Wake Up With BroadwayWorld December 5th, 2023

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is December 5, 2023 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours: 

But first...

Voting Open for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Regional Awards Worldwide
by BWW Awards
Voting is now open for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Regional Awards worldwide! The 2023 Regional Awards honor regional productions, touring shows, and more which had their first performance between October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2023.

Voting Now Open to Pick the Next On Stage Top 10!
by Team BWW
Voting is now open to select the Top 10 for BroadwayWorld's Next On Stage, Broadway's biggest national competition for high school and college students. Next on Stage is back bigger and better for its fourth season! This season's top contenders might find themselves closer to Broadway than ever... literally!

Photos: Inside the Kennedy Center Honors, Honoring Billy Crystal, Renée Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah, and Dionne Warwick
by Stephi Wild
Go inside The 46th Kennedy Center Honors with honorees Billy Crystal, Renée Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah, and Dionne Warwick. (more...) 

Photos: SIX Welcomes All New Queens This Week
by Stephi Wild
The Tony Award-winning hit musical SIX by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, welcomes new Queens to Broadway’s Lena Horne Theatre. Check out all new photos of the new cast here! . (more...)

Photos: See New MEAN GIRLS Movie Musical Posters
by Michael Major
Check out all-new photos of the cast of Mean Girls the Musical film here!. (more...)

GUTENBERG! Packs Them In, But Tonys Still Veto Producers' Eligibility Request
by Cara Joy David
Industry Editor Cara Joy David goes inside the politics facing the Broadway production of Gutenberg! the Musical as the production enters the Tonys race. (more...) 

Video: Kristin Chenoweth Joins GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL! as 'Producer'
by Stephi Wild
Kristin Chenoweth joined the cast of Gutenberg! the Musical! at a recent performance in the role of 'Producer.' Check out the video here!. (more...) 

Review Roundup: Timothée Chalamet Leads WONKA Movie Musical Prequel; What Do Critics Think?
by Michael Major
Willy Wonka is back in the new musical prequel starring Timothée Chalamet. From Paul King, writer/director of the “Paddington” films, comes an intoxicating mix of magic and music. Find out what critics thought and read reviews now!. (more...)

Baayork Lee

Baayork Lee is a highly acclaimed actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and author, who made her Broadway debut at the age of 5 in the original production of "The King and I", starring Yul Brynner.

She's gone on to perform in a dozen Broadway shows including "Flower Drum Song", "Golden Boy", "A Joyful Noise", "Promises, Promises", "See Saw" - and she created the iconic role of "Connie" in "A Chorus Line". She was also Michael Bennett's assistant choreographer for the show, and she co-authored a book about the inception and evolution of the show entitled, "On the Line: The Creation of A Chorus Line" .

She's also directed many national and international companies of classic shows like "The King and I", "Bombay Dreams", "Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella", "Barnum", "Porgy and Bess", "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Gypsy ", and many others. Her choreography credits include "Mack and Mabel", "Camelot", "Damn Yankees", "South Pacific", "The Merry Widow" and so many more. She was in the movie "Jesus Christ Superstar", and 2 years ago she directed the television special, "Wicked In Concert", starring Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. She's received 2 Helen Hayes Award nominations for Outstanding Choreography, for "Animal Crackers" and "South Pacific".

She co-founded the groundbreaking non-profit organization, the National Asian Artists Project, which showcases the work of Asian-American theatre artists through performance, outreach, and educational programming. Under her inspired leadership, this visionary group of artists, educators, administrators, community leaders, and professionals, is dedicated to building bridges between the work of artists of Asian descent, and the many communities who benefit from the work, from under-served primary school students to seasoned arts patrons. Through the many shows they've produced, this organization has demonstrated that iconic theatrical productions can speak to all audiences, and ethnicity is no longer a barrier.

Baayork Lee has received a whole slew of prestigious awards and accolades, including the 2003 Asian Woman Warrior Award for Lifetime Achievement from Columbia College, the Isabelle Stevens Tony Award, the Paul Robeson Award from Actors Equity, the Asian Pacific American Heritage Association Achievement In Arts Award, the Arena Stage American Artist Award, and an Award from the Actors Fund for Outstanding Contribution to the World of Dance - and this is only a FEW of the awards this extraordinary artist has won.

Other birthdays on this date include:

Michele Federer
Jennifer Laura Thompson
Walt Disney
Joan Didion 

See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!