Alex Newell recently made history with their Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in Shucked, which has received glowing reviews and praise with Alex’s performance of the song “Independently Owned” being called a showstopper. Their performance also received a Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical. Prior to this, Alex starred as the god Asaka (female role) in the Broadway revival of Once on This Island. This show granted Alex a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album, and the production was nominated for nine Tony Awards in 2018, won Best Revival, and featured Alex’s song “Mama Will Provide,” which they performed live at the Tonys.
Alex has been named in the 2023 Variety’s New Power of New York list, and they are also featured in the 2023 Time Magazine’s TIME100 Next list, a list of the one hundred individuals who are shaping the future of their fields and defining the next generation of leadership. Alex’s piece was written by Academy Award-winning actress Mary Steenburgen, and they were honored at the Time Magazine gala in October as well. Alex was additionally named the 2023 Breakthrough of the Year by Time Magazine, a brand-new feature that is part of the annual Person of the Year issue. Alex can now be seen in Amazon film Simple Favor 2 directed by Paul Feig.
* Tickets to CVPA and UCLS events are sold exclusively through our box office locations and ETix website, and nowhere else. Tickets purchased through third-party vendors cannot be honored.
In addition to public presentations, artists in the UCLS series have important interactions with UNCG students, such as holding masterclasses, talkback sessions, and seminars, often just hours before performing on stage. Thanks to a grant from The Cemala Foundation, some of these artists also work with K-12 students in the Guilford County Schools.
