Labeled a “The Teen to Watch” (Rocky Mountain News) when she was only fourteen, Wheatridge-born Annaleigh Ashford was destined for greatness from an early age. Having studied at the Kit Andreé Dance studio, this hometown girl got her start at the age of nine playing Tina Denmark in Ruthless! at Denver’s Theatre on Broadway.

Annaleigh Ashford

Now Annaleigh comes home to headline the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ annual gala, Saturday Night Alive on June 14.

Looking back on her storied career, Annaleigh credits her Colorado upbringing with giving her an appreciation of a world that is “bigger than us as human beings,” she told Boulder Weekly. “I’m so grateful I grew up in a place where I got to put my feet in the river and learn how to fly fish. If you put me in the woods for a week, I think I could make it. There’s just a connection to nature from growing up in Colorado.”

But 20 years ago, she traded in her waders for a turn in the spotlight, joining the national tour of Wicked. Since then, her stage career has earned a 2015 Tony Award for You Can’t Take It With You and nominations for Kinky Boots (2013) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2023), which also received a Grammy nomination.

Expanding her repertoire, Annaleigh transitioned onto the screen appearing in a full roster of television series including the recently released “Happy Face”, which debuted on Paramount+ in March, as well as the Hulu hit, “Welcome to Chippendales,” for which she was nominated for a 2023 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress.

However, the small screen just can’t contain all that talent. She added more than a dozen films to her resume, including last year’s thriller, Hold Your Breath, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.

She’s a triple threat. She has been recognized in three of four major award categories. She is one of the greatest performers to come from Colorado.

And she’s generous with her praise.

“When I say I’m from Denver,” Annaleigh told former DCPA journalist John Moore, “the first thing they say is, ‘Oh! Denver is one of our favorite cities to play.’ Always. Not just because we have beautiful sunshine and the mountains are a hop, skip, and a jump away, but because the theatre audiences here are smart, loving, and boisterous. I think that’s quite a great compliment to the town.”

And she, in turn, is a great complement to Colorado.

Saturday Night Alive Gala
A benefit for DCPA theatre and education
June 14
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