Oklahoma! Tony Nominee Ali Stroker on Her Can-Do Attitude, Dolly Parton Inspiration & More on Show People with Paul Wontorek

Ali Stroker has garnered a Tony nomination for her turn as Ado Annie in Daniel Fish's revival of Oklahoma! She made a historic debut in the Deaf West revival of Spring Awakening in 2015 as the first Broadway performer who uses a wheelchair. The Tony nominee is drumming up a lot of buzz for her performance at the Circle in the Square Theatre as the girl who "cain't say no." Having been paralyzed from the chest down since the age of two, "no" is a word Stroker also rises up to combat in her own life. She recently stopped by Show People with Paul Wontorek to discuss her positivity, adding her own flair to a classic character, which celebs she'd love to see the show and more.

1. HER TAKE ON THE CHARACTER OF ADO ANNIE
“I consider Oklahoma! one of the standard classics. I always imagined that some of those characters had to fit into a certain box. Throughout my career, my strategy has always been ‘Be outside of the box!’ Here we are, and I’m arriving in this moment in my career where I’m doing a role I just never imagined that I would get to play. It’s so cool because I get to do my version of it. Maybe outside of the box is what people want. It’s very easy to play Ado Annie as a bit of a caricature, as if she’s not that smart. I think she’s really smart. She’s always asking questions. I think it comes down to the fact that she is really excited about exploration. She’s exploring these relationships with these two very different guys. She says yes to opportunities. That, to me, is exciting.”

2. HER EMOTIONAL IQ IS TOP-KNOTCH
"It was hard at times to be young and be in a chair and not be able to physically express myself like all of my peers. This is actually proven science: when you have a physical disability, your emotional IQ ends up becoming heightened. When kids were out running on the playground and developing physically, I was chatting with teachers and adults. Growing up with a disability was this kind of this amazing perfect training for being in this business because the rejection and the amount of times that you feel like something doesn’t work happens daily for an actor."

3. SHE HAS AN INCREDIBLE MOTTO
“I live by this motto: ‘Turn your limitations into your opportunities.’ So, how can an actor who’s in a chair enhance Ado Annie? After I got cast, I met with Daniel and John Heginbotham, our choreographer. I talked to them about how I move and about what the vocabulary is on wheels. What is so fun about Ado Annie is she has these relationships with two different guys in the show. The intimacy is so specific. What I am so excited about is that all of a sudden in a show like Oklahoma! where certain themes are just a part of the story, now we are addressing disability and sexuality and intimacy and relationships. We don’t need to talk about it. We just see it. We get the opportunity to observe it. That is how we progress.”

Other must-read highlights:

ON HER OKLAHOMA! AUDITION
“I met Daniel Fish at my first audition. It was a really fun experience. I did all of the material, and he was like, ‘Let’s do ‘I Cain’t Say No.’ Just do your version of it a cappella.’ That’s where I bloom. When someone says, ‘Do what you want to do.’ I’m like, ‘Yes!’ I did my sort of country popstar version of it. Two weeks later, I was called back. I was in Cleveland doing Spelling Bee. The day of the callback, I was supposed to fly back to New York. The flight ended up getting canceled. I ended up going back to my apartment, and my boyfriend was like, ‘Let’s make a tape.’ I was really emotional. I really, really wanted this part. We did two takes. The second take, we were like, ‘That’s it.’ Three days later, I found out that I got it. As an actor, you make so many self-tapes, and you’re just like, ‘No one is going to see this’ or ‘This isn’t going to work out.’ Sometimes it works!”

ON FINDING HER VOICE
“I learned to sing by imitation. To me, singing was never a technical thing. It wasn’t until a little bit later that I started taking voice lessons and created this technique. My breath control is not as strong as it would be if I had the use of my core and my diaphragm. Singing has always felt for me like the place where it’s safe to express myself. Growing up, I did at times feel pressure to make everyone else feel comfortable in the room. It was a way that I could ease everyone’s fear or anxiety about whether I was OK. Singing as a character gave me permission to feels those feelings of anger or sadness or joy, all of those things that maybe felt too scary to express in real life. When I was in a voice lesson or a rehearsal or working on a show, I wasn’t left behind."

ON HER AMAZING PARENTS
“I was raised with [the idea], ‘We’re not going to pay attention to the things you can’t do. We’re going to focus on the things that you can do.’ Both of my parents were so unbelievably supportive of my love and passion for theater. After my brother and I had gotten hurt, they were both in a position of the unknown. They had two children with disabilities, and they didn’t really know how to do any of it. Both of them had a certain amount of creativity and obviously will to make this new life that they were handed work. They have been this unbelievable team for my brother and I. They showed us that we could do anything that we dreamt, it would just be in our own way. I’m so grateful to them. They always really believed in me. My mom says, ‘The greatest gift you can give your kid is to help them find what they love.’ Both of them were so determined to help me find my passion and my purpose.”

ON "WRAPPING HER ARMS AROUND" CHALLENGES
“With all of the challenges, with every moment of frustration, at the end of the day, I really love being in a wheelchair. The reason I love it is because every day, every moment, I am forced to think differently. If I wasn’t in this body, and if I didn’t have my wheelchair, I wouldn’t have that opportunity. I think that I have attracted certain kinds of people and certain kinds of opportunities because of this thing that could have, in many ways, defeated me. I have learned to wrap my arms around it, and even though I need help when I arrive at the theater to get in the door, to get down the stairs, to get into my dressing room, I get the chance to connect with someone. They are able to be helpful to me, which in so many ways makes that person feel good, and I accept that part of the success is that I have to have this team of people help me get on that stage every single night.”

ON THE CELEB SHE'D LOVE TO SEE IN THE CHILI LINE
“I want to meet Dolly Parton. She’s amazing. That’s who I really would love to meet. I didn’t grow up singing country, but I listen to her and her vibrato and her riffs and the way that she sings certain vowels. I’ve definitely allowed her to inspire my singing.”

Watch the full episode of Show People with Paul Wontorek below!

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