Alex Newell is a Tony-winning Broadway favorite and you might be surprised by their choice for “least favorite show.”
The 33-year-old actor got their start on Glee, playing Unique Adams from seasons three through six. They later made their Broadway debut in the musical Once on This Island and then won a Tony Award for their performance in the musical Shucked back in 2024. After a recent stint as Mama Morton in Chicago, Alex is returning to the New York stage in the off-Broadway production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Alex just appeared on the season two premiere of the Drama Club with Matty podcast and was asked to reveal their last favorite show.
Alex Newell’s least favorite Broadway show is Ragtime
Alex replied, “Mine is Ragtime.”
“Loved the original,” Alex said while praising original cast members Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and the late Marin Mazzie.
Alex continued, “Like, you’ll never get that again. Then there was a revival [in 2009] with people that I love. Then there was the one at the Statue of Liberty [in 2016]. I said, ‘Okay, another one.’ He said, ‘Oh, give me your tired, your huddled, your poor.”
Alex has not seen the 2025 revival of Ragtime, which just won four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.
“I haven’t [seen it] and I love everybody in it… let’s just put it in a little box. Let’s be happy it was made. And let’s…” Alex said, before Matty chimed in, “stop revisiting.”
Alex added, “What are we revisiting? I feel like every time we do the show, no one’s learning from it.”
Many people were upset this year that Cats: The Jellicle Ball, a show that celebrates Black joy, lost the Tony Award to Ragtime, a show that deals with Black suffering.
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