Arts & Entertainment
Ridgewood's Ali Stroker Nominated For Tony Award For 'Oklahoma!'
Stroker is a veteran actress who is the first actress in a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage.
RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Ridgewood's Ali Stroker has been nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the revival of "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!"
Stroker plays Annie Ado in the edgy take on the classic story. She was nominated for a Tony for featured actress in a musical.
Stroker, 31, was the first performer on Broadway to use a wheelchair on a permanent basis. She played Anna in "Spring Awakening."
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Stroker became paralyzed from the waist down when she was 2. Her spinal cord was damaged in a car accident.
Stroker received critical acclaim for her role as "Olive" in "The Twenty-Fifth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at the Paper Mill Playhouse, where she trained as an actress. The performance earned her a Barrymore Award nomination.
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Stroker also appeared on "Charmed" and "Lethal Weapon" on television.
In 2012, she placed second on the second season of "The Glee Project" and appeared on Fox's "Glee" in 2013.
In 2017, Stroker received New York University's Distinguished Young Alumna Award. She attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
Stroker could not be reached for comment. The Tony Awards will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. June 9.
Related: Ridgewood's Ali Stroker Recipient Of Prestigious NYU Alumna Award
Twitter users congratulated Stroker on her nomination.
We cain't say no to hearing @OklahomaBway's @ALISTROKER react to her @TheTonyAwards nomination! https://t.co/zQNxo8UdCC pic.twitter.com/Ix9Hy4t0i1
— BroadwayWorld (@BroadwayWorld) April 30, 2019
Just got off a 6 hour flight and I’m still smiling like an idiot over the fact that the immense TALENT, FRIEND, BEAUTY that is @ALISTROKER is now the: “Tony-Nominated Ali Stroker”. She’s a warrior queen who is genuinely one of the greatest humans EVER! #TonyAwards2019
— Daniel David Stewart (@DanieStew) April 30, 2019
I just saw that @ALISTROKER was nominated for a #tonyaward and now I'm crying because there are going to be so many little disabled girls who watch the award show and know that acting and singing and dancing is for them, too. Representation matters so much.#TonyAwards
— Lillie Lainoff (@lillielainoff) April 30, 2019
We cain't say no to hearing @OklahomaBway's @ALISTROKER react to her @TheTonyAwards nomination! https://t.co/zQNxo8UdCC pic.twitter.com/Ix9Hy4t0i1
— BroadwayWorld (@BroadwayWorld) April 30, 2019
Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com
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