A singer and actress from New Jersey is bringing her voice to a virtual audience this weekend.
Ali Stroker says that she couldn’t say no to the opportunity to get back on the stage.
“I’m singing musical theater. I’m going to sing pop. I’ll sing country, some standards,” she says.
Stroker will perform a concert to be live streamed from Enlow Recital Hall on the campus of Kean University on Saturday evening. There will be no audience present in the theater.
“I miss performing so much. So to get to share a concert with my friends and family and anyone else who wants to watch, right now, feels like a gift,” she says.
The Ridgewood native drew worldwide attention for her performance in "Oklahoma" on Broadway in 2019, becoming the first actress who uses a wheelchair to win a Tony Award.
“I still think back like, ‘Was that a dream?’ It was so exciting and special and it changed my life,” Stroker says. "It's really, really important that we see authentic representation in our lives for the disabled community. I feel a great responsibility to do that."
Using a wheelchair since early childhood, Stroker says that support from her parents and the Ridgewood community while growing up made all the difference in realizing her dream of success on stage.
Tickets for Saturday's live-streamed concert "An Evening with Ali Stroker" are $25 per device, and are available through
Kean University's website.