Video: Alex Newell Reveals How They Relate to Their SHUCKED Character CBS MORNINGS

Alex Newell appeared on CBS Mornings today to discuss their Tony-winning performance in Shucked on Broadway.

Newell spoke about playing Lulu in the hit Broadway musical and how they relate to the role.

"She is quick, she is independent, she is affirmative in her own life and affirms other people's lives and I learned so much from playing this strong person in my own life and I apply those lessons of like, I built this wonderful career of my own and it's okay to need someone else at the same time and look at the fruits of your labor," Newell shared.

In June, Newell made history as the first out non-binary performer to win a Tony Award. During the interview, they opened up about what that moment meant to them.

"I was told that I was too fat to play roles on Broadway. I was told that I was too sassy, too Black. I was too much. I was too loud. To be on that stage and to win one of the highest awards in theater was life-affirming," they continued.

Newell also discussed growing up inspired by Nell Carter, what the live audience adds to Shucked, not wanting to be a role model, and more. Watch the complete interview below!

With a book by 2023 Tony Award nominee Robert Horn, music and lyrics by 2023 Tony Award nominees Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and direction by 2023 Tony Award nominee and three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien, Shucked also stars the award-winning ensemble of (in alphabetical order) Outer Critics Circle Award nominee John Behlmann, Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominee Kevin Cahoon, Drama Desk Award nominee Andrew Durand, Tony Award nominee Grey Henson, Theatre World Award winner and Drama Desk Award nominee Caroline Innerbichler, and Theatre World Award winner Ashley D. Kelley.

The ensemble of Shucked features Jimmy Brewer, Audrey Cardwell, Dwayne Clark, Rheaume Crenshaw, Jaygee Macapugay, Scott Stangland, Yasmeen Sulieman, and Quinn VanAntwerp. The swings are Miki Abraham, Ken Wulf Clark, Traci Elaine Lee, and Alan Wiggins.

What do you get when you pair a semi-neurotic, New York comedy writer with two music superstars from Nashville? A hilarious and audacious farm-to-fable musical about the one thing Americans everywhere can't get enough of: corn. Shucked is the new musical comedy that proves sometimes tearing down a few walls, rather than growing them, is the only way to preserve our way of life. Shucked is turning Broadway on its ear and offer a kernel of hope for our divided nation.

Watch the interview here: