Ali Stroker
Stroker at the74th Tony Awards in 2021
Born	Alyson Mackenzie Stroker (1987-06-16)June 16, 1987 (age 38) Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Education	New York University (BFA)
Occupations	Actress singer
Years active	2011–present
Spouse	David Perlow
Children	1
Website	alistroker.com

Alyson Mackenzie Stroker^[1] (born June 16, 1987) is an American actress, author and singer. She is the first actor who uses awheelchair to appear on aBroadway stage, and also the first to be nominated for and win aTony Award. Stroker was a finalist on the second season ofThe Glee Project and later appeared as a guest star onGlee in 2013. She played Anna inDeaf West Theatre's 2015 revival ofSpring Awakening,^[2] and won the 2019Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance inOklahoma!^[3]

Ali Stroker grew up in New Jersey with her parents, Jody Schleicher and Jim Stroker, as well as an older brother, Jake. At the age of two, Stroker and her brother were in acar accident that resulted in aspinal cord injury that left Aliparalyzed from the waist down. Unable to walk, she uses awheelchair.^[4] She attendedRidgewood High School, where she was senior class president and starred in school musicals.^[5]

Stroker trained with the Summer Musical Theater Conservatory program at thePaper Mill Playhouse inMillburn, New Jersey.^[4]

In 2007, Ali performed in "Mrs. Sharp" byRyan Scott Oliver at N.Y.U. under the direction of Ryan Mekenian withAlex Brightman &Scott Evans also in the cast. In 2009, Stroker became the first actor who uses a wheelchair to earn a degree from theNew York University Tisch School of the Arts, with a degree in Fine Arts.^[6]

Stroker has given solo performances at theKennedy Center in Washington, D.C., andNew York's Town Hall in addition to concert performances atLincoln Center in New York City.^[7]

Stroker starred in the Paper Mill Playhouse's production ofThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She later reprised her role in this show at Philadelphia Theatre Company, and that performance earned her aBarrymore Award nomination.^[8]

In 2012, she auditioned forThe Glee Project and was cast for the 12-episode series. She made it to the final episode and placed second, earning a guest role onGlee, playing Betty Pillsbury, Ms. Pillsbury's niece, in Season 4, Episode 14: "I Do".

In 2014, she had a role in the filmCotton, also known as "Everyday Miracles".

In 2014 and 2015, Stroker had a three-episode role playing Wendy in the MTV seriesFaking 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 inDeaf West Theatre's 2015 revival ofSpring Awakening.^[9]

In 2017, Stroker was cast as Tamara in the ABC showTen Days in the Valley.^[10] The series was cancelled after 1 season due to low ratings.

In 2018, she played Ado Annie inSt. Ann's Warehouse's critically acclaimed revival ofOklahoma!^[3] The production transferred to Broadway'sCircle in the Square Theatre in 2019, earning Stroker aTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, making her the first person with a disability to be nominated for and to receive that award.^[11][12]

In 2020, she was inLifetime'sChristmas Ever After, airing on December 6, 2020.

In 2021, she played Detective Allison Mulaney on the police procedural television seriesBlue Bloods,^[13] and played Paulette on the mystery-comedy television seriesOnly Murders in the Building.^[14]

In 2024, she sang theAmerican national anthem during the2024 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony inParis.

Stroker co-chaired an awards luncheon in 2016 for Women Who Care, which supportsUnited Cerebral Palsy of New York City.^[15] She is a founding member of Be More Heroic, an anti-bullying campaign which tours the country connecting with thousands of students each year.^[16] She has gone to South Africa with ARTS InsideOut where she has held theater classes and workshops for women and children affected byAIDS.^[2]

Stroker is bisexual^[17] and dated fellowThe Glee Project contestant Dani Shay from 2012 to 2015.^[18]

Stroker attended the 2019 Tony Awards with her then-boyfriend (now husband), theater director and actor David Perlow.^[19][20] She and Perlow reconnected in 2015^[21] and are founding directors of ATTENTIONTheatre.^[22]

• Official website
• Ali Stroker atIMDb
• Ali Stroker at theInternet Broadway Database
• Ali Stroker atPlaybill Vault

• 1987 births
• 21st-century American women singers
• Actresses from Ridgewood, New Jersey
• American actors with disabilities
• American bisexual actresses
• American bisexual musicians
• American LGBTQ singers
• American stage actresses
• American television actresses
• American wheelchair users
• Bisexual women musicians
• Bisexual women singers
• LGBTQ people from New Jersey
• LGBTQ women singers
• Living people
• Musicians from Ridgewood, New Jersey
• People with paraplegia
• Ridgewood High School (New Jersey) alumni
• Singers from New Jersey
• Tisch School of the Arts alumni
• Tony Award winners

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Internet Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata
• Playbill person ID same as Wikidata