Debbie Allen has joined the creative team of in-development Maya Angelou play with music Phenomenal Woman, Maya Angelou, written by Angelica Chéri. Allen, soon to be back on Broadway directing a revival of August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone, will direct the work, which is aiming for a 2028 world premiere to coincide with Angelou's centennial.
The project, which has already had developmental runs at North Carolina's Black Repertory Company and Houston's The Ensemble Theatre, is the only stage work authorized by Dr. Angelou's estate. Press notes are light on specifics about the work, sharing that it explores and deepens "the legend and legacy of Dr. Angelou's immeasurable impact on the world[.]"
No venue for the planned 2028 premiere has been set. David Michael Rich and Tami Dew Rich of Corstoria and Todd Harris of J. Todd Harris Productions are producing, with Octopus Theatricals serving as executive producer. The project is the brainchild of Rich, who was Angelou's personal appearance agent for more than a decade, and worked on the work with Angelou's son Guy Johnson until his death in 2022.
“Like Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Dr. Maya Angelou was the impactful genius of her time,” says Allen in a statement. “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,” adds Chéri. “I cannot wait for the world to experience the testament to passion and compassion that is Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman.”
“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,” says Rich. “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.”
Allen ascended to international stardom with a singing-and-dancing performance in the 1980 teen movie musical Fame, later reprising her performance and choreographing the TV series adaptation. Having also performed on Broadway in Purlie, Raisin, and Ain't Misbehavin', Fame allowed Allen to return to Broadway a star, first as Anita in a 1980 revival of West Side Story and again in 1986 in the title role of Sweet Charity, Bob Fosse's final directing credit. She received Tony nominations for both performances. Allen choreographed the short-lived Broadway Carrie musical in 1980, and directed a 2008 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
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