J. Harrison Ghee

J. Harrison Ghee is an American actor, singer, and dancer born on June 16, 1989, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where they were raised as the child of a Southern Baptist pastor and an educator. Ghee began playing cello in elementary school before transitioning to bass, and later took up trombone in order to participate in the marching band at E. E. Smith High School, from which they graduated in 2007. Ghee subsequently enrolled at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, and during their college years first experimented with drag while playing a female wrestler in a performance.

Before establishing themselves on Broadway, Ghee worked professionally at Tokyo Disneyland and aboard cruise ships. It was during their time in Tokyo that Ghee developed their drag persona, Crystal Demure. In 2011, Ghee appeared in the Off-Broadway musical Little House on the Ferry, a contemporary gay love story set in Fire Island Pines, New York, alongside performers Seph Stanek, Colton Ford, and Kit Balcuns. When Ghee auditioned for Motown, they connected with casting directors who also worked on Kinky Boots, sharing their personal connection to the character Lola. That conversation led to Ghee being cast as Lola for their Broadway debut, making them the first established drag performer to take on the role. Ghee later joined the national touring production of the show as well.

Ghee's Broadway career spans from 2013 to the present. Following Kinky Boots, they joined the cast of Mrs. Doubtfire, beginning previews before Broadway's 2020 shutdown. Ghee had previously originated the role of Andre Mayem in the production during its 2019 run at the 5th Avenue Theatre. In 2021, Ghee performed as Velma Kelly in The Muny's production of Chicago, and then returned to originate the role of Andre Mayem when Mrs. Doubtfire officially opened on Broadway. Ghee also appeared in Hadestown during their Broadway tenure.

In December 2022, Ghee originated the role of Jerry/Daphne in Some Like It Hot, the stage musical adaptation of the 1959 film in which the corresponding role was played on screen by Jack Lemmon. The performance earned Ghee the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical at the 76th Tony Awards in 2023, as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical that same year. At the ceremony, Ghee and Alex Newell, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Shucked, became the first openly nonbinary actors to be nominated for and win Tony Awards. In 2024, Ghee received the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for the Some Like It Hot cast recording.

Beyond the stage, Ghee was named to OUT Magazine's Out 100 list in 2023. In 2024, they starred as the Jester in Encores!'s production of Once Upon a Mattress at New York City Center, and it was announced they would lead as the Lady Chablis in Jason Robert Brown and Taylor Mac's production of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Ghee is scheduled to appear as Hermes in Hadestown on Broadway beginning in March 2026. Ghee is nonbinary and pansexual, and uses he/she/they pronouns.