Showing results by author "Ali Stroker" in All Categories

Thirteen-year-old Nat Beacon loves a lot of things: her dog Warbucks, her best friend Chloe, and competing on her wheelchair racing team, the Zoomers, to name a few. But there's one thing she's absolutely obsessed with: musicals! From Hamilton to Les Mis, there's not a cast album she hasn't memorized and belted along to. She's never actually been in a musical though, or even seen an actor who uses a wheelchair for mobility on stage. Would someone like Nat ever get cast?

Ali Stroker won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Ado Annie in a revival of Oklahoma! and before that made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway. Listeners can now experience her incredible one-woman show as she performs crowd favorites as well as some unexpected songs while telling stories from her life and talking about her personal motto: “Turn your limitations into opportunities.”

It’s the beginning of eighth grade, and Nat Beacon is nervous. Not only will she be the New Kid, but the New Kid in a Wheelchair. And the school year starts off rocky: No one seems friendly, and she can’t get to the cafeteria without help. But there are a few bright spots. Namely, her best friend, Hudson; her boyfriend (swoon!), Malik; and her very favorite thing: theater. This year, there’s a middleschool theater competition, and any production that wins their regional competition will get the chance to perform—on a real Broadway stage!

Ali loves to dance, sing, and act. But she had never thought of putting on her own show until her neighbor asks, "Why wait?" Immediately energized, Ali gets to work. There’s so much to do before showtime—choosing the right musical, auditions, rehearsal, costume and set design—but Ali can do anything with her family and friends. When a storm threatens to undo all their hard work, Ali must use her imagination and adapt so the show can go on!