"Oklahoma!" star Ali Stroker on Sunday won the Tony Award for best featured actress in a musical – and made history in the process.
"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." -- @alistroker on her historic #TonyAwards win.@OklahomaBway pic.twitter.com/EdY6wkXFI2
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) June 10, 2019
According to The Associated Press, the 31-year-old, who plays Ado Annie in the Broadway revival of the popular 1943 musical, is the first actor in a wheelchair to win a Tony.
In her emotional acceptance speech, Stroker, of New Jersey, dedicated her win to children with disabilities.
"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," said Stroker, who has used a wheelchair since she was wounded in a car wreck at age 2. "You are."
Stroker told reporters after the show that she would like "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," according to The New York Times.
Ali Stroker, the first wheelchair-using Tony winner, says theater owners and producers need to look into how they can make backstages more accessible for performers with disabilities #TonyAwards https://t.co/tksqOt85uq pic.twitter.com/1uIQVX9YvA
— Variety (@Variety) June 10, 2019
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– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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