Thumbs Up! Annaleigh Ashford's Lost in the Stars Brings Disco, Whimsy & Sparkle Back to Studio 54

Sylvia star Annaleigh Ashford could blend right in in any decade, but with the recording of last year’s 54 Below act Lost in the Stars, now available through Broadway Records, she’s clearly an honorary child of the ‘70s. Ashford, who was a club kid herself in the ‘90s, seamlessly blends her fantastical aesthetic with an appreciation of the vibrant (and—as she’s quick to point out—drug-laden) history of the venue. The Tony winner’s first two numbers (“One Night Only" and a Donna Summer medley) immediately transport listeners to an era when the likes of Liza Minnelli, Elton John and Divine frequented the famed nightclub. The banter is equally captivating and unskippable; with her impeccable storytelling and music director Will Van Dyke’s incidental accompaniment, Ashford’s 12-minute anecdote of her childhood dance instructor Miss Kit Andrée is just as melodic and energetic as the most upbeat of numbers. While most of the set strays from Ashford’s theatrical canon, she does offer a few show tunes and songbook standards, including “For Good" and “Another Hundred People” (mashed with “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”).

Check out a rehearsal music video from Ashford’s Lost in the Stars act below, and catch her at the midtown hotspot again this New Year’s Eve.