‘Some Like It Hot’ Star J. Harrison Ghee Received Flowers and a Cheeky Note From Billy Porter After Tony Win
variety.comMarc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor I’m on the phone with J. Harrison Ghee when they walk into their dressing room at the Shubert Theatre before Tuesday night’s performance of “Some Like It Hot.” It’s their first show since winning the Tony about 48 hours earlier, taking home the prize for leading actor in a musical for their work as Jerry/Daphne. “Oh, my God,” Ghee says. “There are a lot of flowers here.” Then they sigh and choke up. “I can’t believe this,” says Ghee, who identifies as nonbinary. “Flowers from Billy Porter!” The card reads, “Welcome to the club, bitch.” I ask Ghee what it was liking waking up on Monday morning and realizing they were a Tony-winner.
They also made history with “Shucked” star Alex Newell as the first nonbinary nominees to win acting Tonys on Sunday. “Well, I didn’t have much time to sleep,” they say. “I had to get to the White House.” Ghee and their “Some Like It Hot” castmates Adrianna Hicks, NaTasha Yvette Williams and Kevin Del Aguila flew to Washington, D.C.
on Monday. They received a tour of the White House and met with President Biden’s openly gay press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as well as second gentleman Doug Emhoff to talk about visibility and representation of trans and nonbinary individuals.
Ghee handed their Tony to Emhoff. “He was like, ‘No, I can’t,’” Ghee says. “I was like, ‘Yes, you can. Come on, you’re the second gentleman.
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