Wake Up With BroadwayWorld December 7th, 2023

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is December 7, 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...

STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S OLD FRIENDS Cast Recording Starring Helena Bonham Carter, Bernadette Peters & More Out This Week
by Stephi Wild
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends: A Celebration (Live at the Sondheim Theatre) will be available as a 2-disc CD set and digital and streaming formats on Friday, December 8.. (more...) 

Raúl Esparza to Star in the World Premiere Musical GALILEO at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
by Chloe Rabinowitz
Four-time Tony Award nominee Raúl Esparza will star in the world-premiere musical Galileo, performing at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre.. (more...) 

Patti LuPone to Bring A LIFE IN NOTES to New York, California & More in 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz
Patti LuPone is set to perform her latest concert A Life in Notes at venues across the country! Learn how to purchase tickets!. (more...)

Marc Summers Will Bring Interactive Solo Show THE LIFE AND SLIMES OF MARC SUMMERS Off-Broadway in 2024
by Stephi Wild
Television host Marc Summers will bring his interactive solo show, The Life And Slimes Of Marc Summers, to New World Stages next year. The production is written by Alex Brightman with music by Drew Gasparini.. (more...) 

Video: Jason Kravits Unpacks SABBATH'S THEATER, Improv and More
by Backstage Live with Richard Ridge
Jason Kravits has more than the holidays keeping him busy this Decmeber. In addition to starring opposite John Turtorro and Elizabeth Marvel in Sabbath's Theater at The New Group, the television and Broadway veteran is getting ready to make his Chelsea Table and Stage debut with a jaw-dropping evening of completely improvised music and comedy on December 21. 

Sara Bareilles

Sara Bareilles has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. She has earned various awards and nominations including eight Grammy Award nominations, with one win, as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Tony Awards. In February 2012, VH1 placed her in the 80th spot of the Top 100 Greatest Women in Music.

Bareilles released a self-published album Careful Confessions in 2004. She received further recognition with the release of her second studio album Little Voice (2007), which was her first recording for a major record label (Epic). The album included the hit single "Love Song", which reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her two Grammy Award nominations, including Song of the Year. In 2010, she released her third studio album Kaleidoscope Heart, with its lead single "King of Anything" earning a Grammy Award nomination. In 2011, Bareilles served as a judge in the third season of the NBC singing competition series The Sing-Off. In 2013, she released her fourth studio album The Blessed Unrest which featured the lead single "Brave". The album earned two Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year.

Bareilles made her Broadway debut when she composed music and wrote lyrics for the 2015 musical Waitress, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album. She subsequently earned Olivier Award nominations for its 2021 West End transfer production. She released the 2015 studio album What's Inside: Songs from Waitress, which is a recording of her singing many of the musical's songs. In 2015, she released a New York Times-bestselling memoir, Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song. For her work in the 2016 Broadway musical SpongeBob SquarePants, she earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Original Score. In 2022, she returned to Broadway as The Baker's Wife in a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods.

She is also known for her work on television. In 2018, Bareilles received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Mary Magdalene in the NBC musical television special Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, for which she earned nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Also in 2018, she co-hosted the 72nd Tony Awards alongside Josh Groban, for which she was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, she released her sixth studio album Amidst the Chaos, with the single "Saint Honesty" earning her the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance. She currently stars as Dawn Solano in Peacock's musical comedy Girls5eva (2021–present). On October 16, 2022, she put on a free concert in her hometown of Eureka, CA for 11,000 locals of the area at Halvorsen Park along the waterfront, and the city council named it Sara Bareilles day and presented her with the key to the city.

Other birthdays on this date include:

Jennifer Carpenter
Julie Halston
Ellen Burstyn 

See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!