Annaleigh Ashford
Encyclopedia
Annaleigh Ashford is an American actress known for her Broadway
credits in Wicked
, Legally Blonde
, and Hair
.
to Holli Swanson, a gym teacher. She studied at Denver's Kit Andre Performing Arts Center and acted and sang in numerous performances in her hometown until she graduated from Wheat Ridge High School
in three years at the age of 16. She then attended Marymount Manhattan College
, where she earned a degree in theater in another three years at the age of 19.
s Anthony Rapp
at the New York Musical Theatre Festival.
In 2004, while hanging around in NYC's Lower East Side
club scene, Ashford met nightlife personality Lady Starlight, a local rock DJ and performance artist. Lady Starlight invited the budding starlet to dance at her 70's glitter rock party "Lady Starlight's English Disco", and christened her Hollywood Starr.
Soon after graduating from college, Ashford got her big break performing in the ensemble and understudying the role of Glinda
on the First National Tour of Wicked
. She joined the cast in December 2005 and left in September 2006. She then originated the role of Margot in Legally Blonde: The Musical
, her Broadway debut. She also understudied the lead role of Elle Woods. She was featured on the original cast recording and appeared in the MTV
televised airing. She left the show in September 2007.
She then returned to Wicked, this time playing the lead role of Glinda in the Broadway production. She replaced Kendra Kassebaum
on October 9, 2007. She departed the company on May 11, 2008 when Kassebaum returned to the role, and transferred to the Chicago production, replacing Kate Fahrner
as Glinda on June 3, 2008.
She played her final performnance as Glinda on January 25, 2009, when the Chicago production closed.
She worked on a musical adaptation of Catch Me if You Can
as Brenda Strong. She previously did a staged reading for the project this past summer under the Tony Award
-winning director of Hairspray
, Jack O'Brien
. In 2008, she made her film debut with a small part in Sex and the City: The Movie
playing a "spoiled label queen." She also appeared in the film, Rachel Getting Married
as a counter girl.
Recently, Ashford played Wednesday Addams in the staged reading for musical adaptation to The Addams Family
with Nathan Lane
and Bebe Neuwirth
, but she was later replaced by Krysta Rodriguez
.
On the Teen.com mini-series "Haute and Bothered" as McKenzie, an aspiring fashion designer.
In 2009 it was announced that Ashford would take place as one of the principal characters and singers in the new vaudeville styled Cirque du Soleil
show, 'Banana Shpeel
'. However, even following a national television broadcast on America's Got Talent
, it was announced that Ashford and her colleague Michael Longoria were no longer in the cast of the show. Publicists announced that the two leading vocalists had fallen victims of a creative decision to remove large portions of dialogue from the show, therefore making their characters non-existent. Ashford was originally slated to stay in the production from its premier in Chicago
until sometime in 2010.
Ashford most recently starred as Jeanie in the Broadway revival of Hair
. She succeeded Kacie Sheik in the role from March 9, 2010 through June 27, 2010 when the production closed.
In September 2010, Annaleigh played Veronica Sawyer in a staged reading of the new musical, Heathers
. Based on the film.
In November 2010, Annaleigh was apart of a reading of Carrie the musical.
Ashford will play Maureen Johnson in the Off-Broadway
revival of Rent
beginning July 14, 2011.
in Fall 2012, Ashford will play the role of Sister Mary Robert in the national tour of Sister Act.
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credits in Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
, Legally Blonde
Legally Blonde (musical)
Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to...
, and Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
.
Early life
Annaleigh Ashford was born Annaleigh Swanson in Denver, ColoradoDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
to Holli Swanson, a gym teacher. She studied at Denver's Kit Andre Performing Arts Center and acted and sang in numerous performances in her hometown until she graduated from Wheat Ridge High School
Wheat Ridge High School
Wheat Ridge High School is a public secondary school operated by the Jefferson County School District R-1 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, United States.-History:From the :...
in three years at the age of 16. She then attended Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, coeducational, independent, private, liberal arts college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York with a focus in performing arts. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual...
, where she earned a degree in theater in another three years at the age of 19.
Career
Ashford's professional career began at age nine, when she was cast as the lead in Ruthless at Theatre on Broadway. At fourteen, she was profiled as “The Teen to Watch” by the Rocky Mountain News. She performed in Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Feeling Electric as Natalie, and joined RentRent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
s Anthony Rapp
Anthony Rapp
Anthony Deane Rapp is an American stage and film actor and singer best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent in 1996 and later for reprising the role in the film version and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009...
at the New York Musical Theatre Festival.
In 2004, while hanging around in NYC's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
club scene, Ashford met nightlife personality Lady Starlight, a local rock DJ and performance artist. Lady Starlight invited the budding starlet to dance at her 70's glitter rock party "Lady Starlight's English Disco", and christened her Hollywood Starr.
Soon after graduating from college, Ashford got her big break performing in the ensemble and understudying the role of Glinda
Glinda
Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
on the First National Tour of Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
. She joined the cast in December 2005 and left in September 2006. She then originated the role of Margot in Legally Blonde: The Musical
Legally Blonde (musical)
Legally Blonde is a musical with music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. The story is based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to...
, her Broadway debut. She also understudied the lead role of Elle Woods. She was featured on the original cast recording and appeared in the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
televised airing. She left the show in September 2007.
She then returned to Wicked, this time playing the lead role of Glinda in the Broadway production. She replaced Kendra Kassebaum
Kendra Kassebaum
Kendra Kassebaum is an American theatre actress who has performed in many different musicals , and is most noted for her role as Glinda in the first national tour, Broadway, and San Francisco casts of Wicked.- Biography :Kendra Kassebaum was born May 12, 1973, in St Louis, Missouri...
on October 9, 2007. She departed the company on May 11, 2008 when Kassebaum returned to the role, and transferred to the Chicago production, replacing Kate Fahrner
Kate Fahrner
Kate Fahrner is an American actress and singer.She appeared in The Full Monty and Cats national tours. She appeared in the Off-Broadway musical production of Sarah, Plain and Tall in 2006 as an understudy for Anna and Caleb....
as Glinda on June 3, 2008.
She played her final performnance as Glinda on January 25, 2009, when the Chicago production closed.
She worked on a musical adaptation of Catch Me if You Can
Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor...
as Brenda Strong. She previously did a staged reading for the project this past summer under the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning director of Hairspray
Hairspray (musical)
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
, Jack O'Brien
Jack O'Brien (director)
Jack O'Brien is an American director, producer, writer and lyricist. He served as the Artistic Director of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California from 1981 through the end of 2007....
. In 2008, she made her film debut with a small part in Sex and the City: The Movie
Sex and the City: The Movie
Sex and the City is a 2008 American blue romantic comedy film adaptation of the HBO comedy series of the same name about four female friends: Carrie Bradshaw , Samantha Jones , Charlotte York Goldenblatt , and Miranda Hobbes , dealing with their lives as...
playing a "spoiled label queen." She also appeared in the film, Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married is a 2008 drama film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin and Debra Winger. The film was released in the U.S. to select theaters on October 3, 2008. The film opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival. The film also...
as a counter girl.
Recently, Ashford played Wednesday Addams in the staged reading for musical adaptation to The Addams Family
The Addams Family (musical)
The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for...
with Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...
and Bebe Neuwirth
Bebe Neuwirth
Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier...
, but she was later replaced by Krysta Rodriguez
Krysta Rodriguez
Krysta Rodriguez is an American actress and singer. She grew up in Orange County, California and attended the Orange County High School of the Arts.- Career :...
.
On the Teen.com mini-series "Haute and Bothered" as McKenzie, an aspiring fashion designer.
In 2009 it was announced that Ashford would take place as one of the principal characters and singers in the new vaudeville styled Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
show, 'Banana Shpeel
Banana Shpeel
Banana Spheel was a touring arena show created by Cirque du Soleil which premiered on November, 19, 2009, at the Chicago Theater. The vaudeville-based show was directed by David Shiner, who so created Koozå. The show only lasted for a very short time, only playing in Chicago, New York City, and...
'. However, even following a national television broadcast on America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
, it was announced that Ashford and her colleague Michael Longoria were no longer in the cast of the show. Publicists announced that the two leading vocalists had fallen victims of a creative decision to remove large portions of dialogue from the show, therefore making their characters non-existent. Ashford was originally slated to stay in the production from its premier in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
until sometime in 2010.
Ashford most recently starred as Jeanie in the Broadway revival of Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
. She succeeded Kacie Sheik in the role from March 9, 2010 through June 27, 2010 when the production closed.
In September 2010, Annaleigh played Veronica Sawyer in a staged reading of the new musical, Heathers
Heathers (musical)
Heathers is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy. It originally had a readings and eventually a concert on September 13 and 14, 2010 at Joe's Pub.-Background:...
. Based on the film.
In November 2010, Annaleigh was apart of a reading of Carrie the musical.
Ashford will play Maureen Johnson in the Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
revival of Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
beginning July 14, 2011.
in Fall 2012, Ashford will play the role of Sister Mary Robert in the national tour of Sister Act.