Aaron Lazar Attends 2024 Tony Awards in a Wheelchair After ALS Diagnosis
The Broadway actor appeared after his diagnosis of the neurodegenerative disorder in January
Aaron Lazar attended his first Tony Awards since his ALS diagnosis.
The 47-year-old performer appeared on the event’s red carpet in a wheelchair looking dashing in a cream-colored tuxedo jacket with black pants and topped with a black bowtie.
At the pre-show for the 77th annual ceremony celebrating Broadway’s best, Lazar was spotted greeting supportive friends.
The veteran Broadway actor, known for his roles in musicals like Dear Evan Hansen, Les Misérables, A Little Night Music and The Light in the Piazza, publicly announced his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in January during an interview on The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, causes loss of muscle control and results from the disease targeting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Lazar said on The Broadway Show that he had started experiencing symptoms six months before his diagnosis, which included muscle twitches in various parts of his body.
“ALS is hard to diagnose sometimes. It’s kind of a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning they just try to rule out a bunch of things and say, ‘Well, I guess you have that.’ ” Lazar said. “And it’s scary for people out there dealing with it. I went through a really, really tough time of anxiety and insomnia and depression for the months leading up to the diagnosis.”
Lazar recently announced the release of his debut album Impossible Dream — which includes a star-studded list of features including Josh Groban, Loren Allred, Leslie Odom Jr., Neil Patrick Harris and more.
“This album is incredibly special not just because it is my debut album, but also because it is an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate what I’m learning: we all have the power within us to make the impossible possible, and we help each other heal,” Lazar said in a statement.
