Ali Stroker’s Tony Win Was Monumental… And A Huge Slap In The Face
Ali Stroker made history at the 73rd annual Tony Awards on Sunday night.
The “Oklahoma!” actress became the first wheelchair user to win a Tony — a huge moment for the disability community in regards to representation.
“This award is for every kid who is watching tonight who has a disability, who has a limitation or a challenge, who has been waiting to see themselves represented in this arena — you are,” Stroker said as she held the trophy for her role as Ado Annie in the Broadway revival.
But no ramp, temporary or permanent, had been built from the audience seats to the stage at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. So the 31-year-old actress had to wait in the wings in case she won. She was conveniently backstage because the organizers of the awards show had Stroker perform her saucy rendition of the song “I Cain’t Say No” from “Oklahoma!” shortly before the nominees for her category were called.
The awards show pulled off this little stunt in order for Stroker to receive her individual Tony. But due to the lack of accessibility, she was not on stage with the rest of the “Oklahoma!” cast and crew when the show won the award for “Best Revival of a Musical.”
Both of those moments were a stark reminder to the disability community, and its advocates, that ableism, or discrimination against those who are disabled, is still rampant in today’s society — despite Stroker’s history-making win.
And many voiced their disappointment and concern on Twitter:
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Wait, was there no ramp for Ali Stroker to get on stage? #TonyAwards2019
— Matthew Cortland, esq (@mattbc) June 10, 2019
So happy Ali Stroker won. Pissed that she had to sit back stage, separated from the audience, because the Tonys wouldn’t build a ramp up to the stage. Accessibility is a non-negotiable human right. #TonyAwards
— amanda! (@sentientfulton) June 10, 2019
Ali Stroker being the first wheelchair user to win a Tony, but there being no ramp for her to get on stage is maybe the best way to explain what it's like to be disabled. Despite being the best in a field, despite everyone loving you, this world will never accommodate you fully.
— Claire Forrest (@claire4est) June 10, 2019
tonight is the time to celebrate the hell out of Ali Stroker, whose performance truly is the season’s best. tomorrow is the time to ask why the fuck the Tonys and Radio City didn’t build a damn ramp so she could sit (and win) among her peers
— Nicole Silverberg (@nsilverberg) June 10, 2019
Ali Stroker just became the first wheelchair user to win a Tony. They didn’t bother building a ramp to the stage, forcing her to enter from the wings rather than from the audience like her fellow winners. If that doesn’t sum up attitudes toward disability..https://t.co/zBgkfjXQ7w
— Katie Pennick (@KatiePennick) June 10, 2019
this year ali stroker was the first wheelchair user to be nominated and awarded a tony, and - THEY DIDNT BUILD A RAMP TO THE STAGE. she happened to be in the wings so she could accept the award — y’all, this is so wack
— zooey 🐀 (@verminzooey) June 10, 2019
okay but why couldn't the tonys get a ramp for Ali Stroker? first disabled actress to win a tony and it's monumental - but it also highlights how far there is to go for treating disabled people with respect. #Tonys2019 #TonyAwards
— Ben Haynes (@itsbinboy) June 10, 2019
I became a Drama teacher in 1982, 37 years ago. Tonight when Ali Stroker became 1st actor in a wheelchair to win #TonyAwards it was the first time I ever saw myself. But there still wasn't a ramp. Ali had to come from backstage to get her award. #Accessibility #disability
— Dorothy Ellen Palmer ♿ (@depalm) June 10, 2019
Something that needs to be addressed: Ali Stroker was the only cast member of Oklahoma! that was not on stage to celebrate their Best Revival win because there was no ramp for her to use to get there. #TonyAwards
— brianna (@bribrisimps) June 10, 2019
One step forward, one step removed: the Tonys did not provide an accessible ramp to the stage despite knowing there was a disabled nominee favored to win. @ALISTROKER recieved her award backstage.https://t.co/1CFmdyWvnA
— Jaipreet Virdi (@jaivirdi) June 10, 2019
The systematic inaccessibility on Broadway for performers and audience is extremely infuriating. We like watching and performing too!
(Anyone who cruises in here to say ‘but it would cooooooost too much’ will be summarily blocked, it’s hot and I’m cranky.)— s. e. smith (@sesmith) June 10, 2019
Not making sure that Ali had a way to be with the audience & go from there to the stage to accept her award (as everyone else gets to do) is at best an unfortunate oversight.
This sends a message about how much the industry actually prioritizes accessibility. Do better Broadway.— Mandi Eatough (@mandieatough) June 10, 2019
That a disabled actor winning #TonyAwards is a fluke they don't expect to happen again. That you must be abled to work in theatre. Ableds will use the excuse of cost to keep disabled actors out. This repeats itself in every art that occurs on any and every stage. #Accessibility
— Dorothy Ellen Palmer ♿ (@depalm) June 10, 2019
Any time any abled artist agrees to mount any stage without a ramp, they are collaborating in the ableism that resulted in it being 2019 before a disabled actor won #TonyAwards This applies to actors, singers, dancers, musicians, comics, and authors. #RepresentationMatters
— Dorothy Ellen Palmer ♿ (@depalm) June 10, 2019
In the same breath I wish the theatre was more accessible and affordable for folks like us...
bc damn your girl would love to go more often! 😭♿️—  (@HijaDe2Madre) June 10, 2019
Kind of shitty that there was no ramp to the Tony stage for Ali Stroker, when Oklahoma won best revival.#TonyAwards
— Dominick Evans (@dominickevans) June 10, 2019
Ali Stroker's Tony win is incredible and exciting, but this article announcing her win calls her a "wheelchair winner" AND there was no ramp onto the stage so she had to enter from the wings. We NEED to talk about ableism when we talk about equality https://t.co/JkOsQx8u5e
— Kelly Bowes (@K_bowes) June 10, 2019
Ali Stroker Accepts Tony in a Wheelchair, Making History https://t.co/lmd2nJKsUo
Congrats to Ali. It's a great achievement. It speaks volumes, though, that there was no ramp to the stage, and she had to sit backstage before accepting her award. This must change NOW.— Mike Broderick VO ♿ (@MikeBroderickVO) June 10, 2019
last night watching the tonys, seeing ali stroker wasn’t provided with a ramp that would allow her to travel on/off stage + fully participate in the ceremony, i got pissed. it reminded me of every time my mom hasn’t been able to take part in something because it wasn’t accessible
— alix! ⎊ / 16 till ✈️ (@NlNOQUlNCAMPOlX) June 10, 2019
Stroker told The New York Times in an interview published Wednesday that she knows the Tony Awards and Radio City Music Hall “did the best that they could” and that she’s aware of the “logistical things you have to deal with around buildings that were built a long, long time ago.” But she said she had hoped there would be a ramp built for her.
“I think I had a dream that maybe there could be a ramp built,” she said. “It’s more than just a logistical thing — it’s saying that you are accepted here, in every part of you.”
After her win on Sunday, Stroker also spoke to reporters about the lack of accessibility on Broadway. She said that most of the theaters’ backstage areas are not generally accessible to performers with disabilities.
“I would ask theater owners and producers to really look into how they can begin to make the backstage accessible so that performers with disabilities can get around,” she said, per The New York Times.
Broadway does have a history of being inaccessible even to audience members with disabilities.
In 2017, Mark Lasser of Denver, who is blind, sued the popular musical “Hamilton” due to its lack of accessibility. When he bought the pricy tickets to the Broadway smash hit, Lasser had hoped that the theater would provide him with audio description, or a headset that would describe the actions on stage in real time while he was in the audience.
Lasser got a rude awakening when he showed up to the theater with his wife to discover that “Hamilton” did not provide this particular service.
And although the Shubert Organization, which owns many of the theaters in the Broadway district, now offers many accessibility options for those with disabilities, the slap in the face Stroker received at the Tony Awards is a reminder that society still treats the needs — and civil rights — of people with disabilities as an afterthought.
HuffPost reached out to the 2019 Tony Awards and Stroker for comment, but did not receive immediate responses.
The story has been updated with additional comment from Stroker to The New York Times.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.