Jerry Mitchell
American theatre director and choreographer
title: "Jerry Mitchell" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1960-births", "american-choreographers", "american-gay-actors", "american-male-dancers", "american-male-musical-theatre-actors", "american-musical-theatre-directors", "drama-desk-award-winners", "gay-dancers", "helpmann-award-winners", "living-people", "musical-theatre-choreographers", "people-from-paw-paw,-michigan", "tony-award-winners", "webster-university-alumni", "lgbtq-people-from-michigan"] description: "American theatre director and choreographer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Mitchell" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American theatre director and choreographer ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Jerry Mitchell |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Paw Paw, Michigan, U.S. |
| occupation | Theatre director, choreographer |
| awards | {{plainlist |
| :: |
::callout[type=note]
::
| name = Jerry Mitchell | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Paw Paw, Michigan, U.S. | occupation = Theatre director, choreographer | spouse = | years_active = | website = | awards = {{plainlist|
- Tony Award for Best Choreography 2005 La Cage aux Folles 2013 Kinky Boots
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography 2005 La Cage aux Folles 2025 Boop! The Musical }} Jerry Mitchell is an American theatre director and choreographer.
Early life and education
Born in Paw Paw, Michigan, Mitchell later moved to St. Louis where he pursued his acting, dancing and directing career in theatre. Although he did not graduate from the Fine Arts college at Webster University in St. Louis after attending for a year, he later received an honorary degree from Webster University in 2005.
Career
Mitchell's early Broadway credits were as a dancer in The Will Rogers Follies and revivals of Brigadoon and On Your Toes.
Mitchell's first professional credit as a choreographer was for the 1990 Alley Theatre world premiere of the musical Jekyll & Hyde. Mitchell's first Broadway production as sole choreographer was the 1999 revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, which he followed with The Full Monty.
Mitchell created and for many years directed the annual Broadway Bares benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. In addition to the theatre, he has choreographed for films such as Camp, In & Out and Drop Dead Gorgeous. He garnered an Emmy Award nomination for his work on The Drew Carey Show.
In 2003 Mitchell was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch". He directed and choreographed Legally Blonde: The Musical, which opened in April 2007, and served as a mentor on Bravo's reality competition Step It Up and Dance in 2008.
Mitchell created, directed, and choreographed a stage show for Las Vegas, Peepshow, which opened at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in 2009. He was involved in workshops for the stage musical adaptation of the film Catch Me If You Can.
In 2013, Mitchell directed and choreographed the Broadway musical Kinky Boots. He won the Tony Award for Best Choreography and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. He is the director of the new musical On Your Feet!, about the lives of Gloria and Emilio Estefan. The musical premiered in Chicago in June 2015 and opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on November 5, 2015.
He is the director and choreographer of the new musical Half Time, based on the film Gotta Dance, which began performances on December 13, 2015, at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre, and ran through January 17, 2016. The musical has the book by Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Nell Benjamin, with additional music by Marvin Hamlisch. The musical opened at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey on May 31, 2018.
Personal life
He is gay. In October 2022, he married fellow actor Ricky A. Schroeder.
Stage work
- Jekyll & Hyde (World Premiere)
- Three Men on a Horse (1993 revival)
- Grease (1994 revival)
- Jekyll & Hyde (1999 Second National Tour)
- You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999 Revival)
- The Rocky Horror Show (2000 revival)
- The Full Monty (2000)
- Hairspray (2002 Broadway) (2007 & 2020 West End)
- Imaginary Friends (2002)
- Gypsy (2003 revival)
- Never Gonna Dance (2003)
- La Cage aux Folles (2004 revival)
- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005 Broadway) (2014 West End)
- Legally Blonde: The Musical (2007 Broadway) (2009 West End)
- Peepshow (2009 Las Vegas)
- Catch Me If You Can (2009 Seattle, 2011 Broadway)
- Love Never Dies (2010 West End)
- Kinky Boots (2013 Broadway) (2014 US Tour) (2015 West End)
- On Your Feet! (2015 Chicago and Broadway) (2019 West End)
- Becoming Nancy (2019 Atlanta, Alliance Theater) (2024 Birmingham, Birmingham Repertory Theatre)
- Pretty Woman: The Musical (2018 Chicago and Broadway) (2020 West End)
- Boop! The Musical (2023 Chicago) (2025 Broadway)
- The Devil Wears Prada (musical) (2024 Theatre Royal, Plymouth) (2024 West End)
Awards and nominations
;Drama Desk Awards ::data[format=table]
| Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Outstanding Choreography | The Full Monty and The Rocky Horror Show | |
| 2003 | Outstanding Choreography | Hairspray | |
| 2004 | Outstanding Choreography | Never Gonna Dance | |
| 2005 | Outstanding Choreography | La Cage aux Folles | |
| Outstanding Choreography | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | ||
| 2007 | Outstanding Choreography | Legally Blonde | |
| Outstanding Director of a Musical | |||
| 2025 | Outstanding Choreography | Boop! The Musical | |
| Outstanding Director of a Musical | |||
| :: |
;Laurence Olivier Awards ::data[format=table]
| Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Best Theatre Choreographer | Hairspray | |
| 2011 | Best Theatre Choreographer | Legally Blonde | |
| 2015 | Best Theatre Choreographer | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | |
| 2016 | Best Theatre Choreographer | Kinky Boots | |
| :: |
;Tony Awards ::data[format=table]
| Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Best Choreography | The Full Monty | |
| 2003 | Best Choreography | Hairspray | |
| 2004 | Best Choreography | Never Gonna Dance | |
| 2005 | Best Choreography | La Cage aux Folles | |
| Best Choreography | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | ||
| 2007 | Best Choreography | Legally Blonde | |
| 2013 | Best Direction of a Musical | Kinky Boots | |
| Best Choreography | |||
| 2023 | Isabelle Stevenson Award | ||
| 2025 | Best Choreography | Boop! The Musical | |
| :: |
References
References
- "Jerry Mitchell".
- "Honorary Degrees at Webster University".
- (April 2, 2008). "An Interview with "Step It Up & Dance"'s Jerry Mitchell". AfterElton.
- (June 2007). "Broadway One On One: Jerry Mitchell". Pride Entertainment.
- Adam Hetrick. (June 26, 2008). "Mitchell to Sign Broadway Bares Backstage Pass at Barnes and Noble June 27". Playbill.
- Robert Simonson. (April 16, 2008). "Playbill.com's Brief Encounter With Jerry Mitchell". Playbill.
- BWW News Desk. (November 18, 2008). "Mel B and Kelly Monaco Join Jerry Mitchell's Upcoming Vegas Based 'PEEP SHOW'!". BroadwayWorld.
- (December 3, 2007). "Catch Me If You Can Reading Set for 2008". Playbill.
- Gans, Andrew and Gioia, Michael. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/on-your-feet-gloria-estefan-bio-musical-opens-on-broadway-tonight-370148# "'On Your Feet!', Gloria Estefan Bio Musical, Opens on Broadway Tonight"] ''Playbill'', November 5, 2015
- Cox, Gordon. [https://www.variety.com/2015/legit/.../gotta-dance-cast-broadway-120153044 "Stefanie Powers, Georgia Engel Join Cast of Broadway-Bound 'Gotta Dance'"] ''Variety'', June 29, 2015
- Viagas, Robert. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/broadway-bound-gotta-dance-starring-lillias-white-andr-de-shields-and-georgia-engel-bows-in-chicago-375371# "Broadway-Bound Gotta Dance, Starring Lillias White, André De Shields and Georgia Engel, Bows in Chicago"] ''Playbill'', December 13, 2015
- Gans, Andrew. (December 14, 2015). "Gotta Dance, Helmed by Jerry Mitchell, Extends Chicago Run; Broadway Debut Set for Fall". Playbill.
- Hetrick, Adam. [http://www.playbill.com/article/new-musical-half-time-starring-andre-de-shields-georgia-engel-donna-mckechnie-and-lillias-white-begins-paper-mill-run# "New Musical 'Half Time', Starring André De Shields, Georgia Engel, Donna McKechnie, and Lillias White, Begins Paper Mill Run"] ''Playbill'', May 31, 2018
- Chloe Rabinowitz. (October 24, 2022). "Jerry Mitchell and Ricky A. Schroeder Tie the Knot: Congratulations to the newlyweds!". BroadwayWorld.
- Ricky A. Schroeder. (October 25, 2022). "On October 22, 2022 I was finally able to marry the love of my life". Instagram.
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