Wake Up With BroadwayWorld December 18th, 2023

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is December 18, 2023 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed over the weekend!

But first...

Listen: THE COLOR PURPLE Musical Film Official Soundtrack is Available Now
by Stephi Wild
The Official Soundtrack for the forthcoming The Color Purple musical film is available now!  ‘The Color Purple (Music From and Inspired By)' Soundtrack is a powerhouse R&B/Pop album, featuring the film's ensemble cast. Listen to the album here!. (more...)

Listen: DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES, Starring Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James, Releases Cast Recording
by Stephi Wild
Days of Wine and Roses, starring Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James, has released a cast recording! Featuring music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, the musical ran off-Broadway earlier this year and will come to Broadway in 2024! Listen to the full album here!. (more...)

Listen: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID THE MUSICAL Cast Recording is Out Now, Featuring Sutton Foster, Jessie Mueller, and More!
by Stephi Wild
The new cast album Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Musical is available now on streaming and digital platforms. Listen to the full album here!. (more...)

WAITRESS THE MUSICAL Extends in Movie Theaters For the Second Time
by Michael Major
Waitress: The Musical, the Tony-nominated Broadway phenomenon, will keep the diner open on the big screen for even longer! Find out the new showtimes! (more...)

Samantha Barks Will Return to FROZEN in the West End
by Stephi Wild
Samantha Barks is coming home to Arendelle! BroadwayWorld has learned that Barks, who originated the role of Elsa in Frozen in the West End, will return to the production in 2024.. (more...)

Jason Gotay, Alyse Alan Louis & More to Star in Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs's TEETH
by Chloe Rabinowitz
Playwrights Horizons has revealed the cast for the world premiere of TEETH, a new musical by Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs. Learn how to purchase tickets!. (more...)

Review: STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW, Phoenix Theatre
by Alexander Cohen
It’s very much a case of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The winning formula of gruesome body-horror thrills, teenage romance, and fuzzy edged nostalgia for the analogue age will feel familiar in this highly anticipated stage prequel. But if that formula is raking in millions who is complaining? If it’s Stranger Things you want, it’s Stranger Things you’ll get.. (more...) 

Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson won a 2013 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in The Trip to Bountiful and was also nominated for an Emmy Award for the 2014 television movie version.

Best known for her ground-breaking double Emmy Award-winning performance as Jane in "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," Miss Tyson was also nominated for an Academy Award for Sounder. She then received her third Emmy Award for "The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All" and was also nominated for her performances in "Roots," "King," "Sweet Justice," "The Marva Collins Story" and "A Lesson Before Dying".

Her many film credits include the upcoming Showing Roots, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, Fried Green Tomatoes, Because of Winn-Dixie, Hoodlum, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea's Family Reunion, Why Did I Get Married Too?, The Help, Alex Cross. Broadway credits include The Corn Is Green, Trumpets of the Lord, A Hand Is On The Gate, Cool World and Jolly's Progress.

Off-Broadway, she appeared in the long-running production of Jean Genet's The Blacks. Miss Tyson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1995, a middle school in East Orange, NJ was named for her. Following Miss Tyson's involvement in 2009, she was able to open a new $143 million state-of-the-art kindergarten through High School renamed the Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts.

In 2018, Tyson received an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2016, Tyson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. Tyson has been a champion of civil liberties for decades and has been a recipient of top honors from the NAACP and the Kennedy Center.

Other birthdays on this date include:

Steven Spielberg
Galt MacDermot
Katie Holmes 

See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!