Brittain Ashford is an American actress and musician best known for
portraying Sonya Rostova in the 2016 Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre
& the Great Comet of 1812, as well as fronting the band Prairie
Empire.Born in Seattle, Washington, Ashford attended Roosevelt High
School. She attended college at the University of Washington,
Seattle.Ashford's first theatrical performance was as Sonya Rostova in
the 2012 Ars Nova production of Dave Malloy's Natasha, Pierre & The
Great Comet of 1812. Ashford continued to perform with the show in all
future incarnations of it, including productions at Kazino, the
American Repertory Theater, and at the Imperial Theatre, the latter of
which marked her Broadway debut in 2016. Of her role, Ashford says, "I
sympathize with Sonya, and I really love that she’s there as this
best friend presence that could be nothing, but she also gets this
really tender, intimate, important moment in the show to talk about
that friendship, which I think is just so nice and kind of
refreshing." Ashford received praise for her performance as Sonya, and
was nominated for multiple awards over the course of the shows
multiple runs. Ashford was temporarily replaced as Sonya by
singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, but she returned as Sonya on
August 15, 2017.Ben Brantley of the New York Times stated in his
article "The Tonys 2017: Who Will Win (and Who Should)" that Ashford
"should have been nominated" for the Tony Award for Best Featured
Actress in a Musical.
portraying Sonya Rostova in the 2016 Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre
& the Great Comet of 1812, as well as fronting the band Prairie
Empire.Born in Seattle, Washington, Ashford attended Roosevelt High
School. She attended college at the University of Washington,
Seattle.Ashford's first theatrical performance was as Sonya Rostova in
the 2012 Ars Nova production of Dave Malloy's Natasha, Pierre & The
Great Comet of 1812. Ashford continued to perform with the show in all
future incarnations of it, including productions at Kazino, the
American Repertory Theater, and at the Imperial Theatre, the latter of
which marked her Broadway debut in 2016. Of her role, Ashford says, "I
sympathize with Sonya, and I really love that she’s there as this
best friend presence that could be nothing, but she also gets this
really tender, intimate, important moment in the show to talk about
that friendship, which I think is just so nice and kind of
refreshing." Ashford received praise for her performance as Sonya, and
was nominated for multiple awards over the course of the shows
multiple runs. Ashford was temporarily replaced as Sonya by
singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, but she returned as Sonya on
August 15, 2017.Ben Brantley of the New York Times stated in his
article "The Tonys 2017: Who Will Win (and Who Should)" that Ashford
"should have been nominated" for the Tony Award for Best Featured
Actress in a Musical.
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