LEGEND DEBBIE ALLEN TO DIRECT “MAYA ANGELOU, PHENOMENAL WOMAN”: PREMIERE PLANNED FOR 2028, ANGELOU’S CENTENARY YEAR
Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Kendall Edwards / Sam Corbett
rick@omdkc.com / kendall@omdkc.com / sam@omdkc.com
212 695 7400
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
PHENOMENAL WOMEN TELLING PHENOMENAL STORIES
FIVE-TIME EMMY® WINNER AND
ACADEMY HONORARY AWARD WINNER
DEBBIE ALLEN TO DIRECT
ANGELICA CHÉRI’S
PLAY WITH MUSIC
“PHENOMENAL WOMAN, MAYA ANGELOU”
THE FIRST AND ONLY ESTATE-AUTHORIZED STAGE PRODUCTION
ON THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF DR. ANGELOU
PLANS PREMIERE IN 2028
TIMED TO DR. ANGELOU’S 100th BIRTHDAY
To download head shots and show art, click here.
New York, NY (November 10, 2025) — Lead Producers David Michael Rich and Tami Dew Rich of Corstoria, and Todd Harris of J. Todd Harris Productions and Executive Producer Octopus Theatricals announced today that legend of stage and screen Debbie Allen will direct Angelica Chéri’s Phenomenal Woman, Maya Angelou—a play with music that will be the first and only stage production about the iconic figure authorized by the estate of the beloved poet, author, teacher, and civil-rights leader. The announcement follows two hugely successful and acclaimed developmental runs of Phenomenal Woman, Maya Angelou at the North Carolina Black Repertory Company and The Ensemble Theatre Houston. Exploring and deepening the legend and legacy of Dr. Angelou’s immeasurable impact on the world, the production continues its developmental process with sights set on a premiere timed to Dr. Angelou’s centennial year, 2028.
“Like Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Dr. Maya Angelou was the impactful genius of her time,” said Ms. Allen. “The poetry that she delivered radiated a folk spirit of African American people that became classic and traditional. This production will dramatize and sing the soul and the essence of her being from child to legend. The audience will discover so many wonderful unknown events in her life that catapulted her to RISE. I am beyond humbled, excited and honored to helm this production as director. I had a very personal relationship with Dr. Maya Angelou, and know her legacy resonates with thousands and thousands of young people in the performing arts today.”
“Art has the power to unite the world or to divide it, and the verses and words that Dr. Angelou blessed us with have been our guiding light in bringing her story to life on the stage,” said Ms. Chéri. “I cannot wait for the world to experience the testament to passion and compassion that is Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman.”
Dr. Angelou’s influence is not only enduring, but also expanding. Her more than 30 books have sold in the millions worldwide, continue to be bookstore favorites and remain required reading in schools and universities around the globe. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, her first book, has been translated into over 30 languages and continues to chart annually among modern literary classics. Random House, her longtime publisher, continues to grow the Angelou catalog, including new releases such as a 2024 journal inspired by her writings, and the estate participates in a wide range of educational initiatives and licensing agreements that continue to extend her reach to new generations. Her words remain embedded in contemporary culture: Simone Biles carries an Angelou quote tattooed over her heart, Beyonce invoked her inspiring quotations in both the documentary film Homecoming and its trailer, and the list of institutions named in her honor is ever-expanding. In addition to reciting her original poem On The Pulse of Morning for President Clinton’s 1993 inauguration and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama, as well as more than 50 honorary degrees, Pulitzer and Tony nominations, and three Grammy Awards, Angelou became the first Black woman ever featured on United States coinage, a 2022 quarter—further cementing her place in American history. Across literature, music, education, public policy, and social justice, the Maya Angelou legacy and brand continue to grow in cultural relevance, market strength, and emotional impact worldwide.
Ms. Allen, a BFA graduate of Howard University in Theater and Classical Greek Studies, holds five honorary Doctorate degrees, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was named a Kennedy Center honoree, and is an award-winning director/choreographer who has choreographed the Academy Awards a record ten times. On November 16th, she will receive the Honorary Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for her career of longstanding gifts to the entertainment industry. Her other honors include the Golden Globe, a Drama Desk Award, five Emmy Awards, ten Image Awards, and two Tony Award nominations. She is currently an executive producer, director, and featured actor on TV’s long running Grey’s Anatomy.
Angelica Chéri was recently named to Variety’s “Ten Broadway Talents to Watch in 2025” List, and has been celebrated as a rising playwright, bookwriter/lyricist, screenwriter, and poet. She received the prestigious Richard Rodgers Award for her authorship of the musical Gun & Powder, now aimed for Broadway as Wanted, and was selected for the Geffen Playhouse’s inaugural Writers’ Room. Chéri is a proud member of The Dramatists’ Guild.
Producer David Rich, who originated this project, represented Dr. Angelou as a personal appearance agent for over a decade. Rich began the project’s development with Dr. Angelou’s late son, Guy Johnson and continues to work closely with the estate in its development.
“We’re thrilled that this prestige production about one of the most important cultural figures of the past 100 years, Maya Angelou, is being directed by Debbie Allen, a true legend in her own right, and is being scripted by Angelica Chéri, a writer very much on the rise,” Rich observed. “Together, this duo of truly wonderful creatives powers the continuity of artistry, activism toward justice, and cultural nurturing that was set in motion when Dr. Angelou first broke through 60 years ago. We take our responsibility toward our heroine’s legacy very seriously, and as the signing of these magnificent talents shows, we’re striving for the same high artistic standards set by Angelou, and to uphold the values she embodied and asked us all to live. She often said that she wrote from the Black experience, but aimed for the human heart. She more than achieved her goal. Her wide audience cut across all identities, and we think this production will have the same universal reach.”
Phenomenal Woman, Maya Angelou is co-commissioned by Corstoria LLC and J. Todd Harris Productions, Inc. with North Carolina Black Repertory Company and was originally produced at North Carolina Black Repertory Company (Jackie Alexander, producing artistic director). Rounding out the lead producing team are Jameson Rich of Corstoria, and Marc Marcum and Thomas Pettinelli of J. Todd Harris Productions.
For details and future updates regarding Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman, please visit www.phenomenalwomanplay.com.
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