Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee Make Queer History At the Tonys!!!

The Tonys (aka: the Gay Super Bowl) was this past Sunday and across the board it was a major win for the LGBTQ+ community. Michael Arden won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for his incredible work with the revival of Parade starring Ben Platt, and during his acceptance speech said, "Growing up, I was called the 'f word' more times than I could remember. And all I can say now is I’m a faggot with a Tony!" The network censored it, but the message was loud and Queer—excuse me... clear; loud and CLEAR. But the real groundbreaking moments came when Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee made history as the first non-binary performers to take home Tony Awards.

Newell, who made their breakout in Glee, won Best Performance By An Actor in a Featured Role for their incredible performance in Shucked, the surprise hit of the season about a small town - the fictionally Cob County - with a love of all things corn. There was some question this season as to whether Newell would submit in the 'Actor' or 'Actress' category for the theatre industry's biggest awards. Though assigned male at birth, Newell is predominantly female-presenting, but identifies as non-binary, and plays a cis-woman in Shucked. I'm paraphrasing a bit, but they said they would be submitting for the 'Actor' category because they trained in the art of acting, and therefore they are one who acts... an actor.

If you haven't watched yet, you have to do yourself a massive favor and watch their holy-fuck-incredible performance of "Independently Owned" from Shucked. The song is an absolute show-stopper and Newell has been known to receive mid-show standing ovations when the song is done, which is fitting because their vocal prowess is simply unreal.

I've written before about how absolutely wonderful and absolutely Queer the musical Some Like It Hot is and J. Harrison Ghee winning the Tony Award is a celebration of that fact, as well as their undeniable skill.

The show tells the story of two friends on the run who have to dress up in drag to hide from the mob. Ghee plays Jerry/Jeraldine/Daphne, who has a personal awakening that confirms what they've always known: they're just as much "Daphne" as they are "Jerry." The show brought me to tears of absolute joy a number of times, in no small part to the fact that Ghee is an incredible star radiating Queer joy. If you missed the Tony's performance of the show's title number, here is their official video. It will give you a taste of how magnificent the show is.

If you're in NYC anytime soon, make sure to check out some of the amazing shows on Broadway. But pay special attention to Shucked and Some Like It Hot. They're big song-and-dance musicals that will have you laughing your ass off, crying tears of Queer joy, and singing all the way home.

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