LISTEN: Stephanie J. Block and Marylee Fairbanks Launch STAGES PODCAST

Stages Podcast, a new podcast exploring life's choices, mistakes and stages through the lens of artists, launches this Sunday, August 1, with episodes featuring Tony Award Winner LaChanze, Tony Nominee Keala Settle, and Drama Desk Award Nominee Jason Graae.

Listen to a preview below!

Stages Podcast connects with creatives, innovators and healers alike to share in the ways art threads us through every stage of our life. Co-hosts Stephanie J. Block and Marylee Fairbanks bring together their friends and colleagues, from Broadway and the global stage, bringing to light roadblocks, choices, mistakes and successes that lead to new avenues of expression and connection.

"We met 30 years ago, doing 12 shows a week with THE Will Rogers FOLLIES in Branson, MO. You can let your imagination run wild with what two young, single (and sassy) New Yorkers did in the middle of the Ozarks -- we have some stories. The stories, backdrops and stamina may have changed, but the laughter and our friendship have always remained," Stephanie said.

"We continued to counsel each other through the stages of life as the years passed by: work, marriage, motherhood and trying to age with grace. With Stages Podcast, we aim to bring an open space for sharing the stories that stand out as we look back over the course of our lives and spotlighting how they connect us together as a community," Marylee added.

Upcoming guests include Actress Sakina Jaffrey ("House of Cards," "Mr. Robot," "Snowpiercer"), Tony Award-winning Playwright and Librettist James Lapine, Actress, Director, and Producer Tamara Tunie ("Law & Order SVU," "As the World Turns"), Award-winning writing duo Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (RAGTIME, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, ANASTASIA) and more.

The introductory episode is available to listen now, everywhere you get your podcasts. Future episodes will air weekly on Sundays.

Stephanie J. Block (Co-Host/Co-Executive Producer) is one the the most established and versatile voices in contemporary musical theater. She made her Broadway debut in 2003 and has starred in 11 Broadway & off-Broadway shows since. These performances have garnered her three TONY Award nominations and six Drama Desk nominations. She holds the honor of winning the 2019 TONY, Drama Desk, & Outer Critics Awards for Leading Actress in a Musical for playing "Cher" in THE CHER SHOW. Stephanie is a soloist with symphony orchestras around the world. They include the NY Philharmonic, Boston Pops, National Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Pops. Her solo concert received acclaim throughout the U.S and London. Stephanie's critically acclaimed solo album, THIS PLACE I KNOW, is on all music platforms. She is a television actress featured in Orange Is The New Black, Madam Secretary, Rise, and Homeland. She has recently become a "bicoastal broad". She lives in California and Cape Cod, MA, with her husband, actor Sebastian Arcelus and their daughter Vivi. @stephaniejblock

Marylee Fairbanks (Co-Host/Co-Executive Producer) is an actress, writer and painter. She performed in the first American company of RAGTIME in Los Angeles and in the longest running off-broadway play in history, I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE. She writes for Gaiam Yoga, The Elephant Journal, LA & Boston Yoga Magazine, Bliss.com and Life As A Human Magazine. Her essays explore yoga, but focus on her experiences with her fifteen year old son, and the ways he helps her grow. She is a registered yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner and founder of Chakras Yoga. Her production company, TIMA, founded with Tony Award winner LaChanze, is bringing to life a new musical about forgiveness and the Rwandan reconciliation called, WHERE GOD SLEEPS. She lives on a farm in Massachusetts with her husband Michael, an author and biotech executive, and their son Seb, who makes her crazy with his aspiration to be a pro-boxer.