Alex Newell to Join Shoshana Bean For Holiday Concert at the Apollo

Shoshana Bean will be joined by Tony Award-winner and recent Grammy Award-nominee Alex Newell for Bean’s highly anticipated one-night-only holiday concert at Harlem’s World Famous Apollo Theater on Monday, December 4th at 7:30PM.

Moreover, the acclaimed Broadway Inspirational Voices, recipient of the prestigious TONY® honor, will once again grace the stage. Previously announced special guests include Kristin Chenoweth and Betty Who.

Currently starring in the Tony Award-nominated Best Musical "Shucked," Alex is best known for their role as Unique Adams on the Fox musical series "Glee" and as Mo on "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist." Newell also starred as Asaka in the Broadway revival of "Once on This Island" at the Circle in the Square Theater in 2018.

For their role in "Shucked," they won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, becoming the first openly nonbinary person to win a Tony Award in an acting category. The most recent recognition they received is a Grammy nomination for the cast album of "Shucked," nominated in the category of Best Musical Theater Album.

Shoshana’s Apollo holiday shows have become a magical NYC tradition. Each year, she invites some of her favorite artists and friends to join her in this modern soul-filled take on the classic holiday special. Previous guests include Cynthia Erivo, Ledisi, Leslie Odom Jr, Jeremy Jordan, Gavin Creel and more. Additional guest will be announced over the coming weeks.

Shoshana Bean is currently starring in the brand-new Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen at The Public Theater. The Grammy and Tony Award nominee is spending her night off in Harlem to kick off the holiday season and keep the tradition alive. Bean recently starred opposite Billy Crystal in Broadway’s Mr. Saturday Night.

She previously starred on Broadway as Elphaba in Wicked and Jenna in Waitress. Her six independent studio albums have landed her on top of the iTunes and Billboard charts.

Tickets for the event are on sale now.

ABOUT Alex Newell:

Alex Newell has made history with their recent Tony Award win for the hit musical SHUCKED, which has received glowing reviews and praise with Alex’s performance of the song “Independently Owned” being called a showstopper. Their performances have also granted them the 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 show was nominated for nine Tony Awards in 2018, won Best Revival and featured Alex's song which they performed live (Clip from Tony's).  

Alex has been named in this year's Variety New Power of New York List, and they are also featured in the 2023 TIME 100 Next list. The TIME's annual list consists of 100 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 will be honored at their gala in October as well. 

Apart from theater, Alex was also recently a series regular on NBC show ZOEYS EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST, where they played the non-binary character Monique. Most recent guest credits include Fox's OUR KIND OF PEOPLE, EMPIRE and NBC pilot IMAGINARY FRIEND.

Most notably, Alex Rose to national attention from the GLEE PROJECT which led to their series regular role on GLEE in which they portrayed the transgender character UNIQUE. On the music side, Alex is signed to Big Beat Records (an Atlantic Records subsidiary). Their song "Kill the Lights" was featured throughout the HBO series VINYL. Alex is also a spokesperson for GLAAD and was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award in 2020 for their work on ZOEYS as well.