Disability Empowerment on the Broadway Stage
I have been a big fan of musical theater since I was a child, with the first musical I ever saw being Hairspray when I was around eight years old. I am also a part-time wheelchair user. When I heard that a wheelchair-using actress, Ali Stroker, had been cast in the 2019 Broadway revival of Oklahoma!, I became determined to see it in person. I convinced both my parents to pick me up from my college in Albany, New York one spring weekend, and we took the nearly three-hour drive to New York City to see it together.
Watching Ali Stroker play Ado Annie was the first time I had ever seen any disabled person perform on stage. To put it simply, it felt exhilarating. Ado Annie is described as a confident and flirtatious character who does not want to pick between her two love interests, and she sings an entire song dedicated to that dilemma. I had never seen a disabled character portrayed in that way, and I have not seen something that empowering since. As a young person, I only saw disabled women characters portrayed as insecure, unlovable, and objects of pity. After being surrounded by these representations, I found a disabled Ado Annie to be downright revolutionary. For the first time, I felt like Broadway was truly for me as a disabled theatergoer. It was exciting, like seeing a family member or a close friend succeed, accomplishing something that had never been done before. I became enthralled with both the character of Ado Annie and the musical itself, as it pushed boundaries in so many ways. Because I loved it so much, the revival of Oklahoma! became the first Broadway musical that I saw twice. It made me fall in love with theater again, and I would have seen it many more times if I had the opportunity. I nearly cried when Ali Stroker won a Tony Award for her role, and it filled me with hope that I would see many more disabled actors on Broadway soon.
When the tour of Oklahoma! was announced for 2022, I anxiously awaited the casting, hoping I could see another amazing disabled woman play Ado Annie. For this tour, they decided to revolutionize the role in a different way, casting a transgender actress, Sis. While I was slightly disappointed another wheelchair user was not cast, I was still excited to see my favorite musical for a third time. Like on Broadway, the tour production was still amazing. But I found I did not feel a deep and personal connection to Ado Annie in the same way I did the first time. I was still happy to know that other girls across the country had the opportunity to see themselves on stage for the first time and connect with Ado Annie in a similar way as I did.
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The experience of seeing a disabled Ado Annie on stage made me realize how casting can transform a piece of art. The presence of a disabled actress made my viewings of the same production completely different, even though they were groundbreaking in different ways. Telling disabled stories is important, and disabled representation is still severely lacking on Broadway. While Broadway as an industry should work on uplifting stories about disabled people, casting directors and other creatives also have an opportunity to revitalize classic musicals by casting disabled actors in traditionally non-disabled roles. Normalizing disability representation can empower disabled people and create a sense of belonging within the theater experience. Everyone deserves to feel like they belong, especially disabled women who are from other historically marginalized communities and see their intersectional identities represented even less. My hope is that innovative and authentic casting will create a new generation of disabled theater lovers, all of whom will have no shortage of stories that guide how they see themselves.
Elizabeth is a volunteer with Disability EmpowHer Network on the social media and development committees. She is passionate about disability policy issues, and in her free time, she loves watching musicals on Broadway and at her local theater.