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You may know her as a Tony-winning performer, the voice of a Disney Princess, and a lead in the chilling new vampire thriller series on Showtime, Let the Right One In. But Anika Noni Rose is also a passionate traveler who doesn’t mind spraining an ankle in search of an amazing meal in France (more on that in a bit) and loves to soak in other cultures. She also confesses she needs to be comfortable. “I have to be perfectly honest—I don't mind roughing it for a little while, but if we're staying somewhere humid, I need air conditioning,” Rose says. “I get migraines. I need air!”
The actress spoke with Condé Nast Traveler about a few more of the things she needs when traveling, including a very precise product list and ideally, a variety of hotel pillows—and also shared stories about extracting argan oil in Morocco, buying silk in Vietnam, and eating steak in Botswana.
On the pleasure she gets from performing in New York City:
Broadway is where I cut my teeth. It is the place I feel most at home. The first original show that I did on Broadway was Caroline, or Change, and I won the Tony for that. It was such a phenomenal experience from beginning to end. We took three years workshopping before we did off-Broadway, then we took a six-month break and transferred to Broadway. It was the journey that you dream of. It was the first project I had done from page to stage. It ended in the ultimate recognition for that space and I made friends that I still have to this day. It is a culture that is all its own, being in the theater and being a part of Broadway. It is it challenging, it is beautiful. It's fulfilling in a way that television and film can't be, because the give and take of energy is immediate. There is no, “Oh, let me do that again.” There's just nothing like it.
What’s in her carry-on bag:
Too many things! I usually have two chapsticks; I love Aveda’s Lip Saver. I always have antibacterial hand wipes. Adam Richman from the [Travel] Channel saw me on the plane once, and he called me a plane ninja because he didn't recognize me. I have covered my nose and mouth, and have washed down seats, for years. I didn't need Covid to tell me the plane was dirty! I'm not a big makeup person, but you never know if you have to do something on Zoom or whatever. I'll have travel versions of makeup: Thrive mascara, sunscreen, and some hand lotion, always. Because the plane is so drying and the lotion that they give you in the bathroom is just, I don't know, perfume really. It really doesn't do anything. I always have [Taliah Waajid’s] The Great Detangler, which is just what it says, and Aveda’s Nutriplenish oil, which you can use on your body or your hair. And extra socks, because when I go through security, I'm not A), putting my bare foot on the nasty ground, and B) I'm not putting my socks on the ground and then putting them back in my shoe. That's nasty.