BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL Welcomes Julia Knitel & Erika Olson to the National Touring Company

On Tuesday, Sept. 20, Tony® and GRAMMY® Award-winning musical BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL will make its Las Vegas premiere at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, performing at Reynolds Hall for a limited time only through Sunday, Oct. 2. Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing are pleased to announce that the National Tour of this Broadway sensation will star Julia Knitel (Carole King) and Erika Olson (Cynthia Weil), who will be joining a company featuring Liam Tobin (Gerry Goffin) and Ben Fankhauser (Barry Mann), with Curt Bouril (Don Kirshner) and Suzanne Grodner (Genie Klein). For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit TheSmithCenter.com.

"Carole King was only 16 years old when she sold her first song, so in that spirit, we've cast two wildly gifted young performers asBEAUTIFUL'S leading ladies for the second year of the tour," producer Paul Blake said.

"Julia Knitel has been the 'Carole' understudy on Broadway for the last year and has proven how brilliant she is every time she's 'played the role,' which is reinforced by the ovation she gets from audiences - I can't wait for audiences around the country to get to see her in action as 'Carole.'"

"Erika Olson joins the tour as 'Cynthia Weil,' fresh from Carnegie Mellon's prestigious Theater Program. She's talented, spunky and great fun - just like the real Cynthia Weil, the great songwriter and best friend of Carole."

"We welcome both of these talented women to our BEAUTIFUL family and I'm sure audiences around the country will be delighted by their performances."

The ensemble of BEAUTIFUL includes Brianna-Marie Bell, Sarah Bockel, Andrew Brewer, Rebecca E. Covington, Josh A. Dawson, John Michael Dias, Sidney Dupont, Matt Faucher, Rosharra Francis, James Michael Lambert, Traci Elaine Lee, Jay McKenzie, Alaina Mills, Paris Nix, Noah J. Ricketts, Ximone Rose, Salisha Thomas and DeLaney Westfall.

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.

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).

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.

BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on January 12, 2014, where it continues its record-breaking run. The production won two 2014 Tony Awards® as well as the 2014 Grammy Award® for Best Musical Theater Album. A London production opened February 25, 2015 at London's Aldwych Theater, where it continues its run, and has won two Olivier Awards.

BEAUTIFUL: THE Carole King MUSICAL North American Tour is produced by Paul Blake, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Jeffrey A. Sine, Richard A. Smith, Mike Bosner, Harriet N. Leve/Elaine Krauss, Terry Schnuck, Orin Wolf, Patty Baker/Good Productions, Roger Faxon, Larry Magid, Kit Seidel, Lawrence S. Toppall, Fakston Productions/Mary Solomon, William Court Cohen, BarLor Productions, Matthew C. Blank, Tim Hogue, Joel Hyatt, Marianne Mills, Michael J. Moritz, Jr., StylesFour Productions, Brunish/Trinchero, and Jeremiah J. Harris.

Julia Knitel (Carole King) is overjoyed to be joining the cast of Beautiful after having spent the last year in the Broadway Company. Broadway: Beautiful, Bye Bye Birdie. Select New York/Regional: Nora in Brighton Beach Memoirs (Portland Stage Co.), Ingrid inVolleygirls (NYMF Best of Fest), Terry Randall in Kaufman & Ferber's Stage Door. Film: Miles. Julia is Featured on the World Premier Recording of POLKADOTS: The Cool Kid's Musical. Endless gratitude to the Beautiful team, Bill & Julia at Lava, her incredible family, & always, PJ.

Liam Tobin (Gerry Goffin) Toronto: Alfred Packer in Trey Parker's Cannibal the Musical, The Sound of Music. Tony in the Intl' Tour ofWest Side Story. Selected Regional: Lord Farquaad in Shrek, Buddy in Elf (The Grand), Lancelot in Spamalot, Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees,Lt. Cable in South Pacific (Drayton), Gabe in Next to Normal (Manitoba Theatre Centre), Link in Hairspray (Charlottetown), Joseph inJoseph...(Stage West). Liam is from Newfoundland, Canada. All my love to T House, Mom and Dad, and of course, Danielle!

Erika Olson (Cynthia Weil) is delighted to be joining BEAUTIFUL. A recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon with a BFA in Musical Theater/Acting, Erika just made her NYMF debut in Forest Boy. Other credits include Eurydice in Eurydice, Georgie in The Full Montyand Yelena in Uncle Vanya. She has also studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney, Australia. Erika is incredibly grateful for her friends and family for their love and support! @ErikaOlson_

Ben Frankhauser (Barry Mann) Broadway: Davey in Newsies (Original Cast). Off Broadway: Gene in Saturday Night (York Theatre). National Tour: Ernst in Spring Awakening (First National Tour). Regional: Huck in Big River (Sacramento Music Circus), Henry in Next To Normal (North Carolina Theatre). Ben is a frequent guest singer at 54 Below, Birdland, and other cabaret venues in New York. He can be heard on the OBC album of Newsies, as well as on numerous albums of new works and popular songwriters, all available on iTunes. Special thanks to the creative team and to Nicolosi + Co. BFA: Ithaca College.

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