It’s a rare and celebrated occurrence when siblings perform on Broadway at the same time. A decade ago, Jake Gyllenhaal was in Constellations while his sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, was in The Real Thing. Both siblings were making their Broadway debuts. Adam Jacobs starred in the title role of Aladdin while his sister, Arielle Jacobs, portrayed Nessarose in Wicked.
Adding to the notable list are sisters Anna Grace Barlow and Abigail Barlow, who are both making their Broadway debuts in the same year. “It’s the biggest hee‑hee, ha‑ha of the universe so far,” Abigail says to Broadway Direct over video from her apartment. Her older sister, Anna Grace, is smiling beside her. “It feels like the most special time in the world, to share a dream of our whole lives together at the same time,” adds Anna Grace. It’s about an hour before their photo shoot in Lincoln Center to capture this kismet moment.
Anna Grace has been playing historical figure Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime at the Vivian Beaumont Theater since September 2025 alongside an all-star cast that features Caissie Levy (Mother), Brandon Uranowitz (Tateh), and Joshua Henry (Coalhouse Walker).
Abigail now joins her a few blocks south as historical figure Katherine Howard in SIX at the Lena Horne Theatre, alongside Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon), Dylan Mulvaney (Anne Boleyn), Jasmine Forsberg (Jane Seymour), Olivia Donalson (Anna of Cleves), and Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr).
Abigail’s grand entrance into the spotlight was cowriting, with Emily Bear, the unauthorized Bridgerton musical during the pandemic. The songs went viral on TikTok and were later performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. That led to their biggest opportunity: writing the music for Disney’s Moana 2. Anna Grace has been on our screens for years with roles on The Goldbergs, The Big Leap, The Young and the Restless, and Scream Queens.
Broadway Direct chats with these sisters all about their musical influences and the unique path that led them to Broadway.
How were you first introduced to musical theater as kids growing up in Alabama?
Anna Grace: Our older sister wanted to do voice lessons and dance class, so I feel like I was copying her. That’s how, kind of, sisters go. You do whatever the older one’s doing. We have to give credit to our older sister, Arabella, because she really got us into the voice lessons. Both our parents are doctors, but our mom was a pageant girl and danced. Our dad was always in a band, sang and played piano. Music was always around us.
Singing came first and then musical theater. We moved to Alabama from Jackson, Mississippi, when I was about 11, and there’s a great regional theater there. They had youth programs. We had great teachers for musical theater.
What were some of the first musicals that you both were passionate about, and what Broadway stars inspired you as kids?
Abigail: One of my favorites was Next to Normal. It’s brilliant, and it taught me that musical theater could really be any genre. I got to play Natalie, the daughter in that show. That was one of my favorite roles I ever got to play.
Anna Grace: I got to play Mary Jane Wilkes in Big River in Birmingham, and Big River is one of my all‑time favorite shows. If they revive that, please, I can play 16. In high school, I became obsessed with Ghost: The Musical and Hair and Caissie Levy. So getting to work with her is insane.
What was your reaction when you were cast in Ragtime knowing she was attached to the production?
Anna Grace: I freaked out. I immediately dug up that old stage‑door photo I have with her. It makes me emotional every time I see it. Day one of rehearsals, I said, “I have to tell you something. I have a picture with you. I love you.” I don’t think we’ve ever gotten past the “I’m a fan.” We are friends now, is what she would tell me, but I’m her biggest fan, and she knows that.
You were both in L.A., living five minutes from each other during the pandemic, when Abigail was writing her unauthorized Bridgerton musical. Anna Grace, did you have any input on that, or any thoughts when she was doing it?
Anna Grace: I’ve always called her a “mad scientist.” I don’t know how she comes up with the extremely catchy things she comes up with. But I already knew she had a lot of pop music out at that point that I was a big listener of. I’m the original No. 1 fan.
When the first things went viral, I wasn’t surprised. I’d known this, but I couldn’t have predicted how much it would take off.
Abigail has always had her finger on the pulse of social media and how to get the world involved in what you’re doing. She’s inspired me. Now I’m the social media person, but it’s always been Abigail.
Abigail, when you were writing the Bridgerton musical, the world was shut down. SIX was supposed to open. At the time, did you know about the show?
Abigail: I did. I was auditioning [self‑taping] for the Chicago run of the show, and I got a callback for Katherine Howard just from a tape. Then the next day the world shut down, and it completely faded away. I already knew and loved the material. The songs are so bopping. I have the utmost respect for pop music and musical theater, and it’s the perfect intersection between the two.
When the world shut down, did you think that was the end of your chances with SIX?
Abigail: You don’t hear from it and you think, “It’s not going to happen,” so you move on. I was writing a lot of pop music at the time, and I thought that was what was going to do it for me. I wanted to be productive during quarantine. They always say Shakespeare wrote King Lear during the plague. I felt like I could do that. Emily [Bear] and I wrote the unofficial Bridgerton musical, and that turned out to be the thing that put me on the path.
When did SIX come back into your life again?
Abigail: A couple years ago they were checking for availability and seeing if it was possible for me to come and do a run. At the time I was writing with Emily for a Disney film [Moana 2], and I couldn’t.
I put myself on tape again for them probably two years ago, and it never really lined up until the end of this past year when I felt my time in L.A. was coming to a close.
I felt this chapter had served me well, but I was ready for a change, and I would love to be on stage again. I got a call from Broadway and they said, “Do you want to come in January and do the show?” and I said yes.
What were each of your reactions to finding out that you got a role and that you were going to be on Broadway at the same time?
Anna Grace: The fact of it is insane. I haven’t auditioned for musicals much. I’ve been doing a lot of on‑camera stuff for the last decade, and if something came up, I’d be selective, maybe out of fear.
When Ragtime came up, I thought, “I know this role. This makes so much sense.” I called Abigail and said, “If you’re standing up, sit down.” I told her, and she said, “We knew this would happen.” Then vice versa. When there were whispers of SIX happening, I thought, “I can’t get too excited yet.”
Abigail: It felt like the universe was bringing us together. When I was feeling ready for a change in L.A. and Anna Grace had moved here a couple of years prior, I wondered, “Is New York my next step?” It felt like the yellow brick road was materializing right in front of me.
Anna Grace: It feels like the most special time in the world, to share a dream of our whole lives together at the same time. I was Googling immediately after: “Have sisters ever been on Broadway at the same time?” I think Jessie and Abby Mueller perhaps overlapped a little, and Hunter Foster and Sutton Foster. Either way, it’s a very small sandbox of people. It’s an insane company to be in. It felt very kismet.
How would you describe each other’s roles?
Anna Grace: Funny enough, I’ve never seen SIX. [Abigail’s first show] is going to be so sweet on so many levels, because my first impression of the show is going to be with Abigail.
I think it’s so interesting that we’re both historical figures — tragic women — and we get to put a girl‑power spin on it and tell their version of the story.
Abigail: I feel like we’re both such showgirls in very different ways. It feels like you’re a pop star of the 1920s or 1910s, and I’m a pop star from 2017. It’s like 100 years’ difference.
Abigail, what was your favorite part of seeing her as Evelyn Nesbit?
Abigail: Hearing her sing on stage. I missed it so much. It was glorious to hear her voice again.
She’s such an incredible actress, and she’s had so many years to hone her craft in that arena. That, on top of an incredible vocal performance, in a show that is so important right now that everyone needs to see … I just feel so proud.
Anna Grace, any advice for Abigail as she begins her Broadway run?
Anna Grace: I kept saying this: Enjoy it. It’s a train. Being in a show on Broadway is like jumping on a train that’s not going to stop. You have to jump on it and stay on it and hold on tight. Really try to take those mental pictures. I really tried to do that on opening night. I remember there are photos of the bows where I’m kind of crying a little bit. It’s so emotional.
Sometimes when I was nervous, I would think about what “little me” would say if she was standing right there, and I’d think, “I’ve got to be brave,” and just really enjoy it and have fun. That’s my advice.
You can get tickets to see Anna Grace in Ragtime here.
Tickets to see Abigail in SIX at the Lena Horne Theatre can be found here.