Breaking News: Abby Mueller, Sister of Tony Winner Jessie Mueller, Will Hit the Road in BEAUTIFUL National Tour

Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing announced today that Abby Mueller has nabbed the title role in the First National Tour of Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, the smash hit musical about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter. Mueller's sister, Jessie Mueller, won the Tony Award in 2014 Best Actress in a Musical her portrayal of King in the show's Broadway production.

Beautiful will launch its First National Tour this September at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Rhode Island (September 15-20) before hitting cities that include Washington D.C. (Kennedy Center, October 2015), Boston (Boston Opera House, November 2015), Chicago (Oriental Theatre, December 2015 - February 2016)and more. The show is currently playing on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre and in London at the Aldwych Theatre.

"We're thrilled to welcome Abby into the Beautiful family," producer Paul Blake said. "The moment she walked into the audition, we knew we found the perfect Carole to head our amazing cast. Abby's been wowing Chicago and Broadway audiences for years, and we can't wait for people across the country to get to see what she can do when she puts her own stamp on this iconic role."

With a book by Tony and Academy Award-nominee 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.

Additional casting information for the touring production of Beautiful is forthcoming. For the full touring schedule, visit http://beautifulonbroadway.com/tour/.

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.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Beautiful - The Carole King Musical (Ghostlight Records), the 2015 Grammy Award winner for Best Musical Theater Album, is available on CD, digitally, and on vinyl. In addition to the hit Broadway production, which has broken all box office records and recently became the highest grossing show in the history of the Sondheim Theatre, Beautiful opened to rave reviews at London's Aldwych Theatre in February 2015 (where the show was nominated for 8 Olivier Awards and won two), and will launch its First National Tour in September 2015.

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) and John Miller (Music Coordination).