Chani Wereley
Chani Wereley
 

hey. welcome.

If you’re here, that means you want to know a little about me.

My name is Chani Wereley! I am a queer artist human born and raised in Washington, D.C., and my pronouns are she/they.

I went to college for aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan! While I was there, I did a production of Rent with MUSKET, and that was the beginning of the end of my rocket scientist career. I transferred to Catholic University, where I received my BM in Musical Theatre, and the rest is history.

I have two cats I accidentally named after a TikTok trend. (Emma + Cleo!)

I have had the chance to work alongside incredible humans on new works, old classics, and everything in between. I am incredibly lucky.

In March, I had the pleasure of interviewing with Thomas Floyd of The Washington Post for a feature in their weekend cover story on Sondheim and his legacy!

I was interviewed alongside Montego Glover, John Kalbfleisch, Ethan Heard, John Weidman, and Thomas Kail. Truly incredible company.

I’m a native Washingtonian, so being quoted in the Post was VERY COOL!

“The 2018 Catholic University graduate admits that she was embarrassingly unfamiliar with Sondheim until she went to college, became a musical theater major and did a deep dive into his songbook. Now, as the only actor appearing in all three of Signature’s Sondheim shows this season, the performer finds herself enrolled in a crash course in Sondheim.”
— Thomas Floyd, The Washington Post
“It’s that really beautiful symphonic combination of lyrics and music that come together to tweak you here [gestures toward her head] and also tweak you right here [gestures toward her heart]. I think as long as his shows are being produced, people will see them.”
— Me, in the Washington Post!! If you can believe!!

currently

Sweeney Todd at Signature Theatre as Ensemble and the Mrs. Lovett understudy.

Sondheim’s masterpiece is a savory Victorian melodrama.

Returned to London following a wrongful banishment, barber Sweeney Todd’s thirst for vengeance against the corrupt judge who sent him away leads him on a murderous spree. Aided by his downstairs neighbor, baker Mrs. Lovett, the two concoct an unappetizing scheme as they terrorize the city.

Featuring the songs “The Worst Pies in London,” “A Little Priest,” “Johanna” and “Not While I’m Around,” this deliciously dark musical serves horror with a slice of humor.

“Mr. Sondheim has composed an endlessly inventive, highly expressive score that works indivisibly from his brilliant and abrasive lyrics.”
― The New York Times

“A masterclass in Sondheim”
— BroadwayWorld
“A dark, resplendent production”
— Talkin' Broadway
“Sweeney is back in DC in all of his pie-eating throat-slitting glory.”
— MD Theatre Guide

 recently

Pacific Overtures at Signature Theatre as Madam, Thief, French Admiral, and several others.

Photo by Daniel Rader

“Chani Wereley, who was so vibrant in last summer’s “A.D. 16” at Olney Theatre Center, here plays to enjoyable effect the Madam who welcomes foreigners to the inexperienced courtesans of her Kanagawa brothel.”
— Peter Marks, Washington Post
“Chani Wereley’s voice particularly shines here, her belted notes knocking the wind out of the audience with the force of a thunderous hurricane.”
— Hailey Wharram, Georgetown Voice
“The arrival of Perry’s ships is described in song as “Four Black Dragons” by both a local fisherman on Oshima spreading nets on the beach... and a local thief in Uraga as she is actively robbing priests (a consistently glorious Chani Wereley).”
— P. Kubicks, Stage and Cinema

A stunning exploration of tradition and transformation based on historical events.

In 1853, after 200 years of stability, Japan faces an American expedition determined to open the “floating kingdom” to trade. The isolationist island’s reckoning with the unwelcome western influence is brilliantly illuminated through a kaleidoscope of stories about sailors, samurai, “someone in a tree” and two friends who choose radically different paths.

This innovative epic of East meets West is one of Sondheim’s most ambitious and rarely produced musicals.

 
 
 
 

 

next up

Olney Outdoors at Olney Theatre Center