Ali Stroker | |
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Born | Alyson Mackenzie Stroker June 16, 1987 Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
Education | New York University (BFA) |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2011–present |
Spouse | David Perlow |
Children | 1 |
Website | alistroker |
Alyson Mackenzie Stroker [1] (born June 16, 1987) is an American actress, author and singer. She is the first actor who uses a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage, and also the first to be nominated for and win a Tony Award. Stroker was a finalist on the second season of The Glee Project and later appeared as a guest star on Glee in 2013. She played Anna in Deaf West Theatre's 2015 revival of Spring Awakening , [2] and won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Oklahoma! [3]
Ali Stroker grew up in New Jersey with her parents, Jody and Jim Stroker, as well as an older brother, Jake. At the age of two, Stroker and her brother were in a car accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury that left Ali paralyzed from the waist down. Unable to walk, she uses a wheelchair. [4] She attended Ridgewood High School, where she was senior class president and starred in school musicals. [5]
Stroker trained with the Summer Musical Theater Conservatory program at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. [4]
In 2007, Ali performed in "Mrs. Sharp" by Ryan Scott Oliver at N.Y.U. under the direction of Ryan Mekenian with Alex Brightman & Scott Evans also in the cast. In 2009, Stroker became the first actor who uses a wheelchair to earn a degree from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, with a degree in Fine Arts. [6]
Stroker has given solo performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and New York's Town Hall in addition to concert performances at Lincoln Center in New York City. [7]
Stroker starred in the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee . She later reprised her role in this show at Philadelphia Theatre Company, and that performance earned her a Barrymore Award nomination. [8]
In 2012, she auditioned for The Glee Project and was cast for the 12-episode series. She made it to the final episode and placed second, earning a guest role on Glee, playing Betty Pillsbury, Ms. Pillsbury's niece, in Season 4, Episode 14: "I Do".
In 2014, she had a role in the film Cotton, also known as "Everyday Miracles".
In 2014 and 2015, Stroker had a three-episode role playing Wendy in the MTV series Faking It .
In 2015, she made history by becoming the first actor who uses a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage. She originated the role of Anna in Deaf West Theatre's 2015 revival of Spring Awakening . [9]
In 2017, Stroker was cast as Tamara in the ABC show Ten Days in the Valley . [10]
In 2018, she played Ado Annie in St. Ann's Warehouse's critically acclaimed revival of Oklahoma! [3] The production transferred to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre in 2019, earning Stroker a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, making her the first person with a disability to be nominated for and to receive that award. [11] [12]
In 2020, she was in Lifetime's Christmas Ever After, airing on December 6, 2020.
In 2021, she played Detective Allison Mulaney on the police procedural television series Blue Bloods, [13] and played Paulette on the mystery-comedy television series Only Murders in the Building . [14]
Stroker co-chaired an awards luncheon in 2016 for Women Who Care, which supports United Cerebral Palsy of New York City. [15] She is a founding member of Be More Heroic, an anti-bullying campaign which tours the country connecting with thousands of students each year. [16] She has gone to South Africa with ARTS InsideOut where she has held theater classes and workshops for women and children affected by AIDS. [2]
Stroker is bisexual [17] and dated fellow The Glee Project contestant Dani Shay from 2012 to 2015. [18]
Stroker attended the 2019 Tony Awards with her then-boyfriend (now husband), theater director and actor David Perlow. [19] [20] She and Perlow reconnected in 2015 [21] and are founding directors of ATTENTIONTheatre. [22]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | I Was a Mermaid and Now I'm a Pop Star | Party Girl | Video short |
2012 | The Glee Project | Herself | 12 episodes |
2013 | Glee | Betty Pillsbury | Episode: "I Do" |
2014 | Cotton | Jeanie | |
2014–2015 | Faking It | Wendy | 3 episodes |
2017 | Ten Days in the Valley | Tamara | 3 episodes |
2018 | Lethal Weapon | Nina | Episode: "Funny Money" |
2018 | Drunk History | Judith Heumann | Episode: "Civil Rights" |
2018 | Instinct | Ella | Episode: "Secrets and Lies" |
2019 | Charmed | First Auditionee | Episode: "Witch Perfect" |
2020 | BoJack Horseman | (voice) | Episode: "Angela" |
2020 | Helpsters | Basketball Brianna | Episode: "Basketball Brianna/Heart's Fish" |
2020 | The Bold Type | Olivia | Episode: "Leveling Up" |
2020 | Christmas Ever After [23] | Izzi Simmons | Television film |
2021 | Blue Bloods | Det. Allison Mulaney | Episode: "Redemption" |
2021–2022 | Only Murders in the Building | Paulette | 4 episodes |
2021-2023 | And Just Like That... | Chloe | 2 Episodes |
2022 | Ozark | Charles-Ann | 7 episodes |
2022 | Echoes | Claudia | 7 episodes |
2022 | Big City Greens | Sunday (voice) | Episode: "Country Side/Junk Mountain" |
2022 | Blue's Big City Adventure | Herself | Television film |
2022-2024 | Alice's Wonderland Bakery | Daisy (voice) | 4 episodes |
2023 | Firebuds | Gliderbella (voice) | Episode: "All That Jazzy/Iguana Hold Your Hand" |
2024 | Law & Order | Cheyenne |
Year | Title | Role | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | Olive Ostrovsky | Paper Mill Playhouse | Regional Theatre |
2015 | Spring Awakening | Anna | Wallis Annenberg Center | Regional Theatre – Deaf West Theatre |
2015–2016 | Brooks Atkinson Theatre | Broadway – Deaf West Theatre Transfer | ||
2018 | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | Olive Ostrovsky | Cleveland Play House | Regional Theatre |
Annie | Star-to-Be | Hollywood Bowl | Regional Theatre | |
Oklahoma! | Ado Annie Carnes | St. Ann's Warehouse | Off-Broadway | |
2019–2020 | Circle in the Square Theatre | Broadway | ||
2022 | Richard III | Lady Anne Neville | Delacorte Theatre | Off-Broadway |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Astaire Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show | Spring Awakening | Nominated | |
2019 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Oklahoma! | Won | |
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Won | |||
Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Nominated | |||
Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Nominated | |||
2020 | Grammy Awards | Best Musical Theater Album | Nominated | [24] |
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Manhattan. The ceremony is held on the second Sunday of June.
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.
Kristin Dawn Chenoweth is an American actress and singer, with credits in musical theatre, film, and television. In 1999, she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown on Broadway. In 2003, Chenoweth received a second Tony Award nomination for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked. Her television roles include Annabeth Schott in NBC's The West Wing and Olive Snook on the ABC comedy drama Pushing Daisies, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009. She also starred in the ABC TV series GCB in 2012, played Lavinia in Trial & Error in 2018, and played the characters Mildred Layton and Miss Codwell in the Apple TV+ musical comedy Schmigadoon! in 2021 and 2023, respectively.
Sutton Lenore Foster is an American actress. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice, in 2002 for her role as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and in 2011 for her performance as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes, a role which she reprised in 2021 for a production in London and for which she received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her other Broadway credits include Grease, Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein, Shrek the Musical, Violet, The Music Man, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. On television, Foster played the lead role in the short-lived ABC Family comedy-drama Bunheads from 2012 to 2013. From 2015 to 2021, she starred in the TV Land comedy-drama Younger.
Brian Stokes Mitchell is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theater since the 1990s. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and a nomination for a Grammy Award. In 2016 he received the Isabelle Stevenson Award.
Katherine Burton is an American actress, the daughter of actors Richard Burton and Sybil Christopher. On television, Burton received critical acclaim as Ellis Grey in the Shonda Rhimes drama series Grey's Anatomy, and as Vice President Sally Langston on Scandal. She has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awards.
Kelli Christine O'Hara is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages.
Spring Awakening is a coming-of-age rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. It is based on the 1891 German play Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Set in late 19th-century Germany, the musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of adolescent sexuality. In the musical, alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score.
Karen Ziemba is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her work in musical theatre. In 2000, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Contact.
Emily Skinner, also known as Emily Scott Skinner, is a Tony-nominated American actress and singer. She has played leading roles in 10 Broadway productions including New York, New York, Prince of Broadway, The Cher Show, Side Show, Jekyll & Hyde, James Joyce's The Dead, The Full Monty, Dinner at Eight, Billy Elliot, as well as the Actor's Fund Broadway concerts of Dreamgirls and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She has sung on concert stages around the world and on numerous recordings.
Jonathan Drew Groff is an American actor and singer. He began his career on Broadway, rising to prominence for his portrayal of Melchior Gabor in the original production of Spring Awakening (2006–08), for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He returned to Broadway to portray King George III in the original production of Hamilton (2015), for which he earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He currently stars opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez in the first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.
Lea Michele Sarfati is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of Les Misérables (1995–1996), Ragtime (1997–1999), Fiddler on the Roof (2004–2005), and Spring Awakening (2006–2008). Michele came to prominence playing Rachel Berry on the Fox series Glee (2009–2015), for which she received nominations for an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe and three Grammy Award nominations for music recorded for the series, also spawning multiple hits on the Billboard charts. Michele subsequently starred as Hester Ulrich on the Fox series Scream Queens (2015–2016) and as Valentina Barella on the ABC sitcom The Mayor (2017).
Jayne Houdyshell is an American actress. Known for her character actor role on stage and screen she has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, two Obie Awards, and a Drama Desk Award.
Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz is an American actress, singer, producer and podcast host. She is known for her performances in Broadway musicals such as The King and I and Waitress and in the role of Tina Cohen-Chang on the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee, for which she received a Grammy Award nomination. She is a two-time Tony Award winner for her work as a producer of the Broadway musical Once on This Island and the Broadway play The Inheritance.
Krysta Anne Rodriguez is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Ana Vargas in the NBC series Smash, Summer Henderson in the NBC series Trial & Error, Maxine Griffin in the ABC series Quantico and Ms. Crumble in the Netflix comedy series Daybreak.
Jessica Ruth Mueller is an American actress and singer. She started her acting career in Chicago and won two Joseph Jefferson Awards in 2008 and 2011 for her roles as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel and Amalia Balash in She Loves Me. In 2011, she moved to New York City to star in a Broadway revival of musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance as Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. She went on to receive two additional Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award nominations for her leading roles in Waitress (2016) and the Broadway revival of Carousel (2018).
The following is the list of film, television and theatre credits for American actress, singer, and author Lea Michele. Michele came to worldwide prominence after being cast in the main role of Rachel Berry in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee (2009–15). Before global fame, Michele acted on Broadway, originating the role of Wendla Bergmann in the rock musical Spring Awakening (2006–08). As a child actress, she appeared in Les Misérables as Young Cosette, in Broadway production Ragtime she originated the role of the Little Girl and in 2004, Michele played “Shprintze” and “Chava” in the Broadway revival of the musical Fiddler on the Roof.
Amber Gray is an American actress and singer. She is known for portraying Hélène Bezukhova in the 2016 Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 and for originating the role of Persephone in the musical Hadestown, both off and on Broadway. For the latter 2019 role, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, additionally earning the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Eva Maria Noblezada is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her work in theatre, starring in musicals in the West End and on Broadway. Her accolades include a Grammy Award and two Tony Award nominations.
Damon Daunno is a Tony and Grammy-nominated American actor, singer, musician, and composer. He is best known for his work on Broadway and for the role of Curly McLain in the 2019 revival of musical Oklahoma! for which he received a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.
Stroker, who was president of Ridgewood High School president during her senior year, also starred in several high school productions including as Maria in West Side Story, and Cosette in Les Miz.