Sarah Cooper to Present CHANEL ALI: RELATIVE STRANGER at SoHo Playhouse
Performances will begin on September 17.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jul. 17, 2025
Chanel Ali: Relative Stranger, a new comedy written and performed by Chanel Ali, will play Soho Playhouse beginning September 17 with the official opening scheduled for September 19. Chanel Ali: Relative Stranger is presented by comedian and author Sarah Cooper (Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine on NETFLIX; How To Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings) and directed by Ryan Cunningham (Sugar Daddy, Ilana Glazer: The Planet is Burning; Co-Executive Producer: Broad City). Cooper is producing along with Adam Gold of AGI Entertainment Media & Management.
In Relative Stranger, comedian Chanel Ali delivers a triumphant comedy that blends the chaos of identity, family, and survival into a bold, hilariously raw theatrical event—equal parts humor, heartbreak, and healing, all packed with the punch only Chanel can deliver.
Relative Stranger details Chanel’s tumultuous foster care childhood, her mother’s untimely slip into schizophrenia, and a court ordered paternity test that led her to meet her cop dad when she was 18 years old.
In 2023, Chanel starred in a commercial produced by Kevin Hart for 23andMe, a popular DNA and genetics company. That commercial opportunity led her to a shocking revelation: she had a 30-year-old brother whom she had never heard of. After connecting with her new brother, Chanel realized they have the same father, an award winning, handsome, community hero police officer who seems wholly unable to accept the idea that his past has caught up to him.
Relative Stranger aims to answer the question: When will it end? When will the generations before us take accountability for their mistakes? When will they be able to face the music? Why did Kevin Hart set this all up?
Directed by Cunningham, Chanel Ali: Relative Stranger will have scenic design by Christine Page, costume design by Brandi Denise, and the technical director/lighting design is by Dan Robinson. Chanel Ali: Relative Stranger marks Chanel Ali’s off-Broadway debut.
