News!
Resident Playwright at New Harmony Project 2023 Conference, May 24-June 4, 2023.
Co-librettist for Treemonisha opened June 2023 at the Luminato Festival Toronto.
Press: Zachary Woolfe in the New York Times: Has Scott Joplin’s ‘Thoroughly American Opera’ Found Its Moment? (Published July 27, 2023)
Writers Guild of America Award in 2023 for Days of Our Lives, Outstanding Writing Daytime Drama — Cheryl’s second win!
The Orchard Project 2021 Performance Lab
Randall David Cook and Cheryl L. Davis, with director Gwynn MacDonald, will be bringing their draft of The Monument about Sen. Strom Thurmond’s daughter Essie Mae Washington Williams – and her relationship with her history making father – to completion.
Press
The Orchard Project Announces 2021 Labs, Projects, and Participants by Alexa Criscitiello at broadwayworld.com (July 1, 2021).
Cheryl named Maven Screen Media Fellow 2021.
New Interview!
Cheryl is featured on Onstage/Offstage in Episode 139: Women of The Honor Roll with Yvette Heyliger and Lucy Wang (released 02 March 2021).
Don’t Stay Safe
Premiered December 30, 2020 as part of Prospect Theater Company’s VISION Series.
This companion piece to the full-length musical Bridges engages with the ongoing struggle for racial equality and civil rights, examining the risks of protest… and the risks of staying safe.
Book and lyrics by Cheryl L. Davis
Music by Douglas J. Cohen
Directed by Christina Franklin
Cinematography by Lesley Steele
Honors
Nominee, Outstanding Digital Theater, Individual Production Drama League Awards 2021
Official Selection, NYC Indie Theatre Film Festival 2021
Winner, Best Musical/Dance Film, Los Angeles Film Awards 2021
Honorable Mention, Paris Film Festival
Official Selection, Prison City Film Festival 2021
Official Selection, Toronto Film Channel
Best LGBTQ Short, Indie Short Fest
& more.
Press
Don’t Stay Safe! (A Stirring Musical Theater Piece) by Alix Cohen, Woman Around Town, January 6, 2021
Senator Slapstuck: From Zero to Slappy!
This new work was announced as a Semifinalist in the Stage 32 1st Annual New Voices in Animation Screenwriting contest on January 8, 2021.
#WhileWeBreathe: A Night of Creative Protest
Top Broadway talent join forces to create new works that will be featured in a one-night only event to benefit civil rights organizations.
#WhileWeBreathe will premiere on July 29 at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on WhileWeBreathe.com, as well as YouTube Live and Facebook Live. Following the premiere, all of the works will be available for viewing.
The event will raise money for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., The Bail Project, Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD), BYP100 Education Fund, Forced Trajectory Project (FTP), The Justice Committee and SONG.
Press
- Appointment Theater, Coming to a Screen Near You
By Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, July 30, 2020
“Voices be heard The ambitious “#WhileWeBreathe: A Night of Creative Protest” is made up of 11 new works by and starring an exciting group of writers, directors and actors. The project, which can be watched on YouTube, benefits the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense and Educational Fund and other like-minded organizations. While the pieces are short (the whole program runs just over an hour), most are very effective. A perfect example is Cheryl L. Davis’s “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,” starring Patina Miller and Hailey Stone under Tamara Tunie’s direction — the minimalist staging only makes it more quietly distressing.” - What’s Streaming? Broadway Bares, Andrew Scott in Three Kings, #WhileWeBreathe by David Gordon, theatermania, July 30, 2020
Law & Order: SVU
Cheryl is proud to be part of Law & Order: SVU’s writing team for its history-making 21st season!
10pm – Thursday, September 26 the record breaking 21st Season of SVU premiers.
“Garland’s Baptism by Fire”, Cheryl’s primetime premiere, aired on April 2, 2020 on NBC at 10pm ET.
Press
Cheryl’s interview with Jordan von Haslow & Friends #9
Hear Cheryl and Micharne Cloughley discuss how they crafted Garland’s inner world for the episode – “Garland’s Baptism by Fire” in Squadroom: Demore Barnes on Garland’s Worlds Colliding (S21E18) at The Law & Order: SVU Podcast
Treemonisha
A Volcano Theatre Production in association with Moveable Beast
World Premiere – Stanford Live Palo Alto, California | April 23 – 26, 2020 buy tickets
Cal Performances Berkeley, California |
May 2 – 3, 2020 buy tickets
Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha – News and Online Articles at volcano.ca
Fellow in Residence at VCAA
Paige Critcher, Cheryl Davis, and David Wohl, named Fellows in residence at VCCA. Learn more at Facebook – announcement by David Wohl and Salon Thursday Oct 4, 2018 at VCCA
Bridges
Amas Dare to Different Festival
November 15 @ 3 & 7pm
November 16 @ 3pm
A.R.T./New York Theatres, 502 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019, USA
Request tickets.
In 1965, a young woman boldly joins a march to fight for her civil rights. Decades later, another young woman faces her own battle for equality. As their stories collide across time and distance, each must come to terms with who she is in the context of a changing and complicated world. Full of soulful melodies, Bridges is an empowering story that explores our country’s past and present – how far we’ve come, how far we have to go, and the bridges we must cross to get there.
World Premiere, Berkeley Playhouse, February 11 – March 6, 2016
Press:
- Mark Rosewater on Magic & Bridges (June 19, 2017)
- New Musical Bridges, About the Multi-Generational Fight for Equality, Receives One-Night-Only Concert By Ryan McPhee (Jun 02, 2017)
- BRIDGES: A NEW MUSICAL Gets Off-Broadway Concert This June (May 18, 2017)
- Nominated for Original Score, Best Production in the East Bay, and Best Production in the Bay Area by The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics for their 41st Annual Excellence in Theatre Awards for 2016!
- Arts in Color TALKS: Cheryl L. Davis by Selena Burns, March 5, 2016
- Arts in Color THOUGHTS: Bridges at the Berkeley Playhouse by Selena Burns, February 25, 2016
- ‘Bridges’ tunefully spans decades with civil rights tales, by Leslie Katz, The San Francisco Examiner, February 24, 2016
- Berkeley Playhouse’s ‘Bridges: A New Musical’ is a winner, by Ross Stapleton-Gray, Berkeleyside, February 24, 2016
- Theatre Eddys: “Bridges”, Tuesday, February 23, 2016
- Musical Builds Bridges Between Civil Rights Era and 2008 by Lou Fancher, San Francisco Classical Voice, February 16, 2016
- ‘Bridges’ spans civil rights struggles across the years By Robert Hurwitt, SF Gate, Tuesday, February 9, 2016
- American Theatre: Berkeley Playhouse Announces 2015–16 Season
- Village Theatre Sets Lineup for 2015 Festival of New Musicals
- Playbill.com: New Musical Bridges Will Make World Premiere at Berkeley Playhouse; Season Announced
- Playbill.com: Village Theatre Fest Line-Up Announced
- Cheryl was interviewed in the NAMT New Works News – October 2015
Swimming Uptown
The pilot is based upon the stage play Swimming Uptown, which received a staged reading on April 7, 2017 in New York, and which will receive its world premiere next year at North Carolina Black Repertory Company.
Awards & Press:
New York TV Festival Lists Picks For Its Script Competition – The New York Television Festival is out with its list of 20 comedy and drama scripts that will vie in its second annual NYTVF Scripts Competition, which expanded this year to include drama pilot scripts from writers worldwide. The 13th annual NYTVF runs October 23-28 in Manhattan.
Mirror, Mirror
AAFLTV Pilot on Gender Bias
Screenplay Reading & Workshop held Friday August 25, 2017 at AAARI-CUNY, 25 W. 43 Street, NYC
Maid’s Door
August 6-8 2015 at Lorna Hopkins Theatre for the 2015 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC.
2014 AUDELCO Award Winner for Best Set Design (Patrice Andrew Davidson), Director (Jackie Alexander), Playwright (Cheryl L. Davis), Supporting Actor (Nate James (aka Nathan James)), Supporting Actress (Melissa Joyner), Lead Actress (Scottie Mills (aka Sandra Mills Scott)), and Dramatic Production (The Billie Holiday Theatre)!
WORLD PREMIERE – The Billie Holiday Theatre
February 21 – March 30, 2014
Directed by Jackie Alexander
A family is pushed to the breaking point as they struggle to save their beloved matriarch from being robbed of a glorious present by ghosts from her past.
Reviews & Press
“Maid’s Door” tackles a heavy issue with strong performances (May 18, 2017)
Cheryl named one of seven finalists for the 2016 Francesca Primus Prize (January 23, 2017)
The North Carolina Black Repertory Company Announces 2016-2017 Season (July 14, 2016)
‘Maid’s Door’ is poignant without being manipulative by Susan Gilmor, Winston-Salem Journal (August 7, 2015)
Cheryl L. Davis’ Maid’s Door Sweeps AUDELCOs with 7 Wins; Complete List of 2014 AUDELCO Recipients by Lia Chang (November 19, 2014)
Maid’s Door: Picking up the Pieces When the Most Important Thing in Your Life Shatters The Brooklyn Reader (March 23, 2014)
Billie Holiday Theatre’s “Maids Door” by Bernice Elizabeth Green, Our Time Press (March 29, 2014)
Archetype
An evening of original short works generated in Prospect’s 10th Annual Musical Theater Writers’ Lab, inspired by the twelve Jungian archetypal characters.
Written by:
Cheryl Davis & Jonathan Portera; Mindi Dickstein & Barbara Anselmi; Nichole Jackson, Liana Stillman, & Yoonmi Lee; Sukari Jones & Troy Anthony; Sarah Mucek & Karl Hinze; Chris Staskel & Nikko Benson
Performances July 27 – 31: Wed. & Thurs. 7:30PM, Fri. 8:00PM, Sat. 3:00PM & 8:00PM, Sun. 2:00PM at the 14th Street Y Theatre (344 East 14th St. @ 1st Ave.) Tickets are available online at www.ProspectTheater.org or 212-352-3101.
curated and directed by Dev Bondarin
music directed by Daniel Sefik
stage managed by Sophie Frankle
Reviews & Press:
Prospect Theatre Company to Premiere ARCHETYPE: July 27-31 (July 21, 2016)
Carefully Taught
World Premiere, Astoria Performing Arts Center
November 5-21, 2015
A modern-day drama that centers on the friendship of two schoolteachers–one black and one white. Their bond is shaken when one loses her job, and questions of loyalty and unspoken prejudice rise to the surface. This provocative tale challenges us to examine our perceptions of race in contemporary culture.
Reviews & Press:
Two outstanding plays tackle race By Marty Rosen, LEO Weekly, November 1, 2017
Looking for Lilith learns to look inward, with help from a grant and ‘Carefully Taught’ By Eli Keel, Insider Louisville, October 24, 2017
APAC Presents “Carefully Taught” Through November 21st
“Carefully Taught” is Meticulously Executed: Theater Review By Jody Williams, Contributing Writer for ZEALnyc, Theater News & Reviews, November 7, 2015
Astoria Performing Arts Center to Present World Premiere of CAREFULLY TAUGHT
Mandela
Red Mountain Theatre Company, February 5-8, 2015
in collaboration with poet Sharrif Simmons
Reviews & Press:
Show Review: “Mandela” More Than A Name In History by Mandy Shunnarah (February 5, 2015)
The MLK Project
April 11-14, 2013
Original concept by Keith Cromwell
First act adaptation by Priscilla Hancock Cooper based on
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Second act written by Cheryl L. Davis
Produced in collaboration with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.