“Jagged Little Pill” star Lauren Patton took Tony home on Sunday for Best Actress in a Musical, but her victory took the internet by storm.
Patton’s award was announced by the Actors Equity Association on Sunday, prompting him to launch an independent investigation into the production as former actors accused management of threatening them and forcing them to delay serious surgery. Actors Nora Shell and Celia Rose Gooding claim that the workplace is detrimental to the trance and non-binary community on and off stage.
While accepting her Tony, Patton agreed to the debate on the show. “It’s a weird time for awards,” she said. “We are at the center of the calculation in our industry. And first of all I would like to thank my trance and nonbinary friends and colleagues who participated in the difficult conversation with me who interacted with my character Joe.
She added, “I believe that the change we see on Broadway comes from the kind of conversations that are filled with honesty and empathy and respect for our shared humanity.”
But her victory disappointed critics on social media, with some suggesting she should quit the show and reject the award, given the allegations against the product.
Shell said on social media on Friday that he was repeatedly “threatened, forced and forced to stop serious and necessary surgery to remove the growth from my vagina which was causing me weakness.”
She said she was told by a gynecologist that she needed polycystic ovarian syndrome surgery, but was ignored by the stage manager and the creative team. “When I reiterated the possibility of this increase / need for surgery again in the future, I met in frustration and said that if I had to fly, it would not be considered paid medical leave.”
Shell said he has no plans to return when it reopens in October, and Gooding announced that her performance at Sunday’s Tony Awards would be her last as Frankie Healy.