-I'm so happy you're here.
You just came back from a trip I want to ask you about.
You went to Finland? -I did. I did.
Went with friends, yeah. -Yeah.
Why did you -- Why Finland? Any connection?
-Um, so, okay -- So, my boyfriend, Joe Tippett,
has an affinity for
photographing the northern lights.
So this was, like, the pilgrimage to see
the northern lights, 'cause he'd gone before.
So, we got a small group of friends together,
we decided to go for New Year's,
and we had the most unbelievable time.
-Yeah. It was just amazing. -It was like a fairy tale.
It was -- Just couldn't believe my eyes.
-Almost can't believe this photo's real,
but this is a photo --
-This isn't even really a great photo.
Joe would be disappointed in my -- This is my photography.
-But that looks like -- almost like a fake set on, like,
a Christmas --
-That actually -- This is awkward.
That is a fake photo from a set.
-Oh, yeah, I was gonna say, 'cause that doesn't look real.
Okay, good. But the real -- -If we could have them send --
-The real -- Yeah, send the real photo eventually.
-Yeah. -But, that -- So, you...
You see that, right?
And what do you do?
I mean, what -- How do you react?
And what is it? What is it, the northern lights?
-Oh...science.
-I know. Yeah. I'm sorry to --
-No, it actually -- It's like --
It's particles of the atmosphere interacting with space.
[ Laughter ]
-Now, is that real or you just made that up?
-I think you can decide for yourself.
-But you do that, and I go --
-I looked it up, too, when I was there.
I mean, they have all these incredible activities,
so I was more -- I was more, like, focused on
riding behind a reindeer, and they have, like --
You can jump into the water.
-I wanted to ask you about this, because they do --
They have a thing where you can jump into a frozen lake.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
And you posted a little video of it,
but tell me about the experience.
Was it amazing? -Well, it was awful.
That's a -- I don't know --
The people that do the polar plunges -- this is not who I am.
This is what I've learned about myself.
-You're not a polar plunger at all, no.
-No, I don't think so. But I said yes.
I was, again, trying to sort of, like, impress my boyfriend.
Apparently, I'm very insecure about my boyfriend.
-No, this is -- He takes great photos, and...
But wait. So, what happens?
And what time of the day is this?
-So, we went at night.
We had this beautiful spa that's, like,
right on the corner of the little edge of the lake there.
And the guide sort of brings you over there,
and they leave you in this hot sauna.
And then they're like, "The hole is over there."
And -- -"The hole is over there"?
That's not what they say.
-I'm not exagger-- Well -- -That's not what they say.
-There's a language barrier. -Okay, yeah, sure, yeah.
So, you're in the hot tub. You're getting all --
-It's essentially, like, a cut-out of the lake,
and there's a ladder and, like, a flashlight.
And nobody's there. There's no lifeguard.
There's no attendants or anything.
So you're like, "This is a terrible idea."
But we did it, and it was terrible.
-But you go in, don't you feel, like, free or something
or don't you feel like you're a new person?
-No. -Doesn't it feel like --
-No. I felt cold and I wanted to go inside and drink a beer.
-We have the video of you doing the plunge in Finland.
Let's take a look at you in action.
Sara Bareilles. -Great.
Oh, my God!
-Dude, you went for it. -Aah! Oh, my God.
Oh, that's awful!
[ Laughter ]
-You don't know where you're going to go with that.
You're like, "Oh, my God... that's awful."
-No, it's just a sinus headache.
It's an immediate, like, headache, and I ran inside.
And then people were like, "Let's go again!"
And I was like, "Not on your life!
No."
-It is Pride Month, and you wrote and recorded
your hit song "Brave" almost 10 years ago.
It's become sort of an anthem for -- Yeah.
What does it feel like when you --
When people play that or come up to you and go,
"Thank you for writing that song" or...
-Oh, my gosh, it is -- it's, like,
the dream, as a songwriter, to have a song kind of take on
a life of its own.
And I wrote it as a love letter to a dear friend of mine
who was struggling with coming out,
and then, over the years, the song has kind of taken on
a few different lives of its own and been embraced by
all kinds of communities and especially the LGBTQ+ community.
And I have so many stories and letters from people
who said that it was a part of their coming-out story.
And I just think it's just so beautiful.
It's so meaningful to me.
-Congrats on that. I mean, you're so talented.
And I love that you get to do that
and then you get to do "Girls5eva."
-Me too. [ Cheers and applause ]
That is, like --
Two seasons are streaming right now on Peacock,
I should mention.
-None of your friends are on the show.
-I don't know anyone involved with this thing.
But when Tina Fey calls you and says like,
"Sara, we should do this thing" --
Did you guys know each other before or...
-She had -- I mean, I knew her a little bit.
Mm, I mean, I had, like, stood next to her in line
at a bathroom at a charity.
-That's a great story. -I think she'll remember.
And I didn't have, like,
the cojones to say anything at that point.
-But I was like, "Oh, my God, I'm next to Tina Fey."
And then she had came to see me in "Waitress,"
and so she had seen me perform.
And, yeah, then I got the call that they were interested
and had my first Zoom with Tina and Meredith and --
-Oh, Meredith is amazing.
-Oh, my God, Meredith Scardino, our creator, showrunner.
-Yep.
-And I was not graceful or cool
or sophisticated at all in my meeting.
-No? What were you like?
-I, like, screamed, "I'm so nervous!"
-[ Laughing ] Oh, my gosh.
On the Zoom. And they're like, "Oh."
And I'm like, "Are you sure that you want me?
I don't -- I've never done this before.
I'm not sure I can do it."
Which I've learned is not the best thing to say
in your first...
-How did you psyche yourself out of that?
How'd you say that you can do it?
-Well, I actually had a sweet conversation --
Again, this is a conversation about my boyfriend.
-Sounds like a great guy. We all approve.
We love that guy. Well-traveled.
Got an eye for the stars, you know?
-Yeah. Yeah, he's a good guy. -Yeah.
-He kind of reminded me -- I was struggling with
insecurities about being able to sort of meet
the challenge of it, and I felt really out of my depth.
And he's like, "If Tina Fey believes that you can do this,
why don't you just trust her?
Like, if you can't find it in yourself,
just trust that one of your heroes
is not going to put you in position to fail."
And that was really good advice. So...yeah.
-Hey, I love that. See, that's --
-Joe, come on out. -No, he's not here.
No, Joe's not here.
"Come on out."
I would love if I surprised you with Joe somewhere coming out.
-I'm like, "I'll see you at home, later."
-Yeah, "Why are you coming out here?"
Let's talk "Into the Woods," can we please?
-Yes. [ Cheers and applause ]
-This is Stephen Sondheim -- legend.
I mean, one in a zillion.
This is -- When was the last time this has been on Broadway?
-So, I think the story sort of goes --
So, this is the first production that is going into production
since Stephen Sondheim's passing,
so it's been a really tender time
for the creative team.
And Steve and James Lapine, who wrote the book,
are always very involved with their productions.
And, so, it was written during the '80s,
sort of surrounding the AIDS crisis,
and then it was remounted again after 9/11.
And now this seems to be the next --
There was another production, but this is, I think,
the next production on Broadway.
-And do you feel pressure when you do such a --
like, a work of Stephen Sondheim
or do you go like, "Well, you know what?
I love you and you're not here,
and this is a way to say I love you"?
-I do just try to surrender
and honor the material as best as I can.
We did a two-week run of this at Encores! at City Center,
and the process is so quick, you almost don't have time to
think about anything.
So, we're again kind of doing this really quickly.
We open at the end of the month, you know?
So it's fast.
But I think you have to trust --
This show is so special and so beloved for so many reasons.
It's really dense and complex and deals with
really deep subject matter
with a lot of humor and a lot of heart.
And the songs are amazing. This cast is bonkers.
-Yeah. Will Joe make an appearance?
-I'm sorry, who?
-Joe. -Joe.
-You know Joe. Yeah.
But Joe -- Joe may or may not be there opening night.
-He's going to be so pleased how much he got mentioned in this.
-He really did get mentioned a lot.
I can't wait to meet him.
Sara Bareilles, everybody.
"Into the Woods" returns to Broadway June 28th.