BWW Exclusive: Ali Stroker Talks OKLAHOMA! in the New Series ABLE

BroadwayWorld has an exclusive video of Oklahoma! star Ali Stroker talking about what its like to play Ado Annie in a wheelchair on ABLE: a series!

Watch the interview and see the transcript below!

Production company SoulStir Creative announced the release of "ABLE: a series", now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. ABLE addresses the missing conversations about disability in the entertainment industry.

ABLE is directed by Cassidy Cole. Current guests include Danny Woodburn, Amy Buchwald, Maysoon Zayid, Ali Stroker, Evan Ruggiero, John McGinty, Christine Bruno, Ann Talman, Nicholas Linnehan, and Ben Dworken.

From Producer Kallen Blair, "People with disabilities make up the largest minority group in the United States, yet we see them the least in media. When we do see them, the characters are often stereotyped or overly inspirational. The seeds of our idea come from my love for my brother Joel, and my co-producer, Alie B. Gorrie, and her experiences as an actress with a vision impairment. The ABLE team is owning that as the next generation in this industry, we have the ability to inspire and motivate these changes."

"ABLE is more important now than ever as disability inclusion in the arts is on the rise. It is imperative that inclusion is more than a passing trend...we need ABLE to educate others so that inclusion becomes a lasting reality for all artists and audiences." Says Co- Producer Alie B Gorrie.

"ABLE is the kind of content that changes the industry and the world one interview at a time." - Ali Stroker, Tony award-winning actress

TRANSCRIPT:

- I am doing a production of Oklahoma out at Saint Anne's Warehouse right now and I'm playing Ado Annie. And this is a character that is exploring her sexuality. And I think what's exciting is that people are watching it and they're somebody who is sexy, and they're also in a chair. And it stirs them because they're not sure how they're allowed to feel. I am so excited about changing that dialogue and to have people just see somebody who's playing the role who's hot.

- Yeah.

- And they're in a chair. And it's like, oh, whoa, okay, what's happening? This is new.

- Revolutionary.

- This is a new thing.

- Yeah.

- This is new. This is new and important.

- Yeah.

- Have you had any talk-backs or any experiences with the audience? Or have you gotten any feedback?

- Yeah.

- And I'm so curious.

- Yeah, well. There was a group from NYU who came. I went to NYU. There was girl who uses a wheelchair to get around and she was just really, really excited and kind of emotionally stirred with seeing this because she was like, I don't, like what we were talking about with representation. I don't see people like me and it's a reminder that I can do this.