I'm really excited to share cabaret, the art form, not just with the generations that are above me, but also my generation and the generation under me. I think it's an art form that's incredibly important, and I think that my generation is a little unfamiliar with it.
— Annaleigh Ashford
In the late 1950s, the woman's place in society was second-class.
It's important to remember to pinch yourself to remind you where you came from and how lucky you are.
One of the great things that playwright A.R. Gurney does in 'Sylvia' is he gives language to the emotional gestures and energy that our dogs give to us when they're communicating.
It's very unusual to be playing something other than human.
Theater was just what I was supposed to do.
I just hope to tell stories that help change people's minds about loving and accepting others. And one of the best ways we can do that is through laughter.
I grew up listening to cabaret. At 7 and 8 years old, I was already singing like a club performer.
I always try to have a positive and warm intention that is not about me. It is easy to make everything about yourself. But you take the weight off when we make it about the audience. It's about the joy you can bring to somebody else instead of the joy that you get from doing it.
We actually found some home videos, some really funny footage of me when I was around 3 years old. I come up to the camera to do a Nixon impression. I don't know who taught me that, but I come up to the camera and said, 'I am not a crook.' I got a really good laugh. You see me register that bringing joy to people is a positive thing.
I'm so not a Bridezilla.
Performing outside, you have to wear sunscreen.
I think every New York actor's dream is to do Shakespeare in the Park. Each show is so special and unique and diverse because of the elements that we're performing in. Every live show is truly a one-of-a-kind.
A dog's heart chakra is always open; their aim in life is to please.
I am a huge Idina Menzel fan. She's incredible.
Love is never not going to be a problem.
My go-go dancing was not your typical go-go dancing: I really was doing performance art. I would do dramatic, elaborate lyricals across the bar. I learned a lot, actually, as an artist during that time.
Sadly, I never really tell people what I think. So it's a real treat to play a woman who's able to speak her mind unabashedly.
If you can change your mind, you can change the world!
As an actor, you have times that are bustling, and then you have the quieter, slower times. I definitely had some of those.
On camera, the audience can see your eyes close up - they can see behind your eyes - and when you're on stage, you need to make sure that the person sitting in the back row can feel what's happening behind your eyes, even if they can't see them. Having a live audience is exhilarating and exciting all on its own, but you know, it is quite different.
My mom is an elementary school gym teacher and a track and cross-country coach, so she really wanted me to be a runner. But I was not a runner. I was horrible at running.
Even as a little kid, I just loved to make my own music. So I loved singing, and I loved sharing it because it was a way to connect to people.
In the comedy world, there's always been one woman to five men. I think that's changing, that we're being respected more as writers and comedians.
I've always felt very attuned to, and at home in, the gay community.
I feel that since I was a little, little person, I knew that one of my life goals was to tell stories and bring joy to people.
Donna Summer was one of the strongest female singers in pop music. She was very underrated as a vocalist and a writer, and her songbook is just outrageous.
I love working in television and film, but it's completely different. The theater will always be my home. So I would love to be a lady who gets to work in all of the mediums and who calls the theater her home.
I have always known mosquitoes love me, but they really love me in Central Park.
I actually have some family that's from Missouri, and my husband is an outrageous St. Louis Cardinals fan, so we go to St. Louis every once in a while to go see baseball games.
The cast of 'The Big C' is such an amazing group of people. They're so joyful and just open their arms to you as an actor.
My mom is a gym teacher, and she's not musically inclined, but she always wanted to help me out with music as best she could.
I did clown training for months.
The older I get and the more iconic the piece, I believe that it's wise to watch a bit and become inspired and take moments that feel so connected to the story and also connected to me that I feel like I can make a part of my own performance.
Greg Grunberg is so beautiful and charming and funny and heartbreaking.
I dreamed my whole life of New York being my home.
My very first scene on camera for anything was with Sarah Jessica Parker in the 'Sex and the City' movie, and she couldn't have been more lovely and beautiful and kind, and on top of that, she's just a killer actress.
Even though technically the fundamentals of acting are always the same in every medium, what's different is the size.
I come from a family of educators.
There's no better gift to an actor than when you walk into an audition, and the casting director is your partner.
You have to be so honest in comedy.
There are certain performers that the gay community receives and recognizes with love, and my whole life, I've always responded to those same artists.
I don't know how to explain it, but ever since I was a little girl, I knew that I wanted to perform.
I feel like any actor that has started out in the theater, the theater will always be their home.
I'll be, like, grocery shopping or doing something totally mundane, and once a day, you'll hear a Cyndi Lauper song on the radio. It is astounding what an icon she is, not just in popular music but in popular culture.
If you've ever been to a great clown show, there's always a moment where the clown goes into the house and fuses with the audience. There's something fantastic about the improv of it all.
St. Louis is a very interesting city in terms of accents.
I've been lucky to play strong women who are trying their hardest to do good.
We had a cabin in the mountains - and I remember, one year around this time, a moose came down the river, and one night he came to our cabin and hung out on the back porch for hours. They're really, really, really big animals. And dangerous, especially if they're a momma.
I came out of the womb singing, dancing, and telling awkward jokes.
