Alex Newell

Alex Newell stars as Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee off Broadway at New World Stages from August 7, 2026.

Alex Newell was born on August 20, 1992 in Lynn, Massachusetts. They attended Kipp Lynn Academy and later the Bishop Fenwick High School, where he graduated in 2012. Growing up, Newell was a valued member of both their school's and church's choirs.

Newell's big break came as they were accepted to compete on The Glee Project casting show to win a role on the hit musical TV series Glee. Although he finished second on the show, the show's producers granted them two episodes as Unique Adams, a transgender student, in 2012. Fans of the show were so enamored with the character of Unique that Newell was invited back to Glee for a full-time or recurring role from the fourth season onwards. Between 2012 and 2015, Newell appeared in a total of 43 episodes of Glee.

Newell later starred as Mo on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and released an EP, Power. They then built a successful Broadway career, making their debut as Asaka in the 2018 Broadway revival of Once on This Island.

For their role in Shucked, Newell won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, becoming one of the first openly non-binary performers to win a Tony Award. They were later named the 2023 Time Breakthrough Person of the Year.

Newell went on to play Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago on Broadway in 2026.