BEAUTIFUL's Jessie Mueller Wanted to Bring 'Everything I Had Up Until the Very End'

After an 18-month run on Broadway, Tony Award winner Jessie Mueller will say goodbye to the biomusical BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING STORY tonight. The actress spoke with the New York Post about portraying the role of a singer she has idolized since her childhood.

"I had such a fun time researching stuff for the auditions," shares Mueller. "When I got the part, I had to figure out how to incorporate everything I learned into something that would be satisfying to an audience and authentic."

The actress recalls meeting King for the very first time at a rehearsal prior to the show's Broadway opening. "I walked into the rehearsal studio the first day and all of a sudden I saw [King's] hair, and I thought, 'Oh my God, this is happening today!'?" Mueller recalls. "I had done all this work trying to get into this woman's head and heart, and there she was, standing in front of me."

Reflecting on the challenges of portraying a music icon, Mueller offers, "One of the most challenging moments used to be 'Natural Woman,'" she admits. "I had a hard time walking the line between the two well-known renditions, by Carole and Aretha Franklin. But now it's my favorite part, the time to let loose."

The actress says her departure from the show will be bittersweet. "It was very important to me to know I would not get burnt out, so I could bring everything I had up until the very end," she says, noting that she and co-star Anika Larsen, who will also be leaving 'Beautiful' on maternity leave, will finally get the opportunity to watch the show as members of the audience. "We never got to!" she jokes.

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Jessie Mueller was nominated for a Tony Award in 2012 for her performance in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. She also appeared on Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Mueller has appeared in numerous shows in Chicago including Carousel, Once Upon a Mattress, and She Loves Me.

Her credits include Broadway: "Billie Bendix" in Nice Work If You Can Get It opposite Matthew Broderick, The Mystery Of Edwin Drood (Drama Desk Nomination), On A Clear Day You Can See Forever opposite Harry Connick, Jr. (Tony and Drama Desk nominations). NY: Carousel! at the New York Philharmonic, Into The Woods as "Cinderella" at the Delacorte Theatre. Regional: Animal Crackers (Goodman Theatre, Chicago), She Loves Me (Writer's Theatre), Guys And Dolls, Fiddler On The Roof (Marriott Lincolnshire), Meet Me In St. Louis (Drury Lane Oakbrook), and Henry IV Parts I & II at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in London. Thanks to God, my family, Andy, this incredible team and most of all, Carole.

About BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING STORY

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter opened on Jan. 12, at the Sondheim Theatre on Broadway.

Tony Award-nominee Jessie Mueller stars as 'Carole King'; she's joined by Jake Epstein as 'Gerry Goffin', Anika Larsen as 'Cynthia Weil', Jarrod Spector as 'Barry Mann', Jeb Brown as 'Don Kirshner', Liz Larsen as 'Genie Klein', and an ensemble that includes Ashley Blanchet, E. Clayton Cornelious, Joshua Davis, Alysha Deslorieux, Kevin Duda, James Harkness, Carly Hughes,Sara King, Rebecca LaChance, Douglas Lyons, Chris Peluso, Gabrielle Reid, Arbender Robinson, Rashidra Scott, Sara Sheperd, and Melvin Tunstall.

With a book by playwright and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker 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.