THEIR FAVORITE THINGS: Beautiful Tony Nominee Anika Larsen Shares Her Theatregoing Experiences

"In 1979, my parents brought me and my (then) 6 brothers and sisters (now 9) down from Boston to see our first Broadway show, Peter Pan. I was 5. Watching Sandy Duncan fly over the audience and sprinkle fairy dust is one of my earliest memories, and it was breathtaking. Apparently that moment hooked me on the junk, and I haven’t been able to shake my musical theater addiction since."

"One show that toured through Boston that my dad had no interest in going to was the revival of Gypsy starring Tyne Daly. I was 15 and had a friend whose mom took her down to NYC sometimes, so I hitched along and saw 5 shows in a weekend. The show I loved best was Gypsy, which had arrived on Broadway by then. Not only was every element masterful, book, score, lyrics, but Tyne Daly was a tour-de-force. I had never seen such impressively honest acting in musical theater. I learned that you could be simple and true while being large enough to fill a Broadway house, and I have strived to achieve that my whole career. After he read the reviews, my dad wished he had seen the show when he had the chance."

"Since Les Miz in high school I have not seen a musical more than once. But I went to see In the Heights seven times. As a grown-up. I couldn’t help myself. It filled every cockle of my soul with joy by providing hot modern music in old-fashioned musical theater form. And the choreography! I’m not a dancer so I’m not generally tuned into choreography that much, but holy moly, this was thrilling! I remember the big dance number '96,000' stopping the show, and tears filling my eyes at such stunning, connected, unique movement."

"A couple years ago, I went to see On a Clear Day You Can See Forever with Harry Connick Jr. And in the flashback scenes there was this magical person who knocked my socks off with her voice. I thought, 'Who in tarnation is this sassy little bundle of talent?' Little did I know I would soon be performing with her every night! And Jessie Mueller sings 'Ev’ry Night at Seven' to me every day at places. Well, ok, she just says, 'Sock it to ‘em!' but I hear the echoes of the song in her words..."