Sarah Bareilles, acclaimed singer-songwriter and composer for the multi-Tony-nominated "Waitress," is teaming up with playwright and Pulitzer finalist Sarah Ruhl for the musical adaptation of Meg Wolitzer's 2013 bestseller "The Interestings."
Current Details on the Upcoming 'The Interestings' Production
The musical project will feature a book written by Ruhl, while Bareilles herself will be responsible for its music and lyrics. Matt Ross, known for the "Dana H." and "Is This A Room" shows, will serve as producer.
Bareilles became a familiar Broadway face after the momentous success of her debut project "Waitress," which premiered in 2015 and earned the composer her first Tony nomination. She also starred in the actual stage musical but only in a brief string of performances, which was later turned into a pro-shot version in 2023.
Wolitzer's novel, as per its official synopsis, is a character drama centered around six teenagers who forge a lifelong bond after meeting at a summer camp in the '70s and sharing their hopes of living fulfilling creative lives.
Set in New York decades after that first fateful meeting, the bond remains strong but changes in other aspects of their lives create a push and pull between all of them through an exploration of friendship, envy, class, art, love, money, and power.
"I wrote the first song for The Interestings before I even finished the book," said Bareilles in a press statement. To borrow a quote from one of our main characters: I have fallen in love... with a group of people."
The two-time Grammy recipient added by describing Wolitzer's book as an "extraordinary creation" because of its direct depiction of "humanity" in all of its glories and faults during "adolescence, ache, and regret."
For Bareilles, many moments within the novel's narrative beats "felt like singing." She explained that the creative process has been akin to a "tremendously energizing creative conversation" between her and her collaborator Ruhl.
Similarly, Ruhl praised the composer-lyricist, saying, "I am so thrilled to be adapting this novel, a hymn to yearning and being alive, with the goddess-like fount of creativity, Sara Bareilles."
