Why she loves Katherine Howard: I love her pink pony[tail]. I really do. I love being part of the pink pony club.
She’s so sassy, but she’s also brilliant and she subverts the audience’s expectations at the end of her song to really tell the not-so-pretty, not-so-sassy, but ugly, dark parts of her story, which are just as important as the shiny, sparkly parts.
First Six memory: My mom actually introduced me to Six, which is so funny. She was like, “Abigail, you would be perfect for this show. Look at this. Look at these girls. They’re dressed like pop stars on stage. Listen to this music.” I was like, “Yeah, it’s really good, but I’m not British. I don’t think I’d be considered.” She was like, “You could do an accent.”
Being introduced to this by my best friend was great and lovely, and such a wonderful connection because a lot of moms and daughters come to this show, and it’s a fabulous mother-daughter night out.
Dream girl group members: Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Tate McRae, Gracie Abrams
Theatre queen she admires: Jenn Colella, who I grew up idolizing. I got to work with her, and she’s just a masterclass in musical theatre.
But also, my sister [Anna Grace Barlow] is on Broadway right now in Ragtime, and she is the blueprint. I have looked up to her and watched her perform since I was a teeny baby. She’s the reason I wanted to pursue musical theatre. She was the first girl in our family to really commit to the bit and learn all three skills: singing, dancing, and acting. Seeing her gave me the confidence that I could do it too.