Charlayne Woodard

Charlaine "Charlayne" Woodard (born December 29, 1953) is an American playwright and actress. She is a two-time Obie Award winner as well as a Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee. She was a series regular on the hit FX TV series Pose. She played the title role in the Showtime movie Run For The Dream: The Gail Devers’ Story. Starring as Cindy in the ABC Movie of the Week, Woodard was the first black Cinderella portrayed on TV or film. She is in Marvel Studios' miniseries Secret Invasion as Priscilla Fury, which premiered on June 21, 2023. Career Woodard began her professional career in 1976 performing in the road company of Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope, written by Mickey Grant and directed by Vinette Carroll, the first black female director on Broadway. In 1977, she made her Broadway debut in the revival of Hair, directed by Tom O’Horgan; played a supporting role in the movie version of Hair, directed by Milos Forman; starred as Cindy in the NBC Movie of the Week, Cindy; and performed on The Johnny Carson Show. In 1978, she was in the original company of the hit musical [[Ain't Misbehavin' (musical)|Ain't Misbehavin''']], for which she was nominated for both a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She reprised her role at Her Majesty's Theater in London's West End; the Aquarius theater in Los Angeles; and ten years after the Broadway opening, the Broadway revival with the original cast. NBC taped and broadcast the hit musical with the original Broadway cast. RCA released the original cast album. Charlayne Woodard has written and performed five solo plays: Neat, Pretty Fire, In Real Life, The Night Watcher and Flight. The Garden, a two-hander commissioned by the La Jolla Playhouse, was produced at both Baltimore Center Stage and The LaJolla Playhouse. Woodard's plays are published by Dramatists Play Service.