
Ashlyn can be so proud! After Julia Lester made her mark on Excessive Faculty Musical: The Musical: The Collection, she had her sights set on Broadway.
After the Disney+ spinoff aired its third season in July 2022, Lester spent her TV hiatus on the Nice White Means. The Los Angeles native — who performs aspiring musician Ashlyn Caswell on HSMTMTS — landed the position of Little Crimson in 2022’s anticipated revival of Into the Woods on the New York Metropolis Heart. The manufacturing, following widespread acclaim within the theater group, finally transferred to Broadway the place Lester made her Broadway debut.
“I had by no means performed a present in New York earlier than, so I’m studying how completely different processes work. However normally you’ve gotten months of rehearsals and months of previews earlier than a present opens,” Lester informed Vulture in August 2022 of becoming a member of the Encores! manufacturing, which was initially slated as a restricted run. “To place a present on its ft in ten or 11 days with one tech rehearsal was a loopy endeavor. I actually made some extent to come back in as ready and stable in my decisions as potential.”
She continued on the time: “I knew I needed to shock audiences with who [Little Red] might be. Additionally, I’m 22 however enjoying a child, and I didn’t need individuals to go, ‘That is an grownup attempting to be somewhat lady.’ I didn’t need it to be campy and bizarre, so I beloved enjoying into the darkness and the laborious angle of all of it. It was accepted and welcomed at Encores!, and I may take these decisions and develop into the Broadway manufacturing.”
The Prince of Peoria alum starred within the manufacturing till September 2022, which in the end earned her a Tony Award nomination.
“Wtf do I even say about thissssss❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️. I’m a Tony nominee and that’s truly a made up sentence ????” Lester gushed by way of Instagram in Could 2023. “Sorry idk easy methods to be weak on social media however simply know I’m immensely grateful to the New York theatre group for welcoming me with open arms and cheering me on💃 thanks. thanks. THANK YOU.”
Lester is up for Finest Efficiency by an Actress in a Featured Position in a Musical alongside fellow stage stars Ruthie Ann Miles, Bonnie Milligan, NaTasha Yvette Williams and Betsy Wolfe. The 2023 Tonys will likely be broadcast reside from New York Metropolis on June 11, 2023, by way of CBS.
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Scroll beneath to get to know the Tony-nominated starlet: