L Morgan Lee

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L Morgan Lee
Lee at a Paper event in November 2022
EducationUniversity of the Arts[1]
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Websitelmorganlee.com

L Morgan Lee is an American theatre actress and singer. She was nominated for the 2022 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in A Strange Loop on Broadway, and was credited as the first openly transgender actor to be nominated for a Tony Award.[1][2]

Early life

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Lee grew up in suburban Maryland.[3] She began performing in her early childhood by singing in her nursery school's talent show. She studied musical theater at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.[1]

Career

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Lee joined A Strange Loop in 2015 after Michael R. Jackson reached out to her on Facebook and asked her to do a reading.[3] She continued with the show during its off-Broadway premiere at Playwrights Horizons, playing the role of Thought 1, where she won an Obie Award and was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.[4][5] In 2021, Lee portrayed Lili Elbe in a workshop for a musical adaptation of The Danish Girl in England.[6]

Lee transferred with A Strange Loop to Broadway in 2022. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical at the 75th Tony Awards, becoming the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for a Tony.[1][2]

In 2025, it was announced Lee would direct a one-night benefit concert of The Drowsy Chaperone at Carnegie Hall with a cast composed entirely of trans and non-binary performers.[7]

Discography

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Cast & concept recordings

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  • A Strange Loop – Original Cast Recording (2019), Grammy Award nominated album[8]
  • Soft Butter – Concept Recording (2019)

Collaborative projects

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  • The Broadway Rainbow Lullaby Album - "The Dream" (2021)
  • Her Sound: Volume 3 - "Nazareth" (2022)
  • Album (Joe Iconis) - "Play the Princess" (2022)

Stage

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Key
† Denotes upcoming roles
Year Title Role Venue Ref
2019 A Strange Loop Thought 1 Off-Broadway, Playwrights Horizons [9]
2021 Regional, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company [10]
The Danish Girl Lili Elbe Workshop, New Theatre Peterborough [6]
2022 A Strange Loop Thought 1 Broadway, Lyceum Theatre [11]
2024 A Complicated Woman Nina Mae Regional, Goodspeed Musicals [12]
Fiorello! Mitzi Travers Concert, Classic Stage Company [13]
2025 All Shook Up Sylvia Regional, Goodspeed Musicals [14]
The Drowsy Chaperone† Director Benefit Concert, Carnegie Hall [7]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Show Result Ref
2020 Lucille Lortel Awards Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical A Strange Loop Nominated [5]
Obie Award Special Citation Won [4]
2022 Tony Award Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Nominated [2][15]
Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Nominated [16]
2024 HRC Visibility Award Won [17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "L Morgan Lee on making Broadway history: 'I could not stop crying'". The Guardian. June 1, 2022. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Stevens, Matt (May 9, 2022). "'Know that it's possible': L Morgan Lee on her trailblazing Tony nomination". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "'A Strange Loop' breakout star L Morgan Lee makes Tonys history as first openly transgender actress to be nominated". New York Daily News. June 6, 2022. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "News & Events: 2020 Obie Winners". The American Theatre Wing. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "2020 Lucille Lortel Award Nominations Announced - TheaterMania.com". Theatermania. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Wood, Alex (April 22, 2021). "The Danish Girl musical workshop announces cast and creative team". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (July 14, 2025). "'The Drowsy Chaperone' Sets New York Benefit Concert With Laverne Cox, Jonathan Van Ness, Betty Who and Alex Newell". Variety. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  8. ^ Grein, Paul (January 20, 2023). "Inside the Wide-Open 2023 Grammy Race for Best Musical Theater Album". Billboard. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  9. ^ Clement, Olivia (June 17, 2019). "Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop Opens June 17 at Playwrights Horizons". Playbill. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  10. ^ Gans, Andrew (December 8, 2021). "Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop Extends Woolly Mammoth Run". Playbill. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  11. ^ Phillips, Maya (April 26, 2022). "'A Strange Loop' Review: A Dazzling Ride on a Mental Merry-Go-Round". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  12. ^ Arnott, Christopher (June 3, 2024). "Theater review: 'A Complicated Woman' an old-fashioned musical sensitive to modern trans issues". Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  13. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (October 2, 2024). "Kerry Butler, L Morgan Lee, Krysta Rodriguez, More Join 1-Night-Only Fiorello! at Classic Stage". Playbill. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  14. ^ Gans, Andrew (May 22, 2025). "L Morgan Lee, Kerstin Anderson, Ryan Mac, More Will Lead Goodspeed's All Shook Up". Playbill. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  15. ^ Street, Mikelle (May 9, 2022). "'A Strange Loop,' Stunning Broadway Musical, Gets Historic Tony Noms". www.out.com.
  16. ^ Eckmann, Sam (April 25, 2022). "2022 Drama League Awards nominations unveiled; 43 performers contend for distinguished performance award". GoldDerby.
  17. ^ "L Morgan Lee Receives the HRC Visibility Award at the 2024 HRC Philadelphia Dinner". YouTube. Human Rights Campaign. March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
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