Cole Escola becomes first nonbinary actor to win Tony Award for lead role in a play
(AP) - Most award winners thank Mom, their agents, their co-stars and their spouses.
Cole Escola, one of the major stars of this Tony Awards night, promised Mom a call, but also decided to thank “Teebo from Grindr” — the dating app — when accepting the award for lead actor in a play.
Escola is star and writer of the riotous “Oh, Mary!” — a reimagining of the life of Mary Todd Lincoln (and her husband, Abe) that addresses the question: What if the Lincoln assassination wasn’t such a bad thing for Mary? (Mary wants to be a cabaret star, you see.) The show is seeing audiences collapse in laughter for 80 minutes every night on Broadway.
Escola, a downtown cabaret star, beat out Hollywood stars like George Clooney and Daniel Dae Kim for the acting award. They mentioned their co-nominees in their speech, saying they had enjoyed sharing “warm salads” at pre-awards lunches.
Escola is the first nonbinary actor to win a Tony in the category.
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