Ali Stroker


Ali Stroker is an American actress and singer. She is the first actress who uses a wheelchair for mobility to appear on a Broadway stage, and to be nominated for and win a Tony Award. Stroker was a finalist on the second season of The Glee Project, and later appeared as a guest star on Glee in 2013. She played the role of Anna in Deaf West's 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. She won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Oklahoma!

Early life

Ali Stroker grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey with her parents, Jody Schleicher and Jim Stroker, as well as an older brother, Jake, and a younger sister, Tory. At the age of two, Stroker was in a car accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the chest 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 in Millburn, New Jersey.
In 2009, Stroker became the first actress who uses a wheelchair to earn a degree from the New York University Tisch Drama Department, with a degree in Fine Arts.

Career

Stroker has had solo performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and New York's Town Hall in addition to concert performances at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Stroker starred in the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She later reprised her role in this show at Philadelphia Theatre Company and that performance earned her a Barrymore Award 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. Pilsbury's niece, in Season 4, Episode 14 "I Do".
In 2014 she had a role in the film Cotton alongside Gary Cole. 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 Broadway actress who uses a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage. She originated the role of Anna in Deaf West's 2015 revival of Spring Awakening.
In 2017 Stroker was cast as Tamara in the ABC show Ten Days in the Valley.
In 2018 she played Ado Annie in St. Ann's Warehouse's critically acclaimed revival of Oklahoma! The production transferred to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre in 2019, earning Stroker a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, making her the first disabled person to be nominated for and to receive that award.

Advocacy

Stroker is a co-chair of Women Who Care, which supports United Cerebral Palsy 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.

Personal life

Stroker identifies as bisexual and dated fellow The Glee Project contestant Dani Shay in 2012.
Stroker attended the 2019 Tony Awards with her boyfriend, theater director and actor David Perlow. She and Perlow had reconnected in 2015 and are founding directors of ATTENTIONTheatre.

Credits

Film and television

Theatre

YearTitleRoleLocationNotes
2011The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeOlive OstrovskyPaper Mill PlayhouseRegional Theatre
2015Spring AwakeningAnnaWallis Annenberg CenterRegional Theatre – Deaf West Theatre
2015–2016Spring AwakeningAnnaBrooks Atkinson TheatreBroadway – Deaf West Theatre Transfer
2018The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeOlive OstrovskyCleveland Play HouseRegional Theatre
2018AnnieStar-to-BeHollywood BowlRegional Theatre
2018Oklahoma!Ado Annie CarnesSt. Ann's WarehouseOff-Broadway
2019Oklahoma!Ado Annie CarnesCircle in the Square TheatreBroadway
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Nominated—Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album