On her social channels, you won’t catch her in anything subtler than a highlighter-pink bandanna, a sunshine-yellow frock, and her favorite pair of Rubik’s Cube earrings. But Cheryl Porter — a.k.a., Mama Cheryl to her global brood of aspiring singers — does, in fact, own plain black clothing. “Sometimes I’m gonna put on a black cap and black T-shirt and be on my way,” she says of the days when the fatigue of life as the internet’s most viral vocal coach kicks in. Of course, she adds, “There’s always a fun earring.”
Peek inside Porter’s star-speckled, plushie-filled dressing room at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre — the site of her Broadway debut as & Juliet’s aptly maternal nurse, Angelique — and you’ll see the aesthetic comes with Mama. “It’s just literally how I am,” says the 53-year-old opera-trained vocalist whose colorful style and unflagging optimism became a brand in the early days of YouTube. “There’s always something that’s gonna pop and remind me of who I really am, which is joyful, cheerful, hopeful, faithful.” It’s a philosophy (and a color scheme) that puts Porter in cosmic alignment with & Juliet, the musical where little girls roar and destiny isn’t always written in the stars.
“I believe in dreaming big and working hard to make dreams come true,” she says. Read on to learn how big dreams, hard work, and a dash of kismet landed Mama Cheryl on a Broadway stage belting beautiful f-bombs to the rafters.
You’ve become an expert at helping people find their voices. How did you first find your own?
I grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Single mother. My mother was a janitress, and she always instilled in me and my sister education: You have to make something of your life. You can imagine her surprise when I found this love for music. I was kind of discovered by my high school choir teacher. I would always stand in the back, and one day she brought me to the front of the class and said, “I think you should sing this solo part for me.” Every day for about three years she would give me free voice lessons after school — we most definitely could not afford voice lessons. When it was time for college, I knew that the only thing that I ever really loved to do was singing and acting. I went to audition, just for fun, for the music program at Northern Illinois University, and the next day they called me back with a full scholarship for opera.
Do you remember your first introduction to opera?
I was 12 years old. I was watching TV in my living room and there was a commercial for Viennetta ice cream cakes. And there was this voice, this big male voice, and it was the most incredible voice I’d ever heard. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was Luciano Pavarotti singing “Nessun Dorma” from Turandot. I fell in love with opera at that moment. Twenty years later, Pavarotti himself invited me to sing for his wedding. It was a full-circle moment to be able to meet the man, the legend himself.
What did your career look like before you became Mama Cheryl?
After college, I moved to Italy, just for a season, and I found that I loved being in Italy. I met my husband, Guido, an incredible engineer and a musician as well, and I lived in Italy for 30 years and created a fantastic career. One day I would have a classical concert, the next day I would have a jazz concert, the next day I would have a gospel show, the next day I would be doing a tribute to musical theater. [Someone would ask], “Do you sing bossa nova?” I’d say, “Yes, I sing bossa nova!” I would go home that day, learn bossa nova, and then the next week I’d do the show. I wasn’t in the position to say no to any job. So it just opened my love for so many different musical styles.
So how did you make your way from wayfaring singer to viral online vocal coach?
I would do my shows and people would constantly ask me if I vocal coached. I was like, “No, no. I’m nobody’s teacher. I just sing.” I was always afraid of doing it because I was afraid of being that teacher who would ruin someone’s voice. But I’d see these great singers and I would always nitpick and coach people in my head. My husband, Guido, said, “Listen, I think it’s a sign that so many people are asking you to coach. I’m just gonna create a website.” This was 2009. Then I started recording myself when I did lessons to see how the lesson went; I would coach my own coaching. One day Guido’s like, “Why don’t we just put it on YouTube and see what happens?”
Were you surprised when those videos took off?
I couldn’t understand at the beginning why. I’m like, “It’s interesting to me, but I don’t think it will be interesting to anyone else!” And the videos just continued to gain traction. Just in the first month that my videos started going viral, my whole schedule for the next two years was booked with students from all over the world.
Did that require you to take a step back from performing? And was that a hard decision?
One of the reasons that I didn’t want to become a coach was that I was afraid it would take me away from my singing career. And in a certain way, it kind of did. When we launched our course [Free Your Voice] in 2020, I was like, “OK, this is what I’m gonna do now. I’m not gonna tour.” I never thought it would be my vocal coaching that would lead me back to singing and performing again.
How does it feel to be back on a stage?
This is the first time I’ve ever just been able to be the artist. I’m having the time of my life. I get to sing and dance and act and do all the things that little Cheryl wanted to do. I’m like, “Wait, am I 53 or 22?!” And to be in & Juliet, when I lived 15 minutes away from Juliet’s castle in Verona? I’ve done concerts in the castle! You could not have written my life story any better than this.
As someone who’s gotten used to receiving feedback via YouTube comments, how does it feel to get live feedback from an audience every day?
Oh my god, it is the most insane feeling in the world. On my debut week, I came out every night for the stage door and it’s just a beautiful, touching, full-circle moment to see so many people who have gotten me here. I wouldn’t be here without my students. I try to be inspirational and motivational, but they’ve given me so much motivation and inspiration and support in return. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay all of the beauty that they brought to my life.
Jumping into a Broadway show where you have to deliver big numbers means lots of vocal rehearsals. How does the vocal coach like being vocal coached?
I love it! Tell me what to do! Fix me! I just want things to be done right. I’m like, “Just shut up and learn, Cheryl Porter. You’ve never been on Broadway before. This is nothing but learning for you.” I love being coached. It’s the best part of being on Broadway. Every performance, you know you can improve and be better.
Which of & Juliet’s Max Martin bops is your favorite to sing?
Oh honey, you know I’m gonna say “Fuckin’ Perfect!” When they first offered me the role, I was so afraid of saying a curse word on stage. I was like, “Mama Cheryl don’t cuss! How am I gonna tell them that I can’t say ‘fucking’ on stage?!” So I was working with Haley [Bennett, associate musical director] and Dominic [Fallacaro, musical director], and they’re like, “Listen, Mama Cheryl. This word holds so much weight. It’s the only time that it’s been used in the show. So when Angelique says to Juliet, ‘You’re fucking perfect,’ it’s to drive home just how important it is.” I was like, “OK, I’ll do it! I’ll say ‘fucking perfect!’” And when I say it every night, it’s such a beautiful release. The last song of the show is “Roar,” but without Angelique saying, “You’re fucking perfect,” there would be no “Roar.” After Juliet accepts that she’s fucking perfect, then she finds her roar. It gives her and the whole audience the power to roar. So “Fuckin’ Perfect” — hands down.
You can catch Cheryl Porter in & Juliet through December 7, 2025.
