Work in Progress: Annaleigh Ashford

Work in Progress with Sophia Bush

iHeartPodcasts

Music, Arts, Comedy

4.7 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's no secret that Tony Award-winning actress Annaleigh Ashford is a versatile force to be reckoned with! From her captivating performances on Broadway in 'Legally Blonde' and 'Wicked' to her current role on the small screen in the true crime drama "Happy Place," she's proven she can do it all! Act, sing, and dance, but did you know she's also good at impressions?

Ever get together with a friend you're comfortable around, and you let loose and start making silly voices? That happens a lot when Annaleigh joins Sophia on the pod, and it's hilarious! Besides slipping into her 'puppet Judy Garland' character, the actress talks about her new series based on a real-life story and why it's different from other true crime drama shows, making the transition from stage to television, and why it's so easy to slip into people-pleasing mode on sets.

Plus, she opens up about working alongside the late great James Earl Jones on the Broadway revival of "You Can't Take It With You" and the surprising request he made near the end of their show's run that taught her an unforgettable lesson!

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, everyone. It's Sophia. Welcome to Work in Progress. Hello, Whipsmarties. Today we are joined by an actress that I absolutely adore.
0:21.5	I think she is one of the most talented people in my generation, from Broadway to film to TV.
0:28.5	She is an absolute legend.
0:30.2	She earned a primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Irene in the Hulu Limited series.
0:34.9	Welcome to Chippendales.
0:35.8	She received her first Grammy nomination in the
0:38.5	category Best Musical Theater recording of Sweeney Todd, and like I mentioned, one a Tony in 2015.
0:45.7	She is so funny, so charming, and just so wise. And next up, she is starring in the new series,
0:56.6	Happy Face, now streaming on Paramount Plus. It is a true crime story inspired by the true life story of Melissa G. Moore, a young woman
1:05.7	who discovered that her beloved father was actually the prolific serial killer known as Happy Face.
1:13.6	As an adult, she changed her name and guarded her secret, but eventually decided to start
1:20.1	working in advocacy, supporting victims who have experience with this kind of crime.
1:29.0	She's absolutely incredible.
1:33.8	And today I'm going to ask Annalie all about what it's like to do this show,
1:38.0	what her favorite lessons are from Broadway film and or television,
1:41.7	and what Real Housewives series is her favorite.
1:44.0	Let's dive in with Annalie Ashford.
2:00.3	Hi, I'm so amped that you're here and I'm also laughing because we've had the most ridiculous um I don't know how
2:02.7	long we've been doing this 10 minutes of trying to get our audio things to work I don't know if you
2:07.2	folks at home are going to get any of that treat but we've had a nice giggle it was really good I feel
2:12.4	really good about how I look my posture right now my posture is not a result of me trying to have good posture or me trying to be good to my spine.
2:22.1	But it's really just because my microphone set up is bizarre.
	...

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