Abigail Barlow Is Ushering in the Reign of Girlhood in SIX: The Musical on Broadway

Age: 27

Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama

Current role: Abigail Barlow is currently rocking the pink high ponytail as Katherine Howard in SIX: The Musical, which is now in its fifth year on Broadway. 

Previous roles: Barlow is a Grammy winner for The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, which she went viral for on TikTok when the first season premiered on Netflix. She and co-creator Emily Bear went on to write the music for Moana 2, becoming the first female songwriting duo—and the youngest—to compose for a Disney feature film. 

Sister Sisters
Barlow is one of four daughters in her family, and following in her big sister's footsetps is what first led her to discovering theater. "My two older [sisters] got into theater really, really early in life," she explained. "And, of course, as a middle child and a younger sister, I was like, 'I can do that.' And so I just followed them into the arts." Although her parents are not in theater themselves, Barlow's dad was a "songwriter in a past life" and music was a foundation to their upbringing. "He imparted his love for the craft on us all the time and just really pushed us to chase our dreams, which was so magical and I'm so grateful for," Barlow said of her father. That encouragement has resulted in half of the Barlow daughters making their Broadway debuts just months apart; elder sister Anna Grace Barlow is currently appearing as Evelyn Nesbit in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Ragtime. "My origin story really is just full of music, full of girls." 

Powerpoint Princess
Quickly finding her way into local theater productions, Barlow began participating in year-long youth programs with multiple productions and showcases in middle school. Those experiences led to her to make a brave request to her parents. "I was in 10th grade when I really took [theater] seriously," she said. "I did the Carnegie Mellon pre-college program, which was so fabulous. I wanted to really dedicate all my time to doing the shows at the regional theater so I made a case for online schooling. I made a PowerPoint presentation to show my parents saying that I can take musical theater seriously and graduate." To her glee and surprise, Barlow's parents accepted the pitch and she quickly pivoted to online curriculum while focusing on her passion for musical theater. "Having a really solid foundation is so important for anyone trying to chase a dream in the arts," Barlow said of her family's support. "It's a really hard business. There's a lot of rejection. You have to develop a thick skin. Having a family that is gentle and soft with you and also supports you in the moments where you feel down or discouraged, it gives you the strength to keep going. So it means everything. Love you, Mom and Dad!" 

Teenage TikTok Dream
While doing solo online schooling and theater, Barlow graduated early and used her extra time to discover the power of social media. "I found Musical.ly, which is now TikTok, when I was 15 or 16," she said. "I started singing live online and grew an organic following. I was really singing covers at first." As her following grew, Barlow began to receive requests for original music and thus her path to songwriting was born. "It was a hobby at first," she said. "Once I started to gain a real following I thought, 'I'm going to turn this into a little business.' I became a little teenage entrepreneur." That entrepreneurial spirit landed her in Miami for a week with the YoungArts scholarship program. "I met this amazing pop songwriter who would produce pop music with a loop station. I was obsessed," Barlow said. "From then on I knew that this is what I want to do for a living and it turned my musical theater dream sideways. My roads diverged, but you always find your way back home—as Hannah Montana says." 

And The Grammy Goes To...
In 2020, Barlow, like most of the population, quickly became a fan of the new Bridgerton series on Netflix. She posted a video with the caption: "What if Bridgerton were a musical?" along with an original song written for the lead characters, Daphne and Simon. That one video idea turned into a viral sensation with millions of views for Barlow and her collaborator Emily Bear. They produced a 15-song album titled The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical that went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2022—beating out Girl From the North Country, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella, Les Misérables: The Staged Concert (The Sensational 2020 Live Recording), Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater's Some Lovers and Stephen Schwartz's Snapshots. "It is in the center of my shelf unit in my living room," Barlow said of her Grammy Award. "It's a reminder that life is long and careers have ebbs and flows. Until I got this job I was still releasing independent pop music and trying to find my footing as a pop artist. You can find a really strong middle ground and stand on it and be stable, and know in your heart of hearts that you're doing what you're meant to be doing, but a trophy is a really good reminder." 

Disney Darling
In Februrary 2022, it was announced that Barlow and Bear were writing the original music for the highly-anticipated Moana 2, taking over the role from multi-hyphenate Lin-Manuel Miranda. "It was the craziest experience of my life until booking this job," Barlow said. "It takes an entire village of people to make an animated film. Learning the back end, the behind-the-scenes of what it takes was magical." Barlow and Bear became the first female songwriting duo and the youngest to compose for a Disney feature film. "I'm forever grateful for that and forever changed," she said.

Finding Her Crown
Barlow immediately felt connected to Katherine Howard after her mom first introduced her to the SIX: The Musical cast recording, pink hair and all. "I listened to the music and fell in love with it like everyone else did," she said. "I definitely saw myself as a K. Howard. She's got the pink pony and I started dying my hair pink and purple when I was 18 or 19 because it was my pop star look and I need something to sort of set me apart." Looking back, Barlow calls it a "gigantic manifestation" of the role. "I had auditioned for it many times and would always send a self tape for it in Los Angeles. I never got it," she said. "I kept putting myself on tape and making myself known that I would love to do this. All the stars aligned this year. Golden confetti from the ceiling every night. I mean, I can't ask for a better Broadway debut." 

Girlhood Forever
It doesn't take long to realize how important girlhood and female empowerment is to Barlow; it's evident in every original song and career decision she's made, which is why this moment in her life feels like two perfect puzzle pieces fitting together. "It's making me emotional talking about it because I was that little girl at the stage door," Barlow said of meeting fans outside after the show. "I listened to [Taylor Swift's] The Life of a Showgirl and I feel very seen and heard and loved. And I want those little girls to really believe that what they want to do is achievable. Every time I go out to the stage door I try to be as sweet and loving as I possibly can because I truly genuinely do love every little girl that comes and loves the show. I want them to have the best time and I also want them to leave being like, 'Wow, I love being a girl. I love seeing myself represented on stage.' If we've done that, we've done our job." Now on stage eight times a week at the Lena Horne Theatre, Barlow is part of the fifth cast alongside original cast members Adrianna Hicks and Anna Uzele, returning cast members Olivia Donalson and Jasmine Forsberg, and Dylan Mulvaney in her Broadway debut. "Being part of the SIX legacy is so magical to me," Barlow said. "I feel like my daughter one day is going to be proud that her mom was part of it and was a queen."

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