Annaleigh Ashford Should Give Herself 10%, Hamilton Will Make Chicago Werk & More Lessons of the Week

Happy Friday, and Happy Lessons of the Week! It’s been a wild seven days on the Great White Way, and we’re here to make sure you’re all caught up. From Frances Ruffelle’s hidden Tony to Miriam Shor and Sutton Foster’s new favorite page-turner, here’s everything you need to know.

Annaleigh Is a Hopelessly Devoted Agent
Booked a gig and need to work out a deal? Call Annaleigh Ashford. When going through her roles of yesteryear, the Sylvia star revealed that back in high school, she got an offer to be a last-minute replacement Sandy in Grease. She stepped out of algebra to negotiate an Equity card and time off for a choir concert and graduation. Hey, Annaleigh! Call up Rory O’Malley. Maybe he’s looking for partners.

There's No Way You Can Stop...Orndy.
We love Orfeh. We love Andy Karl. We love power couple Orfeh and Andy Karl. So mark us down as groupies of Orndy…or Anfeh (final name pending). At the School of Rock opening night, the Broadway duo revealed that their rock band’s moniker would be a blend of their two names. Neither quite roll off the tongue, to be honest, but it still beats Pig’s Rectum.

Spencer Liff Can Put You in Pictures
Wanna be in a movie? Just ask Spencer Liff to invite his friends to your show. It worked for Austin McKenzie! When Speech & Debate movie producer Tom Rice caught Spring Awakening in L.A., he was so enamored with Austin’s performance that he had Spencer make an introduction, leading to Austin’s film debut. Also in the movie? Lin-Manuel Miranda and Darren Criss. Is it too late to squeeze us in?

Zegen Would Do Anything For You, Dear
Like Austin, Michael Zegen is currently making his Broadway debut (in A View From the Bridge). Among his dream roles are the Artful Dodger in Oliver! He may be too old for it now, Zegen admits, so he’ll settle for Fagin at some point down the line. If it helps, Michael, we can imagine you played Dodger in the 2013 Tony-winning revival starring Sutton Foster and Laura Osnes (from the Smashiverse).

Eponine Has an Award-Winning Bathroom
Audra McDonald may keep her Tony Awards scattered around her Eggfartopia abode, but original Les Miserables star Frances Ruffelle keeps her trophies nice and consolidated. If you want to check them out, just open the drawer…in her bathroom. That’s right: Eponine is never on her own in the shower, because her Tony, Helen Hayes Award and Outer Critics Circle Award are just a cabinet away.

Dead Cat Bounce Is a Younger Best-Seller
Miriam Shor is spoiled with fun props on the set of Younger, from scoliosis-inducing statement necklaces to working staplers to a plethora of fake books and manuscripts. While on set, she showed us some of the prop books lying around, including one titled Dead Cat Bounce. But hold up, Miram: there’s an actual book called Dead Cat Bounce! Book club/jewelry swap, anyone?

Italy's Sister Act Has a Method Actor
It’s a role she’s been preparing for since joining the convent! Sister Cristina Scuccia, the Italian Ursuline nun who won last year’s The Voice of Italy, will play Sister Mary Robert in the Rome premiere of Sister Act [praise hands emoji x100]. What’s next, a Lion King cast member playing a Lion King cast member? Wait.

Elphaba & Mary Jane Are Church Buddies
Emily Koch is currently green-girling all across American in the Wicked national tour, having just wrapped up her Elphaba standby stint on Broadway. But the real highlight of her career was long before her Broadway debut. One time at church, she administered communion to Kirsten Dunst. So not only does she defy gravity, she’s also practiced transubstantiation with Mary Jane Watson.

Don't Make NeNe Leakes Snatch Her Wig
Real Housewife NeNe Leakes brings sass, brass and class to Chicago as Matron “Mama” Morton. If you think that makes her a “diva,” don’t get it twisted. She’ll serve the tea and throw some shade, but according to NeNe, being labeled a diva makes her want to snatch her own wig off. Ain’t there no decency left?!

Chicago Is the New City Where It Happens
When the Hamilton national tour kicks off in 2016, don’t flock to one of the 13 colonies to try to catch the exclusive show. The Lin-Manuel Miranda musical will begin performances next September in—wait for it, wait for it—Chicago. The Windy City: an appropriate place to blow us all away. (It’s Friday; give us a break.)