Alyson Mackenzie Stroker (born June 16, 1987) is an American actress, author and singer. She is the first

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

-using actor to appear on a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stage, and also the first to be nominated for and win a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

. Stroker was a finalist on the second season of ''

The Glee Project ''The Glee Project'' is an American reality television series from Oxygen. It served as an audition for the Fox musical comedy series '' Glee'', and the prize for the winner was a minimum seven-episode arc in the following season of the show. ...

'' and later appeared as a guest star on ''Glee'' in 2013. She played Anna in

Deaf West Theatre Deaf West Theatre is a non-profit arts organization based in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is most well known for its Tony Award-nominated productions of '' Big River'' and '' Spring Awakening''. Deaf West Theatre is led by Artistic Director, ...

's 2015 revival of '' Spring Awakening'', and won the 2019

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950s ...

for her performance in ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

Early life

Ali Stroker grew up in New Jersey with her parents, Jody and Jim Stroker, as well as an older brother, Jake, and a younger sister, Tory. At the age of two, Stroker and her brother were in a car accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury that left Ali paralyzed from the waist down. Unable to walk, she uses a wheelchair. She attended Ridgewood High School, where she was senior class president and starred in school musicals. Stroker trained with the Summer Musical Theater Conservatory program at the

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey on the Rahway River. Due to its relatively close location to Manhattan, it draws from the pool of actors (and audience members) who live in ...

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from t ...

. In 2009, Stroker became the first actor who uses a wheelchair, to earn a degree from the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Tisch Drama Department, with a degree in Fine Arts.

Career

Stroker has given solo performances at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington, D.C., and New York's Town Hall in addition to concert performances at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

in New York City. Stroker starred in the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

''. She later reprised her role in this show at Philadelphia Theatre Company, and that performance earned her a

Barrymore Award The Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre is an annual, nationally recognized award program by Theatre Philadelphia for professional theater productions in the Greater Philadelphia area. Each season culminates in the Fall with an awards cerem ...

nomination. In 2011, Stroker made an appearance in the short film ''I Was a Mermaid and Now I'm a Pop Star''. In 2012, she auditioned for ''The Glee Project'' and was cast for the 12-episode series. She made it to the final episode and placed second, earning a guest role on ''Glee'', playing Betty Pillsbury, Ms. Pillsbury's niece, in Season 4, Episode 14: "

I Do I Do may refer to: * "I do", a phrase used in some marriage vows; used by brides and grooms in response to questions posed by either the officiant or the other marriage partner Film and TV Film * ''I Do'' (1921 film), a silent comedic short f ...

". In 2014, she had a role in the film ''Cotton'', also known as "Everyday Miracles". In 2014 and 2015, Stroker had a three-episode role playing Wendy in the MTV series '' Faking It''. In 2015, she made history by becoming the first actor who uses a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage. She originated the role of Anna in

's 2015 revival of '' Spring Awakening''. In 2017, Stroker was cast as Tamara in the ABC show ''

Ten Days in the Valley ''Ten Days in the Valley'' is an American drama television series that aired on ABC from October 1, 2017, through January 6, 2018. The series, starring Kyra Sedgwick, was ordered direct-to-series on August 4, 2016. After airing four episodes, ABC ...

''. In 2018, she played Ado Annie in St. Ann's Warehouse's critically acclaimed revival of ''

'' The production transferred to Broadway's

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, in the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is one of two Broadway theaters that use a thrust stage that extends ...

in 2019, earning Stroker a

, making her the first person with a disability to be nominated for and to receive that award. In 2020, she was in Lifetime's ''Christmas Ever After'', airing on December 6, 2020. In 2021, she played Detective Allison Mulaney on the police procedural television series ''Blue Bloods'', and played Paulette on the mystery-comedy television series ''

Only Murders in the Building ''Only Murders in the Building'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. The ten-episode first season premiered on Hulu in August 2021. The plot follows three strangers played by Steve M ...

''.

Advocacy

Stroker co-chaired an awards luncheon in 2016 for Women Who Care, which supports

United Cerebral Palsy United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is an international nonprofit charitable organization consisting of a network of affiliates. UCP is a leading service provider and advocate for adults and children with disabilities. As one of the largest health nonpro ...

of New York City. She is a founding member of Be More Heroic, an anti-bullying campaign which tours the country connecting with thousands of students each year. She has gone to South Africa with ARTS InsideOut where she has held theater classes and workshops for women and children affected by

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

Personal life

Stroker is bisexual and dated fellow ''

'' contestant Dani Shay from 2012 to 2015. Stroker attended the 2019 Tony Awards with her then-boyfriend (now husband), theater director and actor David Perlow. She and Perlow reconnected in 2015 and are founding directors of ATTENTIONTheatre. In addition to celebrating their first anniversary on July 17, 2022, Stroker announced that she and her husband are expecting their first child.

Credits

Film and television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stroker, Ali Living people American stage actresses American television actresses 1987 births American people with disabilities Actresses from New Jersey Singers from New Jersey Tony Award winners Bisexual actresses LGBT people from New Jersey American LGBT singers Tisch School of the Arts alumni People from Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood High School (New Jersey) alumni People with paraplegia Actors with disabilities 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers American bisexual actors Wheelchair users