Ali Louis Bourzgui's rise on Broadway reached a new milestone on Sunday when the Moroccan-American actor, 26, won his first Tony Award.
He took home the prize for best featured actor in a musical for his performance as David in The Lost Boys, a stage adaptation of the 1987 cult vampire film, capping a whirlwind few years that took him from theatre school graduate to one of Broadway's most talked-about young stars.
The actor, singer and musician has built a reputation for moving seamlessly between major Broadway productions and works centred on Arab stories and identities. He released his debut original album, Becomes A Home, with his band Resident Lightweight in September last year.
Since making his Broadway debut in The Who's Tommy in 2024 – the stage adaptation of the rock opera by British band The Who – Bourzgui has become one of the industry's most sought-after young performers. He later took on the role of Orpheus in Hadestown, the Tony-winning musical inspired by Greek mythology, before starring as vampire leader David in The Lost Boys.
His win also shines a spotlight on a performer who has been vocal about his Arab and Muslim heritage at a time when representation on American stages remains limited.
From Massachusetts to Broadway
Bourzgui was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and grew up in the Berkshires. His father is Moroccan-American, while his mother is of Italian and Irish heritage.
Bourzgui did not always plan to become an actor. He reportedly considered careers in environmental engineering and ornithology before eventually pursuing performing arts professionally, he told The Daily Beast in 2024. He studied at Ithaca College and graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree before landing his first professional role in the national tour of The Band's Visit in 2021.
Embracing his Arab and Muslim identity
Alongside mainstream Broadway productions, Bourzgui has repeatedly chosen projects that centre Middle Eastern voices and experiences.
In Layalina, a musical set between Egypt and the US, he played Marco, a young Egyptian-American navigating family expectations, cultural identity and political change. The production follows one family's story across decades, exploring migration, belonging and the ties between generations.
He later starred in We Live in Cairo, a musical inspired by the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Bourzgui played Amir, one of a group of young friends whose lives are transformed by the political upheaval around them. The show examines friendship, activism and the personal sacrifices made during a period of historic change.
The actor has also spoken openly about reconnecting with his Arab and Muslim identity after years of keeping it in the background.
"Being Muslim was always a little part of my life. But growing up in a post 9/11 world, being Muslim was definitely something I hid for a few years," he told The Daily Beast.
Bourzgui said working on productions such as The Band's Visit and Layalina helped him build friendships with other Arab performers and reconnect with a side of himself he had previously pushed away.
“In those two shows I was surrounded by people from my culture,” Bourzgui said. “I didn’t have that growing up. In Pittsfield, it was just me, my dad, and brother, and some cousins. We didn’t have a community. So, all of a sudden these past few years, I have met Arab actors and have circles of friends of people my age from the same culture.
"It's been such a wonderful re-acceptance of being Muslim – of being proud of it," he told the publication. "For something I pushed away for so long, it's been wonderful."
On Sunday, while accepting his first Tony Award, Bourzgui used his speech to honour immigrant families and Palestinians.
“For the people of Palestine who deserve to live a fruitful life, a free life, a full life without occupation. For Arab theatermakers and artists, may we continue to tell our stories and show our faces, so our humanity becomes undeniable, and our families can no longer be written off as merely collateral damage," he said. "May they know the beauty of our kisses upon each cheek and the romance of a language rooted in passion for love and life itself."
