Acting career
2005–2011: Chicago theatre
After graduation, Mueller returned to Chicago and acted for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, traveling in 2006 to England to perform at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon as Lady Mortimer in Henry IV. She followed this with various roles in the Chicago area including Lizzie Fields in Baby, the Lady-In-Waiting in Once Upon a Mattress, and Esther in Meet Me in St. Louis. At the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, she performed in Shout! The Mod Musical, Shenandoah, Guys and Dolls as Miss Adelaide, and Fiddler on the Roof as Tzeitel. In 2009 Mueller performed in two musicals at the Goodman Theatre, Animal Crackers as Grace/Mary and A Christmas Carol as Belle/Catherine.[11][12][13]
In 2011, she was named Actor of the Year by the Chicago Tribune[14][15] and also was nominated for two Joseph Jefferson Awards, winning Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her performance as Amalia Balash in She Loves Me.[16][17][18]
2011–2016: Broadway debut and initial success
Mueller made her Broadway debut in a revised revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever as Melinda Wells, a role originated by Barbara Harris.[19][20] The production opened in December 2011. Mueller received critical praise for her performance, with one reviewer commenting, "Her voice contains notes of Garland, but she's no diva — this is a star of supreme self-possession".[21] For this role, Mueller was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical and the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[22][23]
Mueller played Cinderella in The Public Theater's 2012 production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods at the Delacorte Theater.
Mueller next was cast in the role of Helena Landless / Miss Janet Conover in Roundabout Theatre Company's 2012 revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She then took over the role of Billie Bendix in Nice Work If You Can Get It, from March 29, 2013, until the show closed on June 15, 2013.[24] Also in 2013, she once again took on the role of Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel at Lincoln Center in a staged concert production backed by the New York Philharmonic. The show was filmed and aired on PBS' Live from Lincoln Center.
Mueller starred in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which opened on Broadway on January 12, 2014.[25] She originated the title role of Carole King.[26] She had performed this role in the try-out in San Francisco in 2013. Her performance won her the Drama Desk Award and Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical.[27][28] She left the Broadway production on March 6, 2015. On February 8, 2015, Mueller won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album (shared with Carole King (music and lyrics) and producers Jason Howland, Steve Sidwell, and Billy Jay Stein).[29]
On April 27, 2015, Mueller was the recipient of the Sarah Siddons Society Award at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois.[30]
Mueller reprised her role as Jenna in the musical adaptation of the film Waitress on Broadway, having previously played the role in a workshop of the musical in late 2014.[31][32] With music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles and direction by Diane Paulus, the musical began its out-of-town tryout at the American Repertory Theater in August 2015.[33] Waitress opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 24, 2016.[34] Mueller was nominated for awards including a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for her performance.[35][36] Mueller also received critical praise for her performance. Charles Isherwood for the New York Times noted, "But it is when Ms. Mueller tears into the musical's climactic number, 'She Used to Be Mine,' that her talents are most fully and movingly harnessed... Ms. Mueller's vibrant performance of this gentle but wrenching song, featuring a melody that soars and then recedes in waves, is the high point of the show — and for that matter a high point of the Broadway season."[37] Mueller left the production on March 26, 2017.[38][39] Mueller's performance also earned her a 2016 Lilly Award for its message of female empowerment and safety.[40][41]
2017–2019: Film career, Carousel, and other projects
In April 2017, shortly after Mueller's departure from Waitress, it was announced that she would play the lead role of Julie Jordan in a Broadway revival of Carousel. The production began previews on February 28, 2018, at the Imperial Theatre and opened on April 12.[42][43] The production closed on September 16, 2018.[44]
Before beginning Carousel rehearsals, Mueller made her feature-film debut in Steven Spielberg's historical drama The Post. Mueller portrayed real life advice columnist Judith Martin (a.k.a. Miss Manners) alongside a cast including Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, and Carrie Coon. The film was released in select theaters on December 22, 2017, before its general release on January 12, 2018.[45]
Also in 2017, Mueller was nominated for a Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award for her performance in the Lyric Opera's Chicago Voices concert,[46][47] which was filmed and aired on WTTW.[48]
In 2018, Mueller received three major nominations for her role as Julie Jordan, including her fifth Drama Desk nomination (and second win)[49][50] and her fourth Tony Award nomination.[51] She is the first actress in any Broadway production of Carousel to receive such nominations for the role.
In early 2019, Mueller starred as Marian Paroo, opposite Norm Lewis, in the Kennedy Center's semi-staged concert production of The Music Man. The production ran from February 6 through February 11.[52] Later that year, Mueller portrayed country music legend Loretta Lynn in the Lifetime original movie Patsy & Loretta, alongside Megan Hilty as Patsy Cline. The film began production on location in Nashville in March and premiered on October 19, 2019.[53][54][55] For this role, Mueller was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award.[56]
2020–present: Broadway return and career moving forward
Mueller starred alongside Tracy Letts in the play The Minutes on Broadway.[57] Previews began on February 25, 2020, at the Cort Theatre with the show originally scheduled to open on March 15.[58] However, the production, following a public mandate that closed all Broadway theaters, was halted due to the COVID-19 crisis. The show resumed previews in April 2022 at Studio 54 and officially opened on April 17.[59]
On July 15, 2021, she joined the cast of a new movie set to be released from Paramount Pictures in 2022 titled Secret Headquarters.[60] Mueller also voiced the character Rider in the Netflix children's animated series Centaurworld, which premiered July 30, 2021.[61][62]
