For many theater fans, Ali Stroker’s performance as Ado Annie in Oklahoma! was an introduction to an artist with plenty to say and the talent to make people listen. In 2019, that performance earned her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, making her the first wheelchair user to win a Tony. It was a milestone for disability representation and a defining moment in a career spanning theater, television, music, and books.
Her Broadway story began four years earlier. In 2015, Stroker made her debut as Anna in Deaf West Theatre’s revival of Spring Awakening, becoming the first actor who uses a wheelchair to appear on Broadway. From that production to her award-winning turn in Oklahoma!, she has helped expand the possibilities of who audiences see onstage and the roles performers with disabilities can play.
Audiences may also recognize Stroker from the screen. She competed on The Glee Project, which led to a guest appearance on Glee, and her television credits include Only Murders in the Building, Ozark, and The Bold Type. She also starred in the Lifetime holiday film Christmas Ever After. Together, these roles offer a glimpse of the range she brings to her work.
Beyond Broadway and television, Stroker has brought her voice to some of the country’s most celebrated venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. Her creative work also reaches younger audiences through The Chance to Fly, a novel she co-wrote that brings her love of theater to the page.
Stroker’s commitment to the arts extends to advocacy. As an honorary board member of the National Disability Theatre, she supports a field in which artists with disabilities have more opportunities to participate and lead. Her career gives audiences plenty to celebrate: memorable performances, creative range, and a growing body of work that invites more people to imagine a place for themselves in the arts.
See Ali Stroker live at the Lone Tree Arts Center next month! Join us on Saturday, November 14, at 7:30pm for an evening with this history-making Broadway star and experience her talent, storytelling, and connection with audiences firsthand.
