History Maker! 5 Things to Know About Tony Award Winner J. Harrison Ghee

UPDATE: 6/11/23 — J. Harrison Ghee became the second nonbinary actor ever to earn a Tony Award, winning Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical moments after Alex Newell won Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. “

“My mother raised me to understand that my gifts that god gave me were not about me, [but] to use them to be effective in the world, to help somebody else’s journey. So thank you for teaching me how to live, how to love, how to give,” the performer said during their acceptance speech. “For every trans, nonbinary, gender noncomforming human who ever was told you couldn’t be seen — this is for you.”

Original story: History in the making! J. Harrison Ghee received their first Tony Award nomination in May 2023, marking the first time a nonbinary actor earned such an honor.

The American Theatre Wing, which hosts the annual Tony Awards ceremony, announced in May 2023 that Ghee was up for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for their role of Jerry/Daphne in Some Like It Hot. The North Carolina native — who uses he/they pronouns — is competing against costar Christian Borle, Josh Groban, Brian D’Arcy James, Ben Platt and Colton Ryan. The ceremony airs live on June 11, 2023, via CBS.

“It’s such an honor. I just continue to live in the four-fold way of living. I show up, tell my truth in present and I’m not attached to the outcome,” Ghee gushed to The Hollywood Reporter after nominations were announced. “So I’m just honored that the work is speaking for itself and I’m so proud of the special show we’ve got going on at the Shubert [Theater].”

The Raising Dion alum is not the only history-making 2023 Tony Award nominee. Glee alum Alex Newell, who also identifies as nonbinary, earned a nod for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for their role in Shucked. Newell, who is gender nonconforming, portrays whisky distiller Lulu in the cornfed musical.

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Ghee’s Some Like It Hot role also breaks boundaries. The musical — written by Red, White & Royal Blue director Matthew López and comedian Amber Ruffin and inspired by the 1959 film of the same name — is set during Prohibition in Chicago when two musicians (Ghee and Borle) are forced to flee town after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters on the heels, the two pals go undercover in drag, which Ghee’s Jerry really enjoys.

“Jerry is a grounded artist who dreams and is always keeping Joe [Borle] in line. They have such a sibling relationship that is an odd couple, if you will,” the Over My Dead Body actor said in an Instagram video shared via the production’s account that May. “Their relationship is grounded in love and in truth and in experience.”

Ghee added at the time: “It was such a process and collaborative in the way of always having conversations. There were oftentimes I would come in during the workshop and during the rehearsals for Broadway and things I say in my everyday life found their way into the script.”

Some Like It Hot is directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw and costars Adrianna Hicks, Kevin Del Aguila, Natasha Yvette Williams and Adam Heller. It is the most-nominated production of the 2023 theatrical season, earning a total of 12 Tony nods, including leading acting honors for both Borle — who previously won a Tony in 2004 and 2015, respectively  — and Ghee.

Scroll below to learn more about the first-time Tony nominee:

Ghee portrays dual roles of Jerry and Daphne in Some Like It Hot, which opened in December 2022. The dramatization landed them a coveted Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical nomination at the 2023 Tonys.

Ghee is the first nonbinary actor to earn a Tony nod for a leading performance in a musical.

“We’ve got to free ourselves to see ourselves. We really got to give ourselves the permission to be like, ‘You know what, we can do whatever we want to do,’” the Broadway vet told Time in May 2023 during a joint interview with Newell. “We do shape society and culture. Let’s be ahead of that, and let us make the room and the space for everybody at the table to do all of the things.”

They added: “It is exciting to see so many people feeling seen and represented who are like, ‘Wow, thank you. I didn’t know that there was any possibility for me in this world.’ … So to now be that for somebody else? Again, the winning is already happening.”

Ghee made their Broadway debut in 2017, portraying drag queen Lola in Kinky Boots. They later reprised their leading role at St. Louis’ The Muny outdoor theatre two years later. The American Musical and Dramatic Academy alum also appeared as André Mayhem in the Broadway adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire.

“Daphne has taught me to keep living out loud. I used to say I never imagined being a drag queen, but the seeds were always planted from when I was younger,” they told Elle in February 2023. “I never knew that it would lead me to my Broadway debut in Kinky Boots as Lola. I tried to hide those things. For a long time, when I did drag in New York City, I kept everything separate. I didn’t want to be pigeonholed. But [drag] made me special.”

They continued: “I had to accept that to be able to step into fuller versions of myself. It’s often those things that we try to hide or keep away from everyone that really are what make us special and help us shine. I hope to inspire and encourage people. Don’t hide those special attributes about yourself. Celebrate them. Allow them to live out loud.”

Ghee grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina before moving to New York City to attend American Musical and Dramatic Academy. After graduation, they started booking roles on Broadway.