At Broadway’s Tony Awards last night, Lynn, Massachusetts native Alex Newell became the first nonbinary actor to win the prestigious award. Newell took home the trophy in the category of Best Featured Actor in a Musical for their role in “Shucked.”
Said Newell in their acceptance speech, ““Thank you for seeing me, Broadway. I should not be up here as a queer, nonbinary, fat, Black little baby from Massachusetts. And to anyone that thinks that they can do it, I’m going to look you dead in your face that you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Reports the Boston Globe:
They star as Lulu, an independent, don’t-need-no-man whiskey distiller in “Shucked,” blowing audiences away with their signature number, “Independently Owned.”
“Shucked,” a lightweight musical comedy with no stars, features a new Broadway composing team and an original book. The celebration of all things corn has charmed critics.
Read the complete Boston Globe story here.
Another notable winner was J. Harrison Ghee, another nonbinary actor who, a little later in the evening, took home the Best Lead Actor in a Musical Tony for his performance as man who dives into drag to escape the mob only to discover their femininity in “Some Like It Hot.”
Said Ghee in their acceptance speech, “For every trans, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming human, whoever was told you couldn’t be, you couldn’t be seen, this is for you,” Ghee said in their acceptance speech, thanking their production team “for letting me lead, for letting me bring myself to the work, for letting me be representation, letting lives be seen. Thank you for the humanity.”
Read more on Ghee in this story from The Advocate.
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