UPDATE: 6/11/23 — Alex Newell is formally the primary nonbinary performer to win a Tony Award. “I should not be up here as a queer, nonbinary, fat, black, little baby from Massachusetts,” the performer mentioned throughout their acceptance speech. “And to anyone that thinks that they can’t do it, I’m going to look you dead in your face and tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Original story: No shucks given! Alex Newell is making historical past with their 2023 Tony Award nomination.
The 30-year-old Broadway star portrays Lulu within the new musical comedy Shucked, which opened in New York City in April following its 2022 run in Salt Lake City. When nominations for the 76th annual Tony Awards had been introduced on Tuesday, May 2, Newell grew to become the primary gender nonconforming performer to earn a nod within the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical class.
“It’s a hot topic, isn’t it?” they teased throughout an interview with Variety revealed one week earlier than the announcement, reflecting on how they selected which class to be acknowledged in. “I went based off the English language. The standard has always been a male is an actor and a female as an actress. And I don’t like that. Because when I say I’m an actor, I mean that is my profession, the craft that I studied, the craft that I’m doing. Everyone who does acting is an actor. That is genderless.”
Newell famous that they “appreciate” the separation between actor and actress so as to give extra performers “an actual fighting chance” at taking residence a trophy. “If we can create that, we can create more lanes for other people who don’t want to stick to those two categories,” they added. “I think me choosing actor, I hope, will be a spark to use that word as it was meant to the art of acting.”
While the singer known as different nonbinary stars “admirable” for withdrawing from awards consideration as a type of protest — as Yellowjackets‘ Liv Hewson lately did — in addition they urged the trade to make a change. “It should be a wake-up call. Change is inevitable and it will happen, but we need to move a little faster,” they mentioned.
Shucked isn’t Newell’s first Broadway enterprise — however they’ve by no means been up for a Tony earlier than. “My entire first time on Broadway was, ‘You were snubbed,’” they informed Playbill in March, referring to the 2017 revival of Once on This Island, which acquired nods in all main classes besides greatest actor. “I went everywhere, and that’s what I was [hearing]. Not, ‘Hello, Alex how are you.’ It was always, ‘Oh, how awful.’ The rationality that was given to me was, ‘Well, we didn’t know what category to put you in. You’re just so different.’ Was that supposed to make me feel better or worse?”
Following Tuesday’s nominations announcement, Newell celebrated their main milestone. “I went to the Met Gala at 8PM and 13 hours later I was Tony Nominated!!!! I’m unwell!” they gushed through Instagram. “Getting to wear @csiriano was iconic!!! With @alexander_armand on hair and @kellybellevue on makeup I couldn’t have asked for a better team!!! @jennyandersonphoto you know how to capture the mothershucking moment!!!!”
As Shucked‘s Lulu — a headstrong whisky distiller — Newell brings the home down every evening with their show-stopping efficiency of “Independently Owned,” usually incomes a standing ovation midway by means of the primary act.
(*5*) they recalled to Variety. “It was louder than me, and I had a microphone. It was hard because it was a very funny moment.”
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Scroll down to study extra about Newell forward of the 2023 Tonys in June:
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