BWW Exclusive: Singer/Songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins Is Ready To Fulfill Another Dream With Cafe Carlyle Debut

Twenty-five years since the release of her first album, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins is back in New York and ready to take on a dream venue: the Café Carlyle. "I thought, 'That's my dream place. I've got to be there,'" Hawkins said in a recent interview with BroadwayWorld. "It's such an intimate setting."

The show, playing June 27-29, is a journey through Hawkin's life, starting with her breakout single "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover," and venturing into her world of music, artistry, humanity, and motherhood.

Originally from New York, Hawkins left the city for what was intended to be a short amount of time. "I left for a gig...and ended up staying in Southern California for 17 years, but there's nothing like living here. The energy in New York is unparalleled. What did Hamilton say? It's the greatest city in the world? I've always said that."

Just like Hamilton, Hawkins wrote her own deliverance and went on to release five albums, the latest, THE CROSSING, in 2012. That was the year she also decided to return to Manhattan, back to the place that inspired her to become a musician.

Five years since her last album release, Hawkins is incredibly excited, and somewhat nervous, to perform new music in her Café Carlyle debut. "I've been going through how I will represent my career to my fans and also how will I introduce my career, because so many people who will be eating dinner at the Carlyle that night will have never heard of me.

"It's really all in the lyrics of the songs. My first album is the way that the world met me, and there are some songs on that album that, lyrically, describe the beginning of my journey as an artist and human being."

The night will also feature covers of some of Hawkins' favorite songs, including many Broadway tunes. "I love classic Broadway pop songs so much, and why I say Broadway pop songs is because all pop songs used to come from Broadway," she explained. "Obviously, I've been inspired by Broadway in my own songwriting the same as The Beatles were, and those were the greatest songs ever written."

A diehard Broadway fan herself, Hawkins is currently in the midst of a new musical. Having written one a few years back and performed in workshop with Kristin Chenoweth, Hawkins explains that this new show draws its inspiration from a deeply personal story, and hopes it will be in table reads by next year. Recently, however, she is astounded by Broadway's INDECENT, A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2, and, of course, HAMILTON.

In the meanwhile, she hopes to create---and recreate---something special with her audience in her Carlyle run. "I hope [audiences] take away that I am a relevant artist and humanitarian that they can relate to because we are sharing our time together and I respond most to the energy in the audience. Every show will completely unique, and I'm hoping that this will go so well so that I can do it every year and more and more."

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Sophie B. Hawkins plays at Café Carlyle June 27-29. For tickets and information, visit. www.rosewoodhotels.org.

Gianluca Russo is a New York based freelance writer whose words have appeared on BroadwayWorld, TheatreNerds.com, 518Life Magazine, The Albany Times Union, YesBroadway.com and more. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @G_russo1.

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