J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell are first openly nonbinary performers to win Tonys
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Two performers broke new ground when it comes to gender diversity at the Tony Awards. J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell are the first ever openly nonbinary acting winners at the Tony Awards.
Ghee and Newell already broke barriers with their nominations, as the first openly nonbinary acting nominees. But the Tonys have now gone from zero to two winning nonbinary performers in one season. Ghee won Lead Actor in a Musical for the role of Daphne in “Some Like it Hot,” a character that begins to explore their true gender identity over the course of the musical. Newell won Featured Actor in a Musical for the role of Lulu in “Shucked,” who receives nightly standing ovations for their signature number “Independently Owned.”
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This was the first Tony nomination for both performers. Ghee had previously appeared on Broadway in “Kinky Boots” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.” Newell previously appeared in “Once on This Island.”
SEETony Awards: Casey Nicholaw (‘Some Like it Hot’) finally wins for choreography
Both performers are gifted with what are arguably the two most talked about solo numbers of the season. Ghee sings “You Coulda Knocked Me Over With a Feather,” a number that takes off like a runaway train as Daphne expresses the joy she’s found in her expanding gender identity. Newell unleashes a vocal firestorm during the self empowerment number “Independently Owned.” The crowds at “Some Like it Hot” and “Shucked” erupt in raucous applause and ovations after both of these numbers, and Tony voters surely took note.
The Tony Awards remain the only New York theater awards with gendered acting categories. The Drama League, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Dorian, Lucille Lortel, and Chita Rivera Awards have all adopted gender neutral acting categories. The Tony administration allowed nonbinary performers to compete in the category of their choosing. Newell frequently cited the term “actor” being a genderless word as part of the reasoning behind their category choice. Another nonbinary performer, Justin David Sullivan of “& Juliet,” opted not to submit themself for Tony consideration after determining that they did not feel represented in either category.
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