Hair Star Annaleigh Ashford Feels the Love in Her Backstage Space

Broadway cutie Annaleigh Ashford has jumped from sorority girl Margot in Legally Blonde to good witch Glinda in Wicked and now pregnant hippie chick Jeanie in Hair. This bubbly blonde makes herself at home backstage at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre with personal keepsakes, including her collection of lucky ladybugs. Broadway.com caught up with the young musical star in her dressing room, where she described her current role and co-stars as “magic! I have the best hallway of girls, and it’s lovely to leave my door open every night to spread the love.”

Photo by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com


“I got this flyswatter from [Hair librettist] Jim Rado’s assistant Andy. There’s a line that Claude says to Jeanie in the show: “Be a good fly and buzz off.” So he gave me a flyswatter!”


“I love this picture of my grandma, my mom and me on Christmas when I was a little girl. I fell asleep in the middle of the floor and they were around me. I think about them every night because I’m ‘with child’ in the show.”


“This is a note that [original Jeanie] Kacie Sheik left for me for my opening night. It’s about Jeanie and how magical the character is. Kacie left a blueprint for the role that was just beautiful.”


“Since I was a little girl, I’ve collected ladybugs. Not real ones—I never had a weird ladybug farm! I always have multiple ladybugs around because they’re lucky, and they’re good for flowers and the environment.”


“This is the original Hair cast album, which my boyfriend framed and gave me on opening night. The history of a piece I’m doing is important to me—and this one has so much history.”