Speaker 1: And that's what you Really missed with Jenna.
Speaker 2: And Kevin An iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 1: Welcome to When That's What You Really miss podcast. Oh
Speaker 1: my god, it's Tony Award winner Ali Stroger.
Speaker 2: How I never get tired of hearing that?
Speaker 1: Nope, well never, I'll just that's her new name.
Speaker 2: You know. There's going to be three of us in
Speaker 2: this conversation and three Tonys, but I have zero Tonys.
Speaker 1: And Alie did Oklahoma, which she won the Tony four
Speaker 1: in Circle and Square in the same theater that Alex
Speaker 1: Newall did once on this Island the year before and
Speaker 1: one Best Revival which one me and the Tony as well.
Speaker 1: And so we are in Circle and Square in full Circle.
Speaker 2: And she was in the revival String Wakening of Broadway
Speaker 2: and you were in the original String Wakning of Broadway.
Speaker 1: Correct, all coming together and we were both ungry.
Speaker 2: Yes, And she's just one of the kindest, most talented,
Speaker 2: creative bright lights in the world. And we love her. Yes,
Speaker 2: Ali Stroker, Hi, Allie, are you my god?
Speaker 3: I was so excited when I got your message and
Speaker 3: I was love.
Speaker 1: Your I had to have on too.
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me and also congratulations on the next
Speaker 3: little baby.
Speaker 1: Thank you and congratulations to you too, Yeah.
Speaker 3: You, thank you.
Speaker 2: How's being a mama? How does it feel?
Speaker 3: I love it? Like I am obsessed with it.
Speaker 1: How old is your bibe?
Speaker 3: He's twenty one months? Next?
Speaker 2: Oh really?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 1: We were like pretty close then Emma's twenty five or
Speaker 1: twenty six months?
Speaker 3: I think, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, So you know that
Speaker 3: the season it's intense, really intense. But I love it
Speaker 3: like more than anything. It's been special. I do want
Speaker 3: to like work a little bit now. I was so
Speaker 3: ready for the first year. I was like, I can't
Speaker 3: miss anything, I know, so, like you know, like I
Speaker 3: had so much FOMO on both ends, and so now
Speaker 3: it was this fall ready you will play and just
Speaker 3: get back into it a little bit. But yeah, it's
Speaker 3: been so so good. How are you guys? Good?
Speaker 2: Same old ship over here?
Speaker 3: Yeah, how's la?
Speaker 2: That's fine. It's a weird TI like job wise.
Speaker 3: I don't know if you guys feel this way, but
Speaker 3: like I feel like the industry has like been shaken up,
Speaker 3: and like the dust has not quite settled yet strikes
Speaker 3: and like the pandemic, and like the way that everything
Speaker 3: has changed with streaming, and I just feel like it's
Speaker 3: still a bit in transition, like I.
Speaker 2: Don't know, yes, yes, I agree, it's like everything is
Speaker 2: pulled apart. We don't know exactly the new mold yet. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but it does feel like it feels like because you
Speaker 2: don't have to be in the city or you don't
Speaker 2: have to be in la people. Part of the adjustment
Speaker 2: outside of like the things we can't control, like the
Speaker 2: structures of anything, is like the work life balance. So
Speaker 2: being able to live forty five minutes outside of the
Speaker 2: city and like not feel guilty about it and like
Speaker 2: or feeling you're missing anything because like you can do
Speaker 2: that and I have a family and yeah, yeah, I
Speaker 2: like that.
Speaker 3: And it also is starting to feel good that it
Speaker 3: feels like our generation is now becoming like the bosses
Speaker 3: and like creating content and writing, directing, and it's like, yeah,
Speaker 3: for me, it's what a relief, Like yes, yes, now
Speaker 3: they're like making decisions versus like this other generation of
Speaker 3: art that were amazing but came from a different world.
Speaker 3: So that's something that I am like grateful for and
Speaker 3: like feeling like, oh good, it's it's us. It's like
Speaker 3: our time now.
Speaker 2: Yeah hopefully, Yeah, you know, especially when you like we've
Speaker 2: all been around for a little bit, and so we're
Speaker 2: seeing our friends get opportunities and friends want to work
Speaker 2: with friends, and like if we're in a position to
Speaker 2: help people, like oh, this person's so talented, let's work
Speaker 2: with them. And exactly right what you said, I think.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it feels like it's like finally it's like our voices,
Speaker 3: you know, and like I feel that same way. It's
Speaker 3: like my friends are now like casting and hiring and
Speaker 3: wanting me to be a part of creating something. And
Speaker 3: it doesn't feel so much. And I know this also
Speaker 3: comes with like coming into your own and like maturing,
Speaker 3: but it doesn't feel like I have to prove myself, like.
Speaker 2: Right, Tony doesn't hurt either.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean those those opportunities are It's
Speaker 4: it feels different now.
Speaker 3: It doesn't feel as much like, oh God, like will
Speaker 3: I ever work again. There's like a little bit more.
Speaker 5: Trust in what's coming, what's next, and and people do
Speaker 5: you feel that On the other end, Two, it's like
Speaker 5: people trust in you where they come to you like
Speaker 5: we know you can do this.
Speaker 2: So yes, there's that confidence that we often don't get,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 3: On that side of it, I always thought after I
Speaker 3: did an episode of Glee, I was like, oh, like
Speaker 3: I'm set, like the doors now will fly open and
Speaker 3: everything will be so easy, And then like nothing happened,
Speaker 3: and what like how could this not? You know? I
Speaker 3: always look like Glee was like the magic wand this
Speaker 3: thing that was like gonna just like change my career,
Speaker 3: and it did in so many ways. But I also
Speaker 3: feel like those changes come.
Speaker 2: Slowly, yeah, like incrementally.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's not just like one wave.
Speaker 2: It's yeah, that's not obvious.
Speaker 3: Years later I hear from somebody, or four years from now,
Speaker 3: I'm getting a call from someone who knew someone who
Speaker 3: did the Glee Project, you know what I mean. Like,
Speaker 3: there's all different ways in which it's like affected and
Speaker 3: changed my life, and in none of the ways that
Speaker 3: I thought it would.
Speaker 2: Semial Glee, Yes, because you did. We've talked to a
Speaker 2: lot of the first Glee Project season one Gleed Project folks. Yes,
Speaker 2: you had a different like Glee Project Season two was
Speaker 2: quite different than season one. Yes, how did you even
Speaker 2: get into that? How did you like, how did you
Speaker 2: hear about it? Like what was your life going into that?
Speaker 3: So I graduated from NYU in two thousand and nine,
Speaker 3: and that's when I feel like we like exploded. Yes,
Speaker 3: And I was so excited because I saw your character Kevin,
Speaker 3: and I was like, oh my god, I don't have
Speaker 3: to make this up. Like this is a world I
Speaker 3: could fit into. And so I told my parents I
Speaker 3: wanted to move to LA and they were like what,
Speaker 3: And I was like, I want to go after this,
Speaker 3: like I want to be ugly. And at the time,
Speaker 3: like I was young, and I even I was like,
Speaker 3: they shoot it there, it's where it's happening, Like I'm
Speaker 3: going to go out there for pilot season. I wasn't
Speaker 3: super green, like I knew that, yeah, you know, I
Speaker 3: knew that you had audition and it was like a
Speaker 3: super super big deal show. But I was like I couldn't.
Speaker 3: I was having trouble getting auditions in New York and
Speaker 3: sort of looked at theater as like sort of an
Speaker 3: older art and TV was kind of maybe a world
Speaker 3: that I would fit into. So I go out for
Speaker 3: pilot season and I go into U d K and Uh,
Speaker 3: I don't meet with Robert, but Robert finds out I'm
Speaker 3: in the office and asks me to come in to
Speaker 3: his office and sing on tape for Ryan, and I was.
Speaker 1: Like, now, did you go into UdK for a Glee
Speaker 1: audition or did you go in for some general audition
Speaker 1: or like a general general okay to like meet them?
Speaker 3: Yes, wow. So Robert's like Ryan needs to meet you.
Speaker 3: So I sing Here's where I Stand, which is like
Speaker 3: this song from Camp Amazing that I sang for my
Speaker 3: YU showcase. And I was like this is it, Like
Speaker 3: I'm gonna get to go in for the show. And
Speaker 3: then I hear nothing for like three years until the
Speaker 3: Glee Project was like being talked about and advertised on
Speaker 3: Facebook and I was like what is this? Like what
Speaker 3: is this? And it's not on Fox, It's on Oxygen,
Speaker 3: Like what is this? And then I'm like, oh, it's
Speaker 3: reality TV show. I don't want to do reality I
Speaker 3: want to be like an actor. I don't want to
Speaker 3: reality TV show. I was like total ego, like I
Speaker 3: can't do that. And then I was like I like
Speaker 3: it over yourself, Like you can't even get an audition
Speaker 3: right now, like put yourself on tape. So I put
Speaker 3: myself on tape. And at the time it was like
Speaker 3: this for the Glee Project, it was like this website
Speaker 3: that was like kind of like MySpace. And this was
Speaker 3: even before like the like culture happened.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but so.
Speaker 3: If you submitted a video, people could star it. And
Speaker 3: I submitted a video singing true Colors, and the next
Speaker 3: morning it had like twelve hundred stars.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 3: And I was like, oh my god, this is so cool,
Speaker 3: you know, like before yes, And so I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: maybe i'll hear back. And I did have an agent
Speaker 3: at the time, and so I don't hear anything for
Speaker 3: a while, and I end up getting cast in Spelling
Speaker 3: Bee at paper Mill Playhouse. So I go back to
Speaker 3: New Jersey and my agents call and they're like, they
Speaker 3: want you to come in for the final callbacks for
Speaker 3: the Glee Project. And I was like, but I'm doing
Speaker 3: the show, like I can't. I can't miss it. And
Speaker 3: I take the back. I don't think it was tech.
Speaker 3: I think like we were in the run or it's
Speaker 3: like opening night or something like that. As a better person,
Speaker 3: like you don't miss right. So I was like, I
Speaker 3: can't do it, Like I can't do I can't go
Speaker 3: to the callbacks for season one. So I was like, well,
Speaker 3: there goes my opportunity to be Ungly Project or Glee
Speaker 3: oh my god.
Speaker 2: And then of course, though I mean the amount of time, right,
Speaker 2: it pours and it comes down to like the same day,
Speaker 2: like I've been trying to get work for years, I'm
Speaker 2: doing this play and now.
Speaker 3: Glee always always like why is this not lining up?
Speaker 1: Could have been any other time in the last always happens.
Speaker 3: So then I go back to La after spelling Bee,
Speaker 3: and I like, am really in a not good place,
Speaker 3: Like I'm in a dark place. I'm like, what am
Speaker 3: I gonna do? Like what am I doing out here?
Speaker 3: Like I think I even did one of those things
Speaker 3: where you like paid to be in a play like Wow.
Speaker 3: It was like a low point and I was just
Speaker 3: feeling and I had been in like some bad relationships,
Speaker 3: like was not thriving, And so I decided to come
Speaker 3: back to New York and I moved in like to Midtown,
Speaker 3: and I was like doing well again, and they were
Speaker 3: like they called and they were like, we want you
Speaker 3: to come to the final callbacks in New York first,
Speaker 3: and so I did and don't where you can cut
Speaker 3: the line, you know, at the time, sort of like
Speaker 3: the open calls in New York around the block, and
Speaker 3: they were filming all that you know. And then I
Speaker 3: find out I'm going to the final callbacks in La
Speaker 3: and I go and that's when I like meet everyone,
Speaker 3: Like I met Lily at the final callbacks, I met Danny.
Speaker 3: That was the first time we met. I met people
Speaker 3: that didn't end up being on the show that now
Speaker 3: are on Broadway. Like it was sort of the beginning
Speaker 3: of this era, like my Glee era season, and it
Speaker 3: went really well. And then I got a call, like
Speaker 3: right before Thanksgiving that I was going to be cast
Speaker 3: on the show, and they filmed that again, and and
Speaker 3: that was it. And then and then not long after
Speaker 3: we moved into the house stop.
Speaker 2: A strong word, yeah.
Speaker 3: Exactly, And they took away our phones, they took away
Speaker 3: our books, they took away our music because they didn't
Speaker 3: want you to be like influenced, and like I had
Speaker 3: no contact with my family.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, how long was that? How long were
Speaker 1: you on the show for?
Speaker 3: I was on the show for ten weeks, Oh my long, Yeah,
Speaker 3: which is why I feel so close to everybody beforse,
Speaker 3: they were the only people I was in contact with.
Speaker 3: I had a lot of fun, like, oh god, show,
Speaker 3: I had a really positive experience, and I was also
Speaker 3: just a little bit older, like I was out of
Speaker 3: college at this point, so I was sort of like
Speaker 3: taken with like the experience of making a reality show.
Speaker 3: I was like, this is hilarious, like another room of
Speaker 3: producers like trying to figure out how to like string
Speaker 3: this story together and create a drama. And I got
Speaker 3: to really kind of share my story the way that
Speaker 3: I wanted to. So that was something I was very
Speaker 3: conscious of that, like being in a chair, being in
Speaker 3: a wheelchair, people in the industry might make assumptions about
Speaker 3: me and what I could do, and Patrick was this
Speaker 3: amazing platform to like tell my version of who I
Speaker 3: am and what I do. And then Glee was sort
Speaker 3: of the perfect genre for me. It was like musical
Speaker 3: theater meets pop meets like the underdog meets like overcoming
Speaker 3: things and this is perfect, Like this I fit into this.
Speaker 3: So then I'm the final I'm in the final three,
Speaker 3: Like I'm in the final episode and I don't win.
Speaker 1: Now did you think you were like you were gonna win?
Speaker 1: Like was there? Where were you at? Where was your head?
Speaker 2: At that point?
Speaker 3: I thought I could win. However, I knew that the
Speaker 3: show had to be like m structured in a certain
Speaker 3: way that like the underdog would win, which in the
Speaker 3: end was very funny because Blake won, like was not
Speaker 3: exactly the underdog all the way through and in the industry,
Speaker 3: isn't really like an underdog. No, but it was a
Speaker 3: different time, like the world has changed a lot, so
Speaker 3: this narrative of like who's the underdog, like who should
Speaker 3: win this show? They also Glee was super established. They
Speaker 3: needed certain kinds of characters on that on your guys
Speaker 3: scripted show.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it wasn't just a reality show. It was also
Speaker 2: we have to fill these slots that we know we
Speaker 2: are going to carry up.
Speaker 3: And the other part of it was that they didn't
Speaker 3: air this because they did this on the first season.
Speaker 3: But the first season they were like they gave people
Speaker 3: spots on the show that didn't win, and our season
Speaker 3: they did not air that. So they told Eileen and
Speaker 3: I that we were going to be on the show,
Speaker 3: but they didn't air that on the Glee Project, and
Speaker 3: they told us they were not going to which was
Speaker 3: scary because it was like, well, now there's no accountability,
Speaker 3: they don't have to totally and that interesting to Eileen.
Speaker 3: She ended up not being on the show.
Speaker 2: Wow, because I remember running into her, like out at
Speaker 2: Starbucks or something, and she was like, I was told
Speaker 2: I was going to be on.
Speaker 3: I was like, ah, super disappointed.
Speaker 2: I mean, of course breaking yes.
Speaker 3: But they called me not long after the final episode
Speaker 3: aired and they were like, Okay, we're going to have
Speaker 3: you coming on for the Valentine's Day episode and immediately
Speaker 3: I was like, oh, they're going to pair me up
Speaker 3: with Kevin and like I didn't know exactly what my
Speaker 3: story would be, but Ryan on the Glee project was
Speaker 3: always like, you're like sassy, You're like Dolly Parton, but
Speaker 3: like also like a cheerleader bitch. And I was like, Okay,
Speaker 3: I'm getting like what you might write for me.
Speaker 2: That's fun.
Speaker 3: So that's kind of how my Glee journey went until then.
Speaker 3: I was on the show and it was just a
Speaker 3: dream come true. Like it was it was what I
Speaker 3: wanted and uh, it happened, and it was in so
Speaker 3: many ways you like dream about it in your head,
Speaker 3: like what would you like to be on set? And
Speaker 3: it was just better because in so many ways I
Speaker 3: already of felt like a part of your guys family
Speaker 3: and everyone was really nice to me, and I was
Speaker 3: really you know, I was really observant and watching like
Speaker 3: how people like were acting and how people and who
Speaker 3: were the leaders in the cast. And obviously you two
Speaker 3: were like just so genuine and real and and kind
Speaker 3: to everybody who was, you know, not a regular on
Speaker 3: the show. And I just loved sort of seeing the
Speaker 3: machine right right and Jenna you talking to you and
Speaker 3: you were like, I am so tired, like you had
Speaker 3: been in rehearsal, like all night you were shooting yet
Speaker 3: all day, yes, and you know it was like you
Speaker 3: guys were working so hard and it was just really
Speaker 3: beautiful to get to be a part of it.
Speaker 2: Aw, that's very good to hear.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you never know sometimes.
Speaker 2: Every time like somebody because we were we I especially
Speaker 2: that episode, we just watched it and we just like
Speaker 2: I do we just by the way.
Speaker 1: Very you were funny, so very funny, so good, very funny.
Speaker 2: Now knowing the backstory of you saw the show like well,
Speaker 2: I'm gonna I gotta get on that show, and then
Speaker 2: you did. You got on the damn show and you
Speaker 2: didn't miss. Everything that came out of your mouth was
Speaker 2: so funny.
Speaker 3: So I was.
Speaker 2: Of course, I was also like even like the thing,
Speaker 2: even though I had been doing it for four years
Speaker 2: at that point, like the things of like us being
Speaker 2: in bed together that was new and like me me
Speaker 2: working with like someone who was actually in a chair.
Speaker 2: I was also like, I feel like the fraud and
Speaker 2: is this okay?
Speaker 3: I don't know, I felt about that.
Speaker 2: I felt self conscious of it. I was like, like,
Speaker 2: are you okay with this? How is this from your end?
Speaker 2: Like yes, yes, So there was a lot of all
Speaker 2: but obviously you're like the kindest, sweetest and most creative person,
Speaker 2: and so you are. You do have like eyes everywhere,
Speaker 2: you are really noticing everything all the time and taking
Speaker 2: all that in and being around you also someone who
Speaker 2: was on the show for a long time, you made
Speaker 2: me feel calmer too. So I felt very lucky to
Speaker 2: be able to work with you because you're just a beast,
Speaker 2: your powerhouse.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for saying that. I really that
Speaker 3: means so much. Kevin and I you know, I admired
Speaker 3: all of you so much, right, like what you created,
Speaker 3: Like it's one thing you know, to write a show,
Speaker 3: but it's the people who make the show. And like
Speaker 3: there was magic. There was magic with you guys, Like
Speaker 3: there was a magical thing that happened it was an
Speaker 3: opportunity that I dreamt about, that I wanted, and I
Speaker 3: think arriving at it and getting to see what it
Speaker 3: really took to make that show, it set the tone
Speaker 3: for me of like, oh, my dreams and my goals,
Speaker 3: Like that's not just like an instant thing that happens.
Speaker 3: It's years and years and years of hard work and
Speaker 3: then once you arrive there, like you have to give
Speaker 3: a hundred percent of you. And that is kind of
Speaker 3: what started sort of my journey to like really finding
Speaker 3: the things that I was very excited about working on,
Speaker 3: like Spring Awakening, Deaf West and then making my Broadway
Speaker 3: debut and you know Spring Awakening, Kevin, you know like
Speaker 3: a lot about that journey. I'm sure you do too
Speaker 3: at this point, Jenna. But like it was like two
Speaker 3: and a half years in LA before were it transferred.
Speaker 3: And you know the first time we did it, we
Speaker 3: were getting paid like forty bucks a week, and like
Speaker 3: we're seeing at a church. It wasn't like some fancy,
Speaker 3: flashy opportunity, but it was something really special totally.
Speaker 2: You guys are grinding it out.
Speaker 3: Skid row, Yes, Oh my gosh, Dna skid row. Okay,
Speaker 3: So that was that was kind of again another situation
Speaker 3: where I was like, this is there's something magical here.
Speaker 2: What a valuable lesson? Though I think it seems like
Speaker 2: when you see people, it often seems like, oh, they're
Speaker 2: an overnight success, and sometimes they are. Sometimes that happens,
Speaker 2: but it's very very rare. You just haven't seen no
Speaker 2: before you showing up on Glee. People don't know it's
Speaker 2: a three year process, or they go see Spring Awakening
Speaker 2: on Broadway and like, no, that's been a two and
Speaker 2: a half year process starting down for forty dollars a week,
Speaker 2: or like Austin was living in his car, like he
Speaker 2: moved to la where you being able to appreciate the
Speaker 2: work itself, the camaraderie, the experience, and being able to
Speaker 2: also then appreciate the journey it takes is such an
Speaker 2: important lesson, yep, because people don't know about that or
Speaker 2: they forget that and they only see the success of it.
Speaker 2: And it's like, if you don't enjoy the other part
Speaker 2: of it, you will not enjoy doing this. And so
Speaker 2: it sounds like you really learned how to find the
Speaker 2: joy in each and every day of just doing sort
Speaker 2: of the very unglamorous parts of the job.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean I came up as a theater kid. So
Speaker 3: the process of theater was the thing that I fell
Speaker 3: in love with because it wasn't just like get on
Speaker 3: stage and be the star. It was like you get
Speaker 3: this family and this community and these best friends, and
Speaker 3: like you're getting to sing and dance every day and
Speaker 3: it's really hard and there's drama, and like I loved that. Yeah,
Speaker 3: that to me was just heaven. And I think growing
Speaker 3: up with a disability and being in a wheelchair and
Speaker 3: having that outlet, like it wasn't just something I loved,
Speaker 3: like I needed it to survive. It was how I
Speaker 3: was able to express myself. And I was feeling so
Speaker 3: many like intense things about being so different right and
Speaker 3: wanting as a teenager to be to fit in so badly.
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm just curious because as like a woman
Speaker 1: of color, which is not even It's like I was
Speaker 1: told theater with you know, this industry was going to
Speaker 1: be hard, that it was going to be harder for
Speaker 1: me than a lot of other people, and that you know,
Speaker 1: maybe I shouldn't pursue it because I probably wouldn't succeed.
Speaker 1: I'm curious for you as you said, you grew up
Speaker 1: with the disability in theatre, was your outlet, Like what
Speaker 1: were people telling you or what was kind of the
Speaker 1: methods that you were getting as you were brought up
Speaker 1: in this industry and then wanting to pursue it.
Speaker 3: I I always could sing, which was helpful because it
Speaker 3: kind of opened the door for me. But as far
Speaker 3: as like logistically how I was going to do it,
Speaker 3: people were terrified. They had no idea what to do
Speaker 3: with me. They didn't know how to stage me, they
Speaker 3: didn't know how to choreograph for me. They didn't know
Speaker 3: like in certain buildings, like how I would get around,
Speaker 3: but I would sit there and sing and like people
Speaker 3: would cry. And I think for like a lot of
Speaker 3: reasons as an adult, I can like unpack and see.
Speaker 3: But at the time, like was really like it was
Speaker 3: something that I felt like gave me power my voice,
Speaker 3: Like nobody could take that right right, nobody could say, like,
Speaker 3: you know, she's you know, like I knew that my voice,
Speaker 3: and it was where I didn't feel limited. It wasn't
Speaker 3: like I had to figure out the stairs and the
Speaker 3: lifts like when I sang. Like when I sang, I
Speaker 3: was just like free yeah, and so you know, people
Speaker 3: were really afraid, and thank goodness, my parents were always
Speaker 3: like we'll make it work, We'll make it happen, don't
Speaker 3: worry about it. Like my dad, I remember him carrying
Speaker 3: me on to stages like in the performances wow, and
Speaker 3: like wow. My mom would drive me into the city
Speaker 3: and like sit there and rehur like I'd be in
Speaker 3: I'd rehearse for things, and my mom would just like
Speaker 3: sit there and be there and make sure like if
Speaker 3: there was any sort of like accessibility issues, like she
Speaker 3: was right there. So they didn't have to like take
Speaker 3: it on themselves. And I just felt like an enormous
Speaker 3: amount of support from the people I trusted the most,
Speaker 3: which were my parents, and they were like, Alie, you
Speaker 3: can do anything like if they and they really didn't
Speaker 3: want me to hear some of the stuff. But then
Speaker 3: when I got to college, yeah, it got a little
Speaker 3: more wild because they couldn't protect me. And I went
Speaker 3: to Nyu Tish and Yu Tish had never had a
Speaker 3: student like the drama department had never had a student
Speaker 3: in a chair, and so it was clumsy at the beginning,
Speaker 3: Like they sat me down and they were like, we
Speaker 3: don't want you to take dance class, like we want
Speaker 3: you to sit on the side and take notes. And
Speaker 3: you know, this was two thousand and five, It's not
Speaker 3: like this was like right the seventy recently. And I
Speaker 3: remember like this thing clicking in of like these people
Speaker 3: are terrified they trust me, and the thing I've always
Speaker 3: been good at my whole life is making people feel good.
Speaker 3: So I was like, listen, let's just keep talking about this.
Speaker 3: I really want to take dance class. I will sit
Speaker 3: on the side in the beginning, but like, let's revisit this, like,
Speaker 3: let's talk about this again, because like I think I
Speaker 3: can do this. And it was the best lesson of
Speaker 3: my four years at NYU because I learned that no
Speaker 3: one can do this for me. I'm going to have
Speaker 3: to figure this out and I'm going to have to
Speaker 3: get creative and for dance, like I had to learn
Speaker 3: how to translate on the spot for myself, like in
Speaker 3: a chair, and I couldn't rely on anybody giving me
Speaker 3: like ideas, and totally it was an opportunity to get
Speaker 3: really creative, and my desire to be a part of
Speaker 3: it was so strong that there was no part of
Speaker 3: me that was going to give up or quit. And
Speaker 3: that's how I feel about my career, and like how
Speaker 3: I felt about being on Broadway. I was like, I
Speaker 3: don't know when this is going to happen, but it's
Speaker 3: gonna happen. Like even if I'm sixty years old and
Speaker 3: I'm playing a grandma on stage, like I will be
Speaker 3: on Broadway one day.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And I think that like people can feel that somewhere
Speaker 3: that like, oh, she's not she's not going anywhere. Yeah,
Speaker 3: And I just I was like, let's get creative. It's
Speaker 3: what I've had to do my entire life, everything from
Speaker 3: like gym class in kindergarten to like sleep overs and
Speaker 3: like trips to the beach in fifth grade and like
Speaker 3: high school, like getting cast in a show where there's
Speaker 3: a tap number, like let's go, Like I don't care
Speaker 3: if you guys don't have the answers. I don't, but
Speaker 3: I was raised to just like make it up.
Speaker 2: That's big. Anyway, everyone feels like they have to know
Speaker 2: what to do, Like it's okay to not know. It's
Speaker 2: a collaboration and it's like your game, then figure it out.
Speaker 3: But in college, you know, I remember we did these
Speaker 3: casting director workshops at the end of senior year, like
Speaker 3: oh meat cat some drittors and I auditioned for this
Speaker 3: one and he's like, you know, this is going to
Speaker 3: be really difficult for you. And I remember leaving like
Speaker 3: being so fired up. Welcome to my life. Right, life
Speaker 3: is hard, right, I don't do easy like when you're
Speaker 3: in a chair, Like you don't get weekends off. Right,
Speaker 3: this is my this is my every day. I don't
Speaker 3: know life without challenges. So like the industry, I was like.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is hard for.
Speaker 3: Exactly. And I also like wanted to like come in
Speaker 3: and like sing well and look good. Like I was
Speaker 3: super conscious that I wanted to be like competitive. I
Speaker 3: was like I have to be as good as everybody
Speaker 3: else and then better in some way.
Speaker 1: Which you were and you are.
Speaker 2: Yeah that's what I wanted.
Speaker 3: I wanted that, and like I was super aware of
Speaker 3: what it was going to take. And and that's part
Speaker 3: of why I want to be on Glee because it
Speaker 3: was like this super like respected and like it was
Speaker 3: the most famous show for you know, like it was
Speaker 3: such a big deal and I was like, if I
Speaker 3: can do that, it will give me some kind of reputation.
Speaker 3: And Ryan Murphy trusts me maybe other and writers and
Speaker 3: people will direct me or direct and want to want
Speaker 3: to work with me.
Speaker 2: That's right.
Speaker 3: All I wanted. I didn't go after I never thought
Speaker 3: I was going to win Tony Award. I just wanted
Speaker 3: to be able to work in the highest level of
Speaker 3: our industry, right.
Speaker 2: And the important thing is you have to to an
Speaker 2: extent know that there is a possibility of it happening
Speaker 2: seeing yourself in some way, and so Ryan having a
Speaker 2: show that checked off a lot of boxers, for a
Speaker 2: lot of different groups that never seen each other, seeing
Speaker 2: themselves on network television then gives those people permission to
Speaker 2: be like, oh, I mean you're living proof of that,
Speaker 2: of like, oh I can do this because that that
Speaker 2: guy sees it, he sees me, and so nobody else does.
Speaker 2: Then you smart smart business lady.
Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks, thank you. I just I've always loved it,
Speaker 3: So I just like, yeah, I needed it.
Speaker 1: You have to. You have to love it. So you
Speaker 1: got on Glee, you got you, you did the three
Speaker 1: year hard work manifestation, got on the show, and then
Speaker 1: you said at the beginning of this that you thought
Speaker 1: it was going to open all these doors, and it
Speaker 1: like kind of did in a lot of ways. But
Speaker 1: then it also didn't so talk about that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I thought that like being on Glee was going
Speaker 3: to open up like more TV opportunitary, right, and that
Speaker 3: like it would just get easier because it was really
Speaker 3: hard to get an audition totally, and you know, there
Speaker 3: were very few people with disabilities working in the industry.
Speaker 2: Very yeah you could name them, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and like still and so I was like, this
Speaker 3: is this is my like ticket And then when that
Speaker 3: didn't happen, I was like, Okay, I was doing like
Speaker 3: all these other creative things, and the way that I
Speaker 3: live my life is like I really trust timing and
Speaker 3: like the border of things. So I did Glee, and
Speaker 3: I was in a relationship with Danny, and that was
Speaker 3: a very new experience and I had met them through
Speaker 3: this experience and I was really trusting all of that.
Speaker 3: And then I had moved back to LA again and
Speaker 3: was doing this non for profit call Be More Heroic,
Speaker 3: where we were touring around the country and doing these
Speaker 3: anti bullying, pro love, pro compassion campaign shows at high schools,
Speaker 3: and it felt like I was really like making a
Speaker 3: difference and like doing something positive with the thing that
Speaker 3: I love to do most and then I started working
Speaker 3: with new agents and the first audition that they got
Speaker 3: for me was this production of Spring Awakening with Deaf West,
Speaker 3: and it felt like kind of perfectly on brand, like
Speaker 3: it was a musical and it was with a company
Speaker 3: that worked with people with disabilities, and it was with
Speaker 3: Michael Arden, and I was like, this sounds cool. Let
Speaker 3: me audition. And then when I auditioned and got called
Speaker 3: back and had to learn sign language and sing at
Speaker 3: the same time, there was this moment where like I
Speaker 3: felt so emotional, like I have to do this, like
Speaker 3: expressing yourself on stage with sign language. It was something
Speaker 3: I needed to do while I sang. It was like, oh,
Speaker 3: these are the ways I can express myself.
Speaker 4: Wow.
Speaker 3: And you know I have my hands, like I can't
Speaker 3: take tap dance, but I can sign. Yeah. So when
Speaker 3: I got involved with that project, I didn't think it
Speaker 3: was going to be on Broadway, but it was something
Speaker 3: that was so creatively fulfilling it didn't matter if it
Speaker 3: had that commercial, sparkly thing on it yet totally. In fact,
Speaker 3: I didn't know, you know, like I said, like I
Speaker 3: didn't know if it was going to be that.
Speaker 1: I felt like I.
Speaker 3: Knew I had to do it, and the people involved
Speaker 3: were like electric. Yeah, you know, I was meeting all
Speaker 3: these new people and like Austin Leading, it was like
Speaker 3: super wild and he was just like just electric, you know.
Speaker 3: And all of the deaf actors and actresses that I
Speaker 3: was meeting, they were all so passionate and so good.
Speaker 3: And then like the people that Michael cast that we're
Speaker 3: hearing were just so interesting and not like you're like
Speaker 3: typical commercial Broadway company. They were just like different. And
Speaker 3: rehearsing that show and doing that show was like it
Speaker 3: was heaven. It was just like the best thing I
Speaker 3: had ever done and to this day is still my
Speaker 3: favorite show I've ever done.
Speaker 1: Oh wow, Oh yeah, I mean it's so special.
Speaker 2: I feel like, talk to anybody who was a part
Speaker 2: of that, and it's very similar Centers.
Speaker 3: Yes, definitely, it's super something was happening. It's like there
Speaker 3: was like a like a like a power thing that
Speaker 3: connected and you see so many of those people and
Speaker 3: like what they're doing now.
Speaker 2: It was like mm hm whoa.
Speaker 1: Yeah for sure.
Speaker 3: And the fact that we went to Broadway, and you know,
Speaker 3: I remember getting this email that we were going to
Speaker 3: go to Broadway and I was in South Africa at
Speaker 3: the time teaching, and I like saw the email and
Speaker 3: I went into the office and I started sobbing, and
Speaker 3: I was like, I'm going to be on Broadway, Like
Speaker 3: my dream is coming through. I'm going to be on Broadway.
Speaker 3: And I like hugged my friend and I went back
Speaker 3: into the classroom and the kids were like, miss Ali,
Speaker 3: why are you crying? And I was like, like, my
Speaker 3: dream is going to come true. I'm going to be
Speaker 3: on Broadway. And they like raised their hand, They're like,
Speaker 3: miss Ali, what's Broadway?
Speaker 1: Oh my god?
Speaker 3: And I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 2: That's so like right, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: So important to me, Like, but there's so many people
Speaker 3: like that don't even know what this is. This is
Speaker 3: my heaven, this is my magic, and it's so special
Speaker 3: to share with them like what it was. And and
Speaker 3: you know, I think that I I do like I
Speaker 3: carry like this little piece of Mike Lee experience into
Speaker 3: every single thing that I do, and that is this
Speaker 3: like importance of like being you and like being yourself
Speaker 3: because it was the first time that I felt like
Speaker 3: being in a chair and being different was an advantage.
Speaker 3: And I carry that into every single thing that I do.
Speaker 3: That it's not something that takes it doesn't take anything
Speaker 3: away from me. It enhances me, it makes me better.
Speaker 3: And that I think is exactly what the show's message was,
Speaker 3: or at least what I took from it and what
Speaker 3: you guys brought to it, that like, you don't need
Speaker 3: to be anyone but yourself and that is enough, and
Speaker 3: that is that is important for a character, for your work,
Speaker 3: for your everything, Like like Kevin, your character, like was
Speaker 3: a moment of like, oh, like Artie is like someone
Speaker 3: that people want to know about and someone can care
Speaker 3: about and someone that someone could un love with. Like
Speaker 3: that was so important to me. And you know, when
Speaker 3: I found out you were in a chair, like there
Speaker 3: was a part of me that was devastated because I
Speaker 3: was so scared that that we weren't ready to see
Speaker 3: disability as it is in real life, that like my
Speaker 3: body wouldn't be enough or like digestible for mass audiences.
Speaker 3: And there was this narrative in my head that disability
Speaker 3: like it has to be like diet disability or like
Speaker 3: light disability, disability totally. And I was so scared, like
Speaker 3: would they cast me on the show? And everywhere I went,
Speaker 3: you guys, people were like you could be on Glee,
Speaker 3: you could be Artie's girlfriend. I know, I know. I
Speaker 3: don't tell me about it, I know. But the confidence
Speaker 3: that I took from not just being on the show
Speaker 3: but being a fan of the show has affected my
Speaker 3: life in every possible way, everything from being on Broadway,
Speaker 3: everything from having relationships and getting married and having a child.
Speaker 3: Like Glee was such a huge deal for me.
Speaker 1: Wow, Wow, it was so important wild It's really crazy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like this has been the gospel according
Speaker 2: to Ali.
Speaker 7: Yeah, great, it was like spiritual connection, well for.
Speaker 1: Somebody else who I don't think a lot of people
Speaker 1: know this that you. You saw it and were like
Speaker 1: that's that could be mine, you know, and you took
Speaker 1: ownership and you were like I'm just gonna go get.
Speaker 2: It well and to be the person who's actually in
Speaker 2: a chair and to actually be the real and go.
Speaker 1: Through all the journey of the insecurity of it all,
Speaker 1: like would they cast me? Would I can I be
Speaker 1: a part of it? Even seeing somebody in a chair
Speaker 1: on TV like that, So then getting there and being
Speaker 1: like such an integral part, like you were one hundred
Speaker 1: and ten percent, like we said, like you took no
Speaker 1: prisoners on your on the episode, and I'm like, I
Speaker 1: wish there was more. I wish you got to spend
Speaker 1: we got to spend more time with you, and I
Speaker 1: wish you had to be on the show more. But
Speaker 1: just that episode was such an impactful part of your journey.
Speaker 1: It was it was every you know.
Speaker 3: Also, I remember am the Glee Project thanking Ryan. So
Speaker 3: something that I was aware of was that there was
Speaker 3: and Kevin, you obviously were aware of this too, like
Speaker 3: that the disabled community was upset obviously, Like I felt
Speaker 3: something when I found out that already you know, Kevin
Speaker 3: that you ablebodied, but I understandable. It's like but I
Speaker 3: said to Ryan, I was like, I have to thank
Speaker 3: you for writing this character, because this character has changed
Speaker 3: my life and it will change the business. And it
Speaker 3: did in so many ways, Like there are there is
Speaker 3: more and more disabled representation on television and across the
Speaker 3: board in film and TV and on stage every single year,
Speaker 3: and like that character is so important to people, and
Speaker 3: you are, Kevin, like you did that with Grace. You
Speaker 3: did that with Grace.
Speaker 2: Yes, well, I felt for all of those reasons, very
Speaker 2: I felt an enormous sense of responsibility obviously, like this
Speaker 2: is not my group, Like, I can't be like I'm
Speaker 2: the spokesperson now because that is a living experience that
Speaker 2: I have not had. And so and like when the episode,
Speaker 2: the first episode of Jenna and I had that was
Speaker 2: like both of our biggest storylines at that point. Because
Speaker 2: of that episode, we started going to all these events
Speaker 2: and I started meeting and obviously that week that was
Speaker 2: the first time there was sort of negative press about
Speaker 2: already being played by me, which I completely understood, but
Speaker 2: I was like, I don't know what to do about this. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I don't know. Like it also wasn't the first time
Speaker 2: me or my friends had auditioned for characters and chairs
Speaker 2: like that was something like and we were very ignorant
Speaker 2: and naive about it because we had no idea and
Speaker 2: I just reet. I remember one night meeting a group
Speaker 2: of parents who told me about their little kids who
Speaker 2: were in chairs watching the show and then becoming obsessed
Speaker 2: with Artie, and I was like, Okay, I was like,
Speaker 2: this isn't perfect, but it's doing what I think, you know,
Speaker 2: Ryan Brad and Ian wanted it to do, in the
Speaker 2: sense that kids are seeing themselves and it's not necessarily
Speaker 2: obviously about who's playing it At this moment, it's just
Speaker 2: about Artie and seeing this kid on TV that looks like.
Speaker 3: Them and like dances and sings.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: That was huge for me too, because I was like
Speaker 3: he's dancing, like.
Speaker 8: He's like everybody else, right, and like it looks good,
Speaker 8: not awkward, it looks awesome, and like, no, you did
Speaker 8: such a great job.
Speaker 2: That was also the first say rehearsals acts, like, so
Speaker 2: you figure out what you can do? I'm like, you did.
Speaker 9: I mean to figure it out, yeah, which was a challenge,
Speaker 9: but like, yeah, but I think you know, you just
Speaker 9: figure it out. Yeah, it is that hard to figure
Speaker 9: out in terms of like hearing you talk about going to.
Speaker 2: Tish and then you can't take dance class. It seems
Speaker 2: crazy because it's like you can like what are you
Speaker 2: talking about? How can I not be part of dance class?
Speaker 2: Of course I can still dance.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's always been so important to me, Like
Speaker 3: getting the opportunity to physically express myself. Yeah, because I
Speaker 3: have a lot to express and physically I just have
Speaker 3: a different vocabulary than you. Right, It's like allowing somebody
Speaker 3: it's like telling somebody they can't speak if they don't
Speaker 3: speak your language. Right, wait a minute. Everyone deserves the
Speaker 3: chance to express themselves. And I just was excited, you know.
Speaker 3: I was excited to like figure it out and find
Speaker 3: a way.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and because it's obviously very doable and it's like.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, well that's their issue, not yours, you know, yeah.
Speaker 3: Right, exactly exactly, And I really did. I'm jumping around
Speaker 3: a little bit. But when I got the episode of
Speaker 3: I Do I read it, I was so nervous about
Speaker 3: like this sort of storyline about like you know, like
Speaker 3: Betty and Already like go into a hotel room together.
Speaker 3: And I was like, Okay, what are they trying to say, Like, oh,
Speaker 3: they're going to go like sleep with each other. And
Speaker 3: then like that is loaded, which is like they weren't
Speaker 3: gonna unpack that on the show, right, But anybody who's
Speaker 3: in a chair knows that, right, And I thought it
Speaker 3: was like very tasteful that we're just like in bed together.
Speaker 3: But like there was a part of me that was
Speaker 3: like for a teenager in a chair, like there's so
Speaker 3: much there, so much there.
Speaker 10: Yeah, So I was like, okay, like are we to
Speaker 10: We're not going to talk about it because like the
Speaker 10: theater where like we had to like spend a week from.
Speaker 2: This scene, right, I would have been nice though, oh
Speaker 2: for sure.
Speaker 3: But I did appreciate the show always went there. Yeah,
Speaker 3: Like they didn't pull back, and I appreciated that. Yeah,
Speaker 3: And I appreciated that they just created the representation that
Speaker 3: these two people in a wheelchair, like are gonna go
Speaker 3: in to this hotel room and like whether they had
Speaker 3: sex or they like hooked up or whatever it was,
Speaker 3: we're just gonna put it on TV.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're just horning them, Yeah exactly.
Speaker 3: But there is there was a part of me afterwards
Speaker 3: that was like, I feel like people in chairs deserve
Speaker 3: to like have like, you know a little bit more
Speaker 3: of like an unpacking of what that is. Yeah, because
Speaker 3: they was also like at a time like I was
Speaker 3: in you know, like in my twenties, and like there
Speaker 3: was a lot that I felt about disability and sexuality
Speaker 3: and what that meant for me and what assumptions I
Speaker 3: was constantly being fed and asked about, like can you
Speaker 3: have sex? Like how does that work? And like getting
Speaker 3: so hurt a few years earlier by like guys that
Speaker 3: I would go out on dates with that were just
Speaker 3: like curious, like they weren't like actually interested in me,
Speaker 3: but just like kind of curious about like sleeping with
Speaker 3: a girl in a wheelchair, and right, always curiosity, and
Speaker 3: so there was a part of me that was like
Speaker 3: I wish they like had gone a little bit further
Speaker 3: with that. Yeah, but right, it was cool to be
Speaker 3: like in an episode and it's like, oh, you get
Speaker 3: to sleep with one of them, Like that's kind of
Speaker 3: a cool like just diving right in and like that
Speaker 3: that can exist. Yeah, Again, like the representation was like, yeah,
Speaker 3: let's do this.
Speaker 2: It also felt like to me that it was very
Speaker 2: important for your character to have this power or like
Speaker 2: you talk about you had that session with the casting
Speaker 2: director where like this is going to be hard for
Speaker 2: you where you're sort of being talked down to and
Speaker 2: like pitied. But I always felt like Ryan always wrote
Speaker 2: all these characters to like no, no, no, I have the power.
Speaker 2: I'm going to do what I want to do, you know,
Speaker 2: And it felt like you showed up on that episode
Speaker 2: and every single moment you were on screen, you're like, no, no,
Speaker 2: I'm doing whatever I want. Yeah, and nothing is going
Speaker 2: to affect that.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And like the fact that she was a cheerleader, Yes,
Speaker 3: like I liked that. I liked that she could do
Speaker 3: this cheerleader because like in the world of Glee, like
Speaker 3: that was power. Yeah, right right with insecurities.
Speaker 1: We always ask people at the end who are involved
Speaker 1: in the show, what is the feeling that Glee leaves
Speaker 1: you with?
Speaker 3: Oh, great question. I think Lee changed the world. To
Speaker 3: be a part of that feels really special. I was
Speaker 3: a fan of the show before I was on the show,
Speaker 3: and it changed me. It changed my life. The opportunity,
Speaker 3: but the storylines and the representation like changed my life.
Speaker 3: So the feeling is that Glee had this unbelievable impact
Speaker 3: on me, and it makes me smile because for me,
Speaker 3: like musical theater is my favorite genre and so they
Speaker 3: get to watch that like on TV with people that
Speaker 3: I identified with. Was it was just it shook my
Speaker 3: world and it changed everything and it really really catapulted
Speaker 3: my career. I think in so many ways. So grateful.
Speaker 3: I mean that's sort of like, you know, not that interesting,
Speaker 3: but it's very interesting, but also just like emotional too
Speaker 3: that so many things happened for me around the show,
Speaker 3: whether it was the Glee project, like different kinds of
Speaker 3: relationships that I had, getting to be on the show,
Speaker 3: meeting and getting to know you guys, and then having
Speaker 3: many of you as friends. It really was just such
Speaker 3: a highlight of my life in my career.
Speaker 2: Well, the feeling is very mutual. We like to claim
Speaker 2: you as much as possible on that Tony stage. Mike,
Speaker 2: that's the first Glee Acting Tony Award.
Speaker 4: That's right, right, Thank you guys, Thank you so so much.
Speaker 3: I'm so happy you do this.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, but but it's what's so nice that people
Speaker 2: like you come on and like open yourselves up and
Speaker 2: share all these experiences, and it's so nice to hear
Speaker 2: because as you experience on that set, when you're in it,
Speaker 2: you're just like, I'm just tired. You're not necessarily getting
Speaker 2: to soak up every moment maybe like you should. And
Speaker 2: it's unbelievable, and I think we're so grateful that we
Speaker 2: get to hear everybody else's perspectives of this and to
Speaker 2: know what it meant to you means a lot to us.
Speaker 2: And I think people listening will enjoy it because it
Speaker 2: means a lot to them. And just thank you for
Speaker 2: taking the time to come on and share that and
Speaker 2: just you're love you so much. I feel like we're
Speaker 2: all like attached for life.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I love you, guys. I'd love to do something
Speaker 3: again with you and do it if you're ever like
Speaker 3: making stuff and the same for me, Like you know,
Speaker 3: it's so fun to like know you and to figure
Speaker 3: out ways that we can create something else together. Yes, yes,
Speaker 3: so more, let's just say more.
Speaker 2: I also love all the ways in which we're connected.
Speaker 2: There's spring awakening and then there's Austin and it's just
Speaker 2: we're all, yes, intertwined.
Speaker 3: And Jenna, we're doing this mom thing.
Speaker 1: We're doing it.
Speaker 2: We're in the mom cloud, crushing it. And there's two
Speaker 2: people I would trust with raising children. It would be
Speaker 2: you two like you to have all the kids.
Speaker 6: Thank you very very much, thank you, congrats Sally, congrats.
Speaker 3: I really appreciate you, guys.
Speaker 1: I love you.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for coming on here.
Speaker 3: Thank you to you soon.
Speaker 6: Yes please, thanks Sally, have a great day, guys, Thank
Speaker 6: you too.
Speaker 2: Bye bye. Thanks for listening and follow us on Instagram
Speaker 2: at and that's what you really miss pod. Make sure
Speaker 2: to write us a review and leave us five stars.
Speaker 2: See you next time.