Fayetteville Native Ghee Wins Tony Award on Historic Night
J. Harrison Ghee, a Fayetteville native, made some more history, becoming one of the first nonbinary-identifying actors to win at the 2023 Tony Awards.
Ghee joined Alex Newell as the first two openly non-binary performers to win, during the telecast Sunday night.
Ghee is a graduate of E.E. Smith High School, and has had a successful career as an actor and stage performer. They were nominated for Lead Actor for the role of Daphne and Jerry in the Broadway adaptation of the 1959 film “Some Like It Hot.”
“My mother raised me to understand that my gifts that God gave me were not about me. To use them to be effective in the world, to help somebody else’s journey,” Ghee said. “So thank you for teaching me how to live, how to love, how to give. For every trans, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming human who ever was told you couldn’t be, you couldn’t be seen, this is for you.”
Ghee beat out some serious competition in the Tony Awards Best Actor category, with Josh Groban (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”), Brian d’Arcy James (“Into the Woods”), Ben Platt (“Parade”), Colton Ryan (“New York, New York”) and cast-mate Christian Borle (“Some Like It Hot) also nominated for Lead Actor.
“Someone else’s labels or limits are not going to bound me and my ability to do anything,” Ghee told Elle Magazine in an interview earlier this year. “My artistry and the work will speak for itself. What anybody claims or puts on is extra, and they’re trying to place someone else’s experience on me. I’m here to be intentional about my ministry and my work.”
“Some Like It Hot” was a smash on Broadway, led all nominees with 13 nominations. In addition to Ghee’s win, the show also won for Best Costume Design in a Musical, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations.
Newell won the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in “Shucked.”
Another Fayetteville actress, NaTasha Yvette Williams was also up for a Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical from Some Like it Hot. Bonnie Milligan won the award for her role in “Kimberly Akimbo.”
