Hi, I’m Cheryl.
Playwright, Composer,
Crystal Theatre Artistic Director, Musical Director
Cheryl Kemeny is the president and artistic director of Crystal Theatre, Inc., a non-profit performing arts school and theatre group established in 1987 in Norwalk, CT. Educated in voice and opera at Hartt College in Hartford, CT. and the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, Kemeny toured the world as half of the Kemeny Sisters for 10 years before founding Crystal Theatre. Her first musical, A Spinning Tale, ran for 5 months in 1990 at the off-Broadway theater, Playhouse 91. Kemeny then devoted the following years to developing her writing skills and acquiring her own theater.
Having authored or co-written over 32 musicals, Kemeny is now pursuing commercial production opportunities for many of her musicals. Award-winning productions include Ellis Island (Moss Hart, 1996), Living the American Dream (Moss Hart Honorable Mention, 1997), The Snow Queen, (Moss Hart Honorable Mention, 2001) plus a 1997 CT. Commission on the Arts playwright’s grant to enable the writing of Mother Jones and the Children’s Crusade (aka Mother Jones & the March of the Mill Children) which was co-produced by Ben Simpson & Crystal Theatre as a Next Link awardee at the 2014 New York Musical Festival.
Cheryl received grants in 2005 & 2007 Ct. Commission on Culture & Tourism Grants for the productions of the Burning of Norwalk, 1779, and its prequel, Revolution Norwalk, 1777, co-written with husband, Mariner Pezza.
Cleopatra—A Life Unparalleled” was presented at the Midtown International Festival in 2007 winning its Producers Award and again at the Planet Festivities in 2008. It was most recently performed at Crystal Theatre in January, 2015.
Hungarian Nights written with Pezza received an Equity staged reading at NYMF, 2012 and enjoyed a fully staged development production in November, 2015 with Hungarian Tibor Paar as guest choreographer of the authentic Hungarian and gypsy dances. A fully orchestrated version of “Deep In The Hungarian Night” was performed by Cidalia Alves with the Norwalk Symphony conducted by Paul Bogaev.
Kemeny’s musicals for youth theatre are performed all over the world, from England to Herrare, Zimbabwe and from Hong Kong to Calgary, Canada. They are available through Crystal Theatre Publishing. She is a long-time member of the Dramatists Guild.