Stephanie J. Block Releases Holiday Album With Club44 Records November 3

Tony winner Stephanie J. Block, recently seen as Norma Desmond in the Kennedy Center staging of Sunset Boulevard, signed with the Nashville-based Club44 Records earlier this year and releases her debut holiday recording November 3.

Entitled Merry Christmas, Darling, the new recording features both secular and sacred seasonal classics, including a song written for her by Club44 co-founder Wayne Haun and Tony-winning lyricist David Zippel. The album also features a duet with her husband, actor Sebastian Arcelus, as well as one with their daughter, Vivienne Arcelus.

Merry Christmas, Darling is produced by Haun and Block with Joel Lindsey and Sharon Terrell serving as executive producers.

Get a 1st Listen to Stephanie J. Block's 'Sleigh Ride,' From Holiday Album

Block said in an earlier statement, “I mentioned to my daughter that I needed to write a little press blurb about my upcoming Christmas album and she responded, ‘Our Christmas album.’ My initial thought response was to laugh and shake my head, but after a brief moment I realized her comment was exactly right. My wish is for Merry Christmas, Darling to feel like it belongs to everyone. It's been created in love and collaboration and a hope that is for all to share in.”

Haun added, “I’ve always been amazed at the way Stephanie interprets a song. The attention to the lyric, the timing, the emotion are all perfect. Until recently, I'd only seen her perform live, but I can now say she brings the same interpretation and emotion into the studio. She brings songs like 'Sleigh Ride' and 'What Child Is This?' a whole new life. She knows what the song needs and she gives it her all.”

Block's Broadway credits include Into the Woods, The Cher Show (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award winner), Falsettos (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), Anything Goes, 9 to 5: The Musical (Drama Desk nomination), The Pirate Queen, The Boy From Oz, and Wicked. Off-Broadway she was seen in the City Center Encores! Brigadoon, Little Miss Sunshine (Drama Desk nomination), and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Drama Desk nomination).