Earlier this week, Hudson River Park continued Broadway by the Boardwalk, the free performance series that delivers shows against a waterfront backdrop each summer. Entering its third season, this year’s series will feature five free events showcasing Tony and Grammy winners, rising stars and electric performers from across the Broadway stage. The series continued on Monday night with a performance from 2019 Tony Award winner Ali Stroker. Check out highlights from inside the big night in this video!
The series will continue with Tony Award winners to Broadway’s backyard including J. Harrison Ghee (August 3), and Mandy Gonzalez (August 10). New this year, each performance will begin with Stepping into the Spotlight, a new showcase featuring Broadway’s next generation of stars. This special opening act will feature understudies from current Broadway productions and shine a light on the remarkable talent waiting in the wings. It’s a rare chance to see tomorrow’s Broadway stars today.
Stroker won a Tony Award in 2019 for her role as ‘Ado Annie’ in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West’s acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. She’s a series regular in the Netflix series, “Echoes”, and starred in the Lifetime holiday film, “Christmas Ever After”. Ali recurred in the final season of Netflix’s “Ozark” and is recurring in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building”. She co-wrote the 2021 novel, The Chance to Fly, and she wrote the 2022 children’s book, Ali and the Sea Stars. She played ‘Lady Anne’ in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Richard III. She’s performed her one woman show all over the country, some of her favorites being the Kennedy Center, Town Hall, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Her mission to improve the lives of others through the arts is captured in her motto: “Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities.”
