAEL CASSEL (AUSTRALIAN PRODUCER) - Michael formed his company, Michael Cassel Group, to produce and present prestige theatrical productions; to create and develop exciting new live entertainment experiences and to present marquee events and concert attractions. Michael is Executive Producer of Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production LES MISERABLES which, following triumphant seasons in Australia and having won the prestigious Helpmann Award for 'Best Musical' is now on tour in Asia. Following a year-long tour of Asia, Michael is co-producing the Chichester Festival production of Singin' In the Rain, starring Adam Garcia, which will premiere at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne on 14 May 2016 before touring the country. Michael will produce the Australian premiere of Tony and Olivier-Award winning 'Best Musical' Kinky Boots, featuring Grammy-Award winning music by pop icon Cyndi Lauper, at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne opening in October 2016. The following year, Michael will produce the smash-hit musical, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which will premiere in Sydney in September 2017 at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.

SYDNEY LYRIC THEATRE - The Sydney Lyric auditorium will undergo a transformational refurbishment that will be completed for the opening of Beautiful. The $11.5 million auditorium upgrade will assist in attracting further first-class productions. The first stage of the works was completed in April 2016, and the final stage will be completed in July & August 2017. The transformation will include:

· A major auditorium upgrade for the Sydney Lyric creating a more intimate experience for theatregoers and performers.

· Bringing the Dress Circle and Grand Circle closer to the stage, correcting the seating configuration and building new boxes on those levels.

· Creating variable capacity auditorium with 1350 - 1550 - 1750 - 2050 seat capacities, improving the sightlines for patrons and catering to a wider variety of theatrical works.

· The capacity of the auditorium will be seamlessly and easily configurable, creating an intimate space at varying capacities, even within running weeks of the same production, maximising opportunities for presenters and catering to busy family entertainment options.

· New private VIP boxes with entertainment anterooms and toilet facilities.

· The final stage will include the upgrade of seating, foyer, bar and toilet facilities in the Grand Circle completing the $18 million project.

Pictured: Chilina Kennedy as Carole King on Broadway. Photo by Joan Marcus.