J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell made history at the 76th Annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, when they became the first non-binary performers to win a Tony Award. They did so with beauty, grace, and a lot of PRIDE!
Ghee won for his lead performance as Jerry/Daphne in “Some Like It Hot.” When he took the stage at the United Palace Theatre on Broadway and 176th Street in Washington Heights, he reached new heights as he said, “My mother raised me to understand that my gifts weren’t about me. For every trans, non-binary who was told you couldn’t be seen, this is for us. Thank you for my company. As we say in the show, ‘Some Like It Hot and that ain’t bad, Honey’—that’s the gospel according to J.”
Later in the evening, Ghee was asked how he feels about knowing that with each performance, he is an example to others to be their true self as he is being his true self as a non-binary performer. “It’s all in how I live my life with intention, with purpose, and with love,” he said. “…when I saw the script and saw the journey that I got to take, I saw the opportunity to be that representation, to be an inspiration. To be someone that can be a part of people’s lives in a way that they can see themselves and grow and live and expand. It’s not something I take lightly. It is something that I cherish and I am honored and it’s a dream come true truly.”
Regarding winning a Tony on his first nomination, Ghee said, “It’s so mind-blowing and yet grounding at the same time. It feels so aligned, it feels so intentional, and I am just humbled by the opportunity at this moment. It’s wonderful to walk every day and give myself the grace to grow. You have to free yourself to see yourself! You have to give yourself that permission to walk into who you are and what makes you happy in life. And so, every day, I find ways to walk into my freedom and my joy, and I love playing Daphne.”
When asked what he is saying to young people of the LGBTIQ community about how they should live their truth, Ghee responded, “Doing what aligns with you and allowing life in circumstances to stretch, really allowing yourself to show up in a moment and respond. Not allowing using someone else’s label on you to departmentalize you, to keep you bound. To allow freedom. Find the freedom and lean into it. Every night, I get to sing ‘You Could Have Knocked Me Over with a Feather’ and it is a daunting task, but at the same time, I…get into the joy and that’s what brings me joy and power and grounds me every night—that I can get into this moment and find such expansion in my own life.”
Taking the stage to accept the Tony for featured performance for the character of Lulu in “Shucked,” Newell said, “I have wanted this my entire life and I thank each and every one of you in this room. Thank you for seeing me, Broadway! I should not be up here as a queer, trans, fat person on Broadway. To anyone who thinks they can’t do it, you can do anything you put your mind to!”
“Topdog/Underdog” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks won the Tony for best revival of a play. “Look at what the spirit can do,” Parks said. “I want to thank you, brother Kenny Leon [director] and Yahya and Corey [cast]. I thank our brilliant producers, like LaChanze. Theater is the great cure. Thank you for acknowledging our contribution.”
Parks later said that inspiring performers is her job. “That’s my thing—I’m here to remind us that the spirit is a real thing. We are all sacred agents. We’re not just doing entertainment; this is about reminding people that the spirit exists, that we’re all in one family, we’re all in one group and we should love each other as much as possible. Wake up to the love, people.”
Parks said that when she originally wrote “Topdog/Underdog” more than 20 years ago, she was feeling a lot of despair and hoped it would take her out of that. She wasn’t seeing plays that resonated with her, not just as a Black person in the world, but in her experience as a human being. “I wasn’t seeing enough plays that made me say, ‘Yeah, we’re alive,’” she recalled. “This play is an opportunity to remind people that we’re alive and we’re here and that we mean something to each other…It’s an important story to tell.”
The play is a story about two Black men who are brothers, living in one room. “It’s about people who don’t have a lot of opportunities, so it’s specifically that, but what happens when you tell a story with that authenticity and you have it directed and acted so brilliantly is that it resonates far and wide,” Parks said. “Suddenly, you have people who don’t look like those two men on stage feeling their own vitality. Feeling the possibilities of their own life, even though we’re watching two men with limited possibilities, because it has the currency of a spirit. That play came to me and it was a story I had to tell.
“The greatest act of love I can muster is putting characters in a play, and I love Lincoln and Booth so very much. I think audiences are feeling love and power, and possibility and life.”
Parks noted that plays on Broadway usually “play it safe, because there’s a lot of money involved, but ‘Topdog/Underdog’ on Broadway was very raw and very immediate. I’m so proud of us in the theater community for accepting the story of these two men who most people would just discount.”
Parks said she loves that Broadway has embraced her. “This win tonight is a win for inclusion and excellence!”
LaChanze, who won a Tony Award for her performance in “The Color Purple,” made her producing debut with “Kimberly Akimbo,” which won Best Musical. “I am so honored to receive this Tony,” said the first-time producer.
What makes this producing Tony special for LaChanze is that, she said, “when you talk about media and inclusion and having a seat at the table for everyone, I believe that the most important thing is belonging, so what’s exciting for me about being a producer and winning a Tony as a producer is that it lets so many other young women and women of color know that they belong in this space. That’s why it’s really exciting to me because I’m hoping to be an example to so many [who] wonder if they can do this—yes, you can!”
LaChanze said her next project will be to produce “Here Lies Love” on Broadway with a largely Filipino cast.
“Kimberly Akimbo” came away with a total of five Tonys, also winning for best book of a musical, best original score, best performance by a lead actress, and best performance by a featured actress.
“Some Like It Hot” won additional Tony Awards for best choreography, costumes, and orchestrations. Collaborators on orchestrations were Charlie Rosen and African American Bryan Carter.
Carter said that two years ago, there was a different environment when it came to inclusion. “In the last two years, there’s been a reckoning on how we treat people of color, how we treat people who are trans and non-binary, and we make sure that we create spaces that feel safe for everyone.”
The Tony Awards are presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.