L Morgan Lee Explained

L Morgan Lee
Education:	University of the Arts (BFA)
Occupation:	Actress, singer

L Morgan Lee is an American 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, making history as the first openly transgender actor to be nominated for a Tony Award.^{[1] [2]}

Early life

Lee grew up in suburban Maryland.^[3] She began performing in her early childhood by singing in her nursery school's talent show.^[4] She began studying voice at 14 at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. At 17, she was a Top 10 Finalist for Wolf Trap's Catherine Filene Shouse Award for Classical Voice. She went on to study musical theater at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Career

Shortly after graduating from UArts, Lee moved to New York City and was quickly cast in a National tour. Next, she danced her way through Europe in a tour of Jesus Christ Superstar directed and choreographed by Baayork Lee. She went on to do a number of off-Broadway, Regional shows, and tours. It was through a Facebook exchange in 2015 that Lee was invited to do a reading of A Strange Loop at the Musical Theatre Factory in New York City. She continued with the show through its 2019 World Premiere off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons where she won an Obie Award and received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.

In 2021, Lee traveled to the UK to play artist Lili Elbe in a musical adaptation of The Danish Girl being developed in London.

Lee made her Broadway debut in 2022 when A Strange Loop transferred to the Lyceum Theater. The show received rave reviews and went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical. For her performance as Thought 1, Lee was nominated for her first Tony Award.^[5]

Discography

Cast & Concept recordings

• A Strange Loop – Original Broadway Cast (2022), Grammy Award Nominated Album
• Soft Butter – Concept Recording (2019)
• A Strange Loop – Original Cast Recording (2019)

Collaborative projects

• Album (Joe Iconis) (2022)
• Her Sound: Volume 3 (2022)
• The Broadway Rainbow Lullaby Album (2021)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Show	Result	Ref
2020		Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical	A Strange Loop		^[6]
		Special Citation			^[7]
		Best Featured Performance in a Musical, Off-Broadway			^[8]
2021					^[9]
2022		Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical	A Strange Loop		^[10] ^[11]
		Distinguished Performance			^[12]
	Antonyo Awards	Best Featured Performance in a Musical, Broadway
2024					^[13]

Notes and References

1. Web site: June 1, 2022 . L Morgan Lee on making Broadway history: 'I could not stop crying' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220613033748/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/jun/01/l-morgan-lee-trans-tony-nomination-a-strange-loop . June 13, 2022 . June 13, 2022 . . en.
2. News: Stevens . Matt . May 9, 2022 . 'Know that it's possible': L Morgan Lee on her trailblazing Tony nomination. . en-US . The New York Times . live . June 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220613035800/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/09/theater/l-morgan-lee-a-strange-loop-tonys.html . June 13, 2022 . 0362-4331.
3. Web site: 'A Strange Loop' breakout star L Morgan Lee makes Tonys history as first openly transgender actress to be nominated . September 10, 2022 . New York Daily News . June 6, 2022 . September 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220910005657/https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-l-morgan-lee-making-transgender-history-broadway-a-strange-loop-20220606-hxqrohnn55fadp6bhrnbsoex44-story.html . live .
4. Web site: June 1, 2022 . L Morgan Lee on making Broadway history: 'I could not stop crying' . September 10, 2022 . the Guardian . en . June 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220613033748/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/jun/01/l-morgan-lee-trans-tony-nomination-a-strange-loop . live .
5. Web site: Culwell-Block . Logan . May 9, 2022 . A Strange Loop's L Morgan Lee Becomes the First Openly Trans Tony-Nominated Performer . September 9, 2022 . Playbill . September 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220910005656/https://playbill.com/article/a-strange-loops-l-morgan-lee-becomes-the-first-openly-trans-tony-nominated-performer . live .
6. Web site: 2020 Lucille Lortel Award Nominations Announced - TheaterMania.com . Theatermania . 14 April 2020 . 14 April 2020.
7. Web site: News & Events: 2020 Obie Winners . The American Theatre Wing . 15 July 2020.
8. Web site: Nominees announced for the inaugural Antonyo Awards celebrating Black theatre . New York Theatre Guide . 25 January 2022 . en . 10 June 2020.
9. Web site: L Morgan Lee Receives Mark O'Donnell Prize . AMERICAN THEATRE . November 11, 2021 . 11 November 2021.
10. News: Stevens . Matt . 'Know that it's possible': L Morgan Lee on her trailblazing Tony nomination. . The New York Times . 9 May 2022.
11. News: Street . Mikelle . 'A Strange Loop,' Stunning Broadway Musical, Gets Historic Tony Noms . www.out.com . 9 May 2022 . en.
12. Web site: Eckmann . Sam . 2022 Drama League Awards nominations unveiled; 43 performers contend for distinguished performance award . GoldDerby . 25 April 2022.
13. Web site: L Morgan Lee Receives the HRC Visibility Award at the 2024 HRC Philadelphia Dinner . YOUTUBE . March 2, 2024 . 2 March 2024.