This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:15] Eva Price: Welcome to My First Show.

[0:17] Eva Price: It's your host Eva Price. But more importantly, it's my guest, my good pal Ali Stroker.

[0:26] Ali Stroker: Hello.

[0:28] Ali Stroker: Oh my God. I'm I'm I'm getting the um the shivers, the the like excited feeling because it's like I'm with my friend, but I'm so not with my friend.

[0:40] Eva Price: I know, I know.

[0:42] Ali Stroker: It's so strange to not have seen anyone.

[0:46] Eva Price: It really has. It's you know, for social beings like you and I, it's um it's probably the toughest part of all this.

[0:54] Ali Stroker: Yes, I agree.

[0:56] Eva Price: Yeah, yeah. It's really been weird.

[0:59] Ali Stroker: I went to um I I went to a farmer's market not long ago, and a lot of rules, which I applaud and and I appreciated. Um, but to just be around like human beings in out in the outdoors, doing something like communal was Yeah, it's huge.

[1:21] Eva Price: It was remarkable.

[1:23] Ali Stroker: Yes.

[1:24] Ali Stroker: Um, I have been out of the city in Massachusetts for two months, but we came back last weekend and I've been in the city and just the transition was so huge because I just hadn't seen anyone or talked to anybody.

[1:41] Ali Stroker: And uh New York is definitely quiet and and not you know, not as busy, but you know, people are still out and about, and of course, because it's nice out, people are out by the river and and whatnot, but uh it's been so odd to to have the world kind of stop.

[2:02] Eva Price: Yeah, yeah, it is.

[2:04] Ali Stroker: I I agree, I agree.

[2:06] Ali Stroker: And the world is so hard right now that you know I and it's one of the reasons why it's so fun to talk with you because first of all, you make me laugh, and you make me smile.

[2:19] Eva Price: But like I love diving into these questions that we talk about on My First Show because they for me it they bring me back to just a simpler time and yes, damn it. I kind of need it for the next hour.

[2:33] Ali Stroker: Yes, agreed, agreed.

[2:36] Eva Price: So as we always start, um, you know, the this is a trip down memory lane, it's a nostalgic excursion to the things that made us the theater lovers and theater artists that we are. So I start with the same first question every episode, which is what was the first show you ever saw?

[2:58] Ali Stroker: The first show I ever saw on Broadway was Beauty and the Beast.

[3:03] Ali Stroker: And I loved it. It was I went in first grade, and um I remember just being so thrilled by um the the production and the talent and the dancing and the costumes.

[3:21] Ali Stroker: It was just everything, everything I loved all in one in one show.

[3:28] Ali Stroker: And uh, and it really I I had been introduced to theater before that, but seeing a Broadway show really I think cemented in place that I knew I wanted to be on Broadway.

[3:41] Eva Price: Had you seen like a non-professional show at that point locally?

[3:47] Ali Stroker: Definitely.

[3:48] Ali Stroker: Yeah. So I um I grew up going down to the Jersey Shore in on Long Beach Island, and there was a theater called um Surflight Theater, and they had uh professional productions, but they also had a children's theater, and that was so so fun.

[4:08] Ali Stroker: Every time we would go and it would be, you know, my brother and me and all my cousins, I don't even think my sister was around yet, but uh we loved it and it was interactive and at intermission, um, anybody who had a birthday, I think like, you know, in the next month, could come up on stage and we did the birthday song.

[4:29] Ali Stroker: And it was just this really inclusive, beautiful children's theater uh that Surflight had committed and and dedicated a lot of their their season to, and and I and it was packed always whenever we would go.

[4:45] Eva Price: And did I mean was there a feeling or or like a specific experience that you saw on stage that you were like, yep, that's me, I'm doing that?

[4:55] Ali Stroker: Well, I think because of my experiences as a little kid, and um, you know, for for people that don't know my story, I was hurt in a car accident and I became paralyzed and I used a wheelchair or I use a wheelchair.

[5:10] Ali Stroker: And um, so when I was little, I was always I think looking for ways to escape and ways to um, you know, be taken out of my reality, uh, if I'm being very honest.

[5:26] Ali Stroker: And so theater, when I was in the theater, live theater is so powerful. You really believe that you know, you you take a trip to whatever world that's being created in front of you, and the characters become your friends and you root for them, or you don't like them or or whatever.

[5:43] Ali Stroker: But uh as a kid, that to me was so appealing.

[5:48] Ali Stroker: And when I was first introduced to theater, I always, you know, I've told this story uh many times, but we did a backyard production of Annie, and it was directed by a 12-year-old girl who was my next door neighbor who had just come home from Stage Door Manor, and um she was so committed and so serious about the production, and I just loved how intense it was.

[6:16] Ali Stroker: Like there was something so fun to me about the feel and the commitment and the um dedication to what we were doing.

[6:28] Ali Stroker: Uh I also felt pretty free in that scenario, like in that situation, and I'll explain sort of further.

[6:37] Ali Stroker: So I grew up in a big sports town, right? And sports, so many sports I I couldn't do.

[6:45] Ali Stroker: And I didn't love being in environments where my limitations were in my face, it just felt really frustrating.

[6:52] Ali Stroker: And so, theater, I didn't really feel limited, especially singing.

[6:58] Ali Stroker: Um, you know, for me, for me, when I sang, not only was I able to do what everyone else was doing, but I was actually really good.

[7:07] Ali Stroker: And so that made me feel so confident, and it made me feel so um able.

[7:13] Ali Stroker: And I think as a kid, I was looking for uh places to feel that way.

[7:18] Eva Price: Yeah, yeah. No, that's amazing.

[7:20] Eva Price: That it's it's incredible to find a powerful outlet that feels uniquely you, right?

[7:29] Ali Stroker: Yes.

[7:30] Ali Stroker: And I needed one so badly.

[7:32] Ali Stroker: I really needed an outlet because you know, when you're younger, you don't always have the words, and you know, there were so many moments that I really felt like I had to be strong for my family, not just for me.

[7:48] Ali Stroker: And so when I was doing theater, you know, I wasn't doing it with anybody in my family, and there were all these opportunities to have all these different emotions, and it was a safe place to feel.

[8:01] Eva Price: I I love that you were inspired by like the little Jerome Robbins girl next door to become you were like she's tough and domineering, and it makes me feel good.

[8:15] Ali Stroker: Oh yeah.

[8:16] Ali Stroker: I loved it, I loved how seriously she took it, and and it was really it was so fun.

[8:24] Ali Stroker: I I had so much fun, you know, my first experience.

[8:31] Eva Price: That's right.

[8:33] Eva Price: All right, on to our next question.

[8:36] Eva Price: Allie, tell us about your first professional show, which can be anything backstage crew, Usher. I'm assuming you actually were acting, but just in case it was anything else, we'd love to hear about that.

[8:49] Ali Stroker: So I um when I was 11 years old, I uh auditioned for a group called the Kids for Kids Project.

[8:59] Ali Stroker: And it was a uh group of young professional kids who um most of them were Broadway kids.

[9:09] Ali Stroker: They were kids that were doing Broadway shows, but um I auditioned for the for the group and we did this tour where we did a variety show and the group raised money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

[9:24] Ali Stroker: And it was this really fantastic variety show.

[9:29] Ali Stroker: And um I believe the first show we did was at SUNY Purchase or Symphony Space.

[9:35] Ali Stroker: No, Symphony Space was the first show.

[9:38] Ali Stroker: And um and uh I I remember just being so excited about performing in New York City, and um I I counted it as a professional show, even though it wasn't like a I guess it was a full production because we had costumes and choreography.

[9:57] Ali Stroker: Um but I I just I was young, I was like 11 or 12 years old, and um I was surrounded by professional kids, and um it was just I knew I wanted to do this professionally, like the the talent and the camaraderie and also the fact that this group was raising money and and doing good for um for Duchenne muscular dystrophy affects um young boys, and unfortunately there is not a full cure, and they usually pass away by the time they're 18 or 19.

[10:34] Ali Stroker: So it was a you know, it was something that you felt like you were really making a difference, and um it was also the moment that I knew that I wanted to be sure that my work in my life was also to help people as well.

[10:50] Eva Price: Yeah, and how like what was the process of getting cast? Did you see a pad for it? Did someone come and find you? Was did you have a stage mom? How does that all happen?

[11:04] Ali Stroker: No, right. So, okay, so a little bit more details about Annie. So the girl who directed Annie was Rachel Antonoff, who is a dear dear friend of mine, obviously introduced me to theater. Um she also full circle, she's now a fashion designer and made my dress for the Tonies.

[11:24] Eva Price: Oh wow.

[11:25] Ali Stroker: But she was in this group, and at the time it was called Kids with Heart, and then um they changed the group a little bit, and then it was called The Kids for Kids Project. So she was the one who in who you know introduced me to this group.

[11:40] Eva Price: Wow.

[11:41] Ali Stroker: Oh, that's funny. That's really funny. So Rachel was a big part of why I ended up where I did, and why you ended up with a kick-ass Tony dress, let's be honest.

[11:51] Eva Price: Yeah, exactly.

[11:52] Ali Stroker: I it's yellow, right?

[11:54] Eva Price: I it's like in my mind.

[11:56] Ali Stroker: And I wore yellow today because I forgot that this was a podcast. I thought maybe it was on Zoom or something. I don't know.

[12:05] Eva Price: I can't know what I was saying.

[12:06] Ali Stroker: I can hear the yellow. I can hear yellow dress, Eva for you.

[12:11] Eva Price: That makes me so happy.

[12:13] Ali Stroker: That makes me really happy.

[12:15] Eva Price: Oh my god. We don't usually go into second professional shows, but I'm just curious. Did you go straight from Symphony Space to Broadway, or did you have other professional gigs in between?

[12:25] Ali Stroker: No. So my first Broadway, so so after Kids for Kids, um, the Kids for Kids Project, um, I I did a lot of um, I did a lot of theater like in my hometown. And um, and I also did the Paper Mill Playhouse Summer Conservatory, which was like a you know, a summer theater theater uh project kind of thing.

[12:52] Ali Stroker: But my first Broadway show was uh Deaf West's Spring Awakening, which was a revival done in 2015, um, directed by Michael Arden, and that's when I made my Broadway debut. Um, and that was so cool.

[13:09] Ali Stroker: Um, I still have such wonderful, wonderful memories of that show. And uh it it was a wild process because we did the show twice in Los Angeles before it came to Broadway, and you know, doing a show in LA in my mind, I was like, there's no way you do a show in LA and then it goes to Broadway.

[13:33] Ali Stroker: Like that's not how it works. And uh, you know, I I was living in LA at the time. I had done the Glee project in Glee. And um feeling probably I remember a bit discouraged because every time I would get a a break in in in getting a job or getting exposure, I always thought like, oh, this is gonna make things easier.

[14:00] Ali Stroker: And you know, even to this day, like that m that thinking doesn't help you to like think that there are things that are gonna make this profession, this career easier. Cause there because it's always challenging.

[14:18] Ali Stroker: Um it's what I've learned, it's equally or even more rewarding, so it's always worth it, but it's it doesn't ever get easier.

[14:28] Eva Price: Does by thinking it might get easier make you let your guard down to be disappointed more? Like what what is actually the wrong why is it wrong to think that?

[14:39] Ali Stroker: I think it's wrong to think that because to expect that things will come easy puts you in a mindset of expectation um and having expectations from the business, and I have never found that easy that helpful.

[15:00] Ali Stroker: It's not helpful to expect that people are going to know you or to even like you know, when you say you audition for a show and you know, someone you've worked with or a friend is like directing or choreographing or producing, to expect that maybe you're gonna get a break from them because of that or because you've done Glee and you know the Glee project and you have like people know, you know, people are starting to know who you are, then then the auditions will come more frequently or you will get more shows.

[15:34] Ali Stroker: It's just not the way it works ever.

[15:37] Eva Price: Yeah.

[15:37] Ali Stroker: Or at least not for me. And so um so I I have just learned about having expectations and getting my hopes up and that like nothing is nothing is for sure.

[15:52] Ali Stroker: And so um in that I have learned how important it is for me to have a life outside of my career so you know if if I end up you know if something doesn't go my way and I'm disappointed that I have other things that I that I love and that I care about that I can lean on.

[16:11] Eva Price: That makes a lot of sense.

[16:13] Ali Stroker: And you know you do a lot of work outside theater which is what I'm excited about as a fan and a friend.

[16:23] Eva Price: I think I saw on social media that you may or may not have made an appearance on my favorite television show.

[16:29] Ali Stroker: Yes.

[16:30] Eva Price: Which I have not watched yet yes it is my it is I'll admit it here to the audiences of this podcast my favorite show is the bold type on free form that's hilarious Eva.

[16:44] Ali Stroker: I love it so much I I I used to be a journalist so partially I think it brings me back to like my days as a you know early New Yorker making my way in the news business but um I'm a Sutton Brady.

[17:01] Eva Price: I can't I won't lie I love her I love her lots I love that.

[17:06] Ali Stroker: With a little bit of cat a little bit of cat.

[17:09] Eva Price: So cute I love that um so and you know and I think like your your your work with with um Judy Heumann's memoir um being human can you tell us about that for for a minute what that was like?

[17:09] Ali Stroker: Yeah I met Judy after I played her on an episode of Drunk History on Comedy Central. They told the story of 504, which was when um it was before the Americans with Disabilities um act was passed, but it was when um you know they were beginning to make laws around accessibility for people with disabilities.

[17:47] Ali Stroker: And she was one of the leaders of the of the movement.

[18:18] Ali Stroker: Exactly. And then her memoir was coming out, and she asked me to read the audio. And uh she has really changed my life in so many ways, just bringing my awareness to the kind of work that it took to change our country um to make things accessible for people in uh wheelchairs or with all different kinds of disabilities.

[18:51] Ali Stroker: And what's really cool is um we're coming up on the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

[19:00] Ali Stroker: Wow. Um, I am you know the ADA generation.

[19:04] Ali Stroker: Um I was hurt in 89 and the law was passed in 1990, and so I have only lived my life knowing that I was, you know, going to have access, even though a lot of the world is not accessible still.

[19:22] Eva Price: Yeah, we still have a long way to go.

[19:24] Ali Stroker: And uh Eva, you know what I'm calling about Broadway Theaters poor Hempelow. You know, the work that you and I did to make Oklahoma possible.

[19:37] Ali Stroker: For me, you know, I'll never forget that. And that means so much to me that you know, my my colleagues and the people I work with want to make things accessible.

[19:49] Ali Stroker: Because for me, accessibility means freedom. It means independence.

[19:53] Eva Price: And so Judy's book is just an incredible story of her life.

[19:58] Ali Stroker: And you know, I I am so so I feel so grateful to know her. Um, she's still she's still an activist to this day.

[20:09] Ali Stroker: Um, and if you have a chance to watch Crip Camp on uh Netflix, uh Judy is in it as a teenager.

[20:17] Ali Stroker: They have footage um of her in the 70s at a camp with all of her friends with disabilities, and then you sort of learn how um all of the activism started.

[20:28] Eva Price: That's how I learned about Judy actually.

[20:30] Ali Stroker: I I you know, this is this is the month for streaming, the months for streaming.

[20:35] Ali Stroker: And so I I came upon Crip Camp, I watched it, I got to know Judy. First of all, she's a badass.

[20:43] Ali Stroker: She's she's hot as hell.

[20:46] Ali Stroker: She is she was like such a like as a teenager, she was like the sexy phenomenon that like ruled that camp.

[20:57] Eva Price: I was like, yes, Judy Heumann.

[20:59] Ali Stroker: And I know, even as a teenager, right?

[21:02] Eva Price: I know, I know.

[21:03] Ali Stroker: It was really compelling.

[21:05] Eva Price: Really compelling.

[21:07] Ali Stroker: Yeah.

[21:07] Eva Price: Well, I'm thrilled that you have her in your life and you got to meet her.

[21:12] Eva Price: And it's it I can't believe it's been thir it's gonna be 30 years.

[21:17] Ali Stroker: I can't believe it's only 30 years, really, for ADA.

[21:21] Eva Price: That's the remarkable.

[21:23] Ali Stroker: I know, it's pretty wild.

[21:24] Eva Price: It's pretty wild.

[21:25] Ali Stroker: Yeah.

[21:25] Eva Price: Yeah.

[21:26] Ali Stroker: Well, that's amazing.

[21:28] Eva Price: Um our last question of our four question series is if you could be in any show anywhere at any time, what would it be?

[21:40] Ali Stroker: Ooh.

[21:42] Ali Stroker: Good question. Hmm. Well, I keep talking about wanting to do Little Shop and play Audrey. I think that would be really cool. But because of, you know, where we are in the world right now, I think it would also be amazing to do Hair. I think it'd be amazing to play Jeannie in Hair. Um, but as far as where and when, I love working on Broadway. It's really, really so exciting and you know, it's still, it still is, you know, I still feel like my eleven-year-old self. Um, you know, when I am doing a show on Broadway, like, you know, there is something that taps into my younger self who just wanted that so badly. But I do also, I would love to do something. I would love to do a show in a place where the story is really needed.

I really believe in like arts and activism and how it can really like change things. Um, and so, I don't know what that looks like, and as our world changes so quickly around us, um, it's actually gotten me thinking a lot about what kind of art I want to do and where. Um, and I don't know if, you know, maybe New York is the place that needs me or a production with me in it, or maybe it's somewhere else in the world or in this country. Um, so I'm not answering this question very well. But, um, I would love to play Audrey in Little Shop. I'd love to play Jeannie in Hair, and I would also love to originate a role on Broadway. You know, that would be really exciting, and I don't know, I sometimes think that when I get too specific, I then set myself up to maybe be disappointed.

So, but I am now I have reached a point in my career where I can be in the driver's seat a little bit more and to begin to propose ideas to people. So, um, I do continue to dream about what is possible next. And, uh, the other part of it is that I would really love to do a movie. Um, that's not a, that's not a show or, you know, that's not live theater, but um, I would love to do a movie and um, can't say anything right now, but there are some things in the works.

[24:40] Eva Price: Good, good. Those are exciting things, yeah. I love all that.

[24:44] Ali Stroker: No, that's great. I mean, listen, this is a show about dreams coming true and actually living our dreams. And so I hear you. I am the queen of don't say the thing because then you'll be disappointed by it. But Oprah taught us how to secret things as well.

[25:04] Eva Price: Yes, yes.

[25:06] Ali Stroker: Which means they do need to be said, they need to be, they need to be broadcast, they need to be podcasted, and then they sometimes happen. So Jeannie in Hair, Audrey in Little Shop, and feature film. We're secreting it to the world.

[25:22] Eva Price: Yes. Thank you for that. Right now. It is out there. I'm making a movement with my hand. It is out there.

[25:30] Ali Stroker: Um, so we have a surprise final section of the podcast that we don't tell our guests about. It's at some point people are gonna figure it out when they start listening. But for now, it's still a surprise, uh, where I name a famous classic musical, and you name the one word or multiple words emotional theme of that musical.

[25:53] Eva Price: Okay.

[25:54] Ali Stroker: Um, there's really no wrong answer, but I have an answer in my head, and it's my own little game that I play with you to see if we match up. So we put uh 30 seconds on the clock. There's no clock, no one's putting anything, but in the game show way, we put 30 seconds on the clock, and um, we barrel through where I say the musical, you say the theme, and we move on to the next one.

[26:22] Eva Price: And here we go.

[26:24] Ali Stroker: Hair.

[26:25] Eva Price: Hippies.

[26:26] Ali Stroker: The Whiz.

[26:29] Eva Price: Home.

[26:30] Ali Stroker: Assassins.

[26:31] Eva Price: Murderers.

[26:32] Ali Stroker: Oliver.

[26:34] Eva Price: Food.

[26:32] Ali Stroker: Glory is food.

[26:34] Eva Price: Dream Girls.

[26:36] Ali Stroker: And I am telling you.

[26:39] Eva Price: Chorus Line.

[26:41] Ali Stroker: Um, dancers.

[26:47] Eva Price: Cabaret.

[26:46] Ali Stroker: Sally Bowles.

[26:46] Eva Price: My Fair Lady.

[26:47] Ali Stroker: Cockney accents.

[26:49] Eva Price: Sweeney Todd.

[26:50] Ali Stroker: Uh, the Meat Pies.

[26:54] Eva Price: You did great.

[26:55] Ali Stroker: You did great.

[26:57] Eva Price: I didn't.

[26:57] Ali Stroker: You did.

[26:58] Eva Price: You did great.

[26:59] Ali Stroker: Oh my god. I got so nervous. Because sometimes, you know, when you do those kinds of games, and if you don't know something, like I was always bad at that game, like films where you had to like name the movies.

[27:11] Eva Price: Right.

[27:13] Ali Stroker: So I got a little nervous that maybe that's something that wasn't gonna.

[27:19] Eva Price: You did great.

[27:20] Ali Stroker: You did great. Everyone has very different answers, which is why this makes me laugh so hard.

[27:26] Eva Price: That's amazing. I love it.

[27:27] Ali Stroker: Um, Ali Stroker.

[27:31] Eva Price: I was about to say Ali Stroker. Do you have a middle name?

[27:35] Ali Stroker: It's McKenzie.

[27:36] Eva Price: McKenzie. You were close with the M. Marie is a very like 80s or 90s baby middle name.

[27:44] Ali Stroker: Um, yeah, I, I, that when I don't know Stone's middle name, I add Marie. It just feels right for someone.

[27:50] Eva Price: Marie feels right.

[27:51] Ali Stroker: Josh.

[27:53] Eva Price: Josh Marie Altman, our show's producer.

[27:58] Ali Stroker: Brittany Marie Bigelow, our show's engineer.

[28:01] Eva Price: Um, love it. Um, Ali Stroker. You are a delight. You are um my hero. You are one of my favorite human beings and quite possibly my most favorite Broadway star. So thank you for being here.

[28:11] Ali Stroker: Thank you so much, Eva. Your friendship means so much to me and thank you for just always believing in me and always wanting to be on the right side of history.

[28:11] Eva Price: Absolutely, absolutely. And you know, speaking of history, we're gonna get through this piece of it and we're gonna look back on it and I hope, I really hope that we're all gonna have learned and changed from it. And if there's anything relating to that that you want to share, you know, to inspire us off, I'd love to.

[28:11] Ali Stroker: Yeah, I think change is the only option and change starts with yourself. So, you know, as scary as it is to look at where you've made mistakes, um, as scary as it is to learn new things, um, even when you're in a place in your life where you feel like you are on top of the world, it's so, so important to dedicate your life to change. And that means with yourself and with the world. And there is um a very clear ask that is being um, yeah, called out to us to change and to support and to understand and um, Black Lives Matter. I am so, so, so moved by this entire um, time in history and uh, I know that we will change and I hope that um, we will see those changes happen soon.

[30:02] Eva Price: Yeah.

[30:03] Ali Stroker: Yeah.

[30:04] Eva Price: Me too. And I'm hopeful.

[30:05] Ali Stroker: I'm hopeful that we will, because the only place to be right now is to be hopeful because otherwise it's too devastating.

[30:14] Eva Price: Yeah.

[30:15] Ali Stroker: Uh, because the pain is so prevalent and so massive. Um, thank you for that.

[30:21] Eva Price: All right, you take care. Um, thanks for being here today.

[30:25] Ali Stroker: Thank you everyone for listening. Have a good one.

[30:29] Ali Stroker: I met a boy called Frank Mills on September 12th, right here in front of the Waverly. But unfortunately, I lost his address.

[30:48] Eva Price: My First Show is produced by Josh Altman, MEP, Dory Berenstein, and Alan Seales, and is part of the Broadway Podcast Network. This episode was edited by Barrett Gunther. Special thanks to Leslie Papa and Whitney Holden Gore at Vivacity Media Group. For more info about the podcast, visit VPN.fm backslash my first show. Follow me on Instagram at Eva R. Price.

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