Kyra Kennedy, photo © Jeremy Daniel

(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse has released production photos for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, featuring a book by Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award nominee Douglas McGrath and words and music by Gerry Goffin & Carole King and Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil. Directed by Casey Hushion, choreographed by Jennifer Werner and music directed by Wendy Bobbitt Cavett. Beautiful is on stage now through July 3, 2024 at Paper Mill Playhouse. Photographer Jeremy Daniel was there to take photos.

This Tony-nominated musical follows the early life and career of Carole King on her journey from teenage songwriter to chart-topping solo artist. King wrote for many of the biggest names in music, often alongside her husband, but it wasn’t until she made the leap from the writer’s room to the stage that she truly found her voice. This inspiring story of love, heartbreak, and empowerment features over two dozen hits, including “One Fine Day,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and “Natural Woman.”

Beautiful stars Kyra Kennedy (First National Tour: Waitress; Ogunquit Playhouse: Mystic Pizza) as Carole King, Marrick Smith (Broadway: Fun Home; National Tour:  Dear Evan Hansen) as Gerry Goffin, Samantha Massell (PMP: The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Broadway: Fiddler on the Roof, La Bohème) as Cynthia Weil, Jacob Ben-Shmuel (National Tour: The Book of Mormon; Off-Broadway: Amid Falling Walls) as Barry Mann, Bryan Fenkart (PMP: My Very Own British Invasion; Broadway: Memphis; First National Tour: Waitress) as Don Kirshner, and Suzanne Grodner (PMP: Fiddler on the Roof; Broadway:  Beautiful, Bye Bye Birdie) as Genie Klein.

The ensemble of Beautiful includes Tavis Cunningham, Seth Eliser, Kevin Hack, Jana Djenne Jackson, Andrea Levinsky, Prentiss E. Mouton, Jay Owens, Olivia Palmer, Thomas Ed Purvis, Isaiah Reynolds, Tavia Riveé, Aaron Robinson, Danielle Summons, Bronwyn Tarboton, Giselle Amarisa Watts, and Mikayla White.

The production features scenic coordination and additional design by Kelly James Tighe (PMP: Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music; Off-Broadway: Martin Luther on Trial, Shadowlands), costume design by Jen Caprio (PMP: Clue, Songs for a New World; Broadway: The Heart of Rock and Roll,  Spamalot), lighting design by Jess Creager (As Associate: PMP: Hercules, Chasing Rainbows; Broadway: Merrily We Roll Along; Illinoise), sound design by Sun Hee Kil (PMP: Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music; Broadway Associate Designer: Choir Boy, Suffs), and wig, hair and makeup design by Roxanne De Luna (Ogunquit Playhouse: The Sound of Music, Tootsie; Cleveland Play House: Amadeus, Light It Up!). Casting is by Geoff Josselson of JZ Casting. Andrea Cibelli is the Production Stage Manager. Scenery originally designed by Roman Tatarowicz and built by Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia PA.

Tickets start at $35 and may be purchased by calling 973.376.4343, online at www.PaperMill.org, or at the box office. Paper Mill Playhouse is located at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, New Jersey.

Paper Mill Playhouse, recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, is a nationally renowned not-for-profit theater under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Michael Stotts (Executive Director). A beloved New Jersey arts institution since 1938, Paper Mill creates and produces groundbreaking new musicals and reimagined classics. Several productions have gone on to Broadway and launched national tours, including The Great Gatsby, Disney’s Newsies, Bandstand, Honeymoon in Vegas, A Bronx Tale, and Les Misérables (25th Anniversary production). The theater is also the home to an award-winning center for musical theater education and artist training, with outreach programs that impact thousands of students each year. As one of the nation’s premier musical theaters, Paper Mill fosters a creative environment to advance the art form, educate students, develop future theater lovers, nurture inclusion, and provide access for all.

Here are more photos from the production.

Paper Mill Playhouse programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

ALL PHOTOS BY JEREMY DANIEL