Randy Skinner is an American dancer, director and choreographer, primarily for the stage. He has been nominated four times for

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

s, three times for Drama Desk Awards, and four times for Outer Critics Circle Awards for choreography.

Early life and education

Skinner was born in Columbus, Ohio. He attended

Upper Arlington High School Upper Arlington High School is the sole high school in the Upper Arlington City School District in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a northwest suburb of Columbus, Ohio. It receives students from Jones Middle School and Hastings Middle School. The curre ...

where he was valedictorian, and graduated from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, with a major in speech and communication and a minor in psychology."Q & A Randy Skinner 'White Christmas the Musical'"
wordpress.com, December 17, 2013

Career

Skinner began his professional career with the well known

Kenley Players The Kenley Players was an Equity summer stock theatre company which presented hundreds of productions featuring Broadway, film, and television stars in Midwestern cities between 1940 and 1996. ''Variety'' called it the "largest network of theater ...

, dancing in numerous productions such as ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his ...

'', ''

No No Nanette ''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves t ...

'', ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

'', ''

Mack and Mabel ''Mack and Mabel'' (often stylized as Mack & Mabel) is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The plot involves the tumultuous romantic relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Norman ...

'', '' Funny Girl'', '' Grease'', and '' Walking Happy'', all produced by John Kenley. He moved to New York in 1976 seeking dancing jobs. In 1979 he danced in Radio City Music Hall's ''A New York Summer'' which was the premiere production of the newly re-opened and landmarked theatre.

Gower Champion Gower Carlyle Champion (June 22, 1919 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer. Early years Champion was born on June 22, 1919, in Geneva, Illinois, as the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Car ...

asked him to be a dance assistant on '' 42nd Street'' in 1980. In 1985,

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

cast him as Val opposite

Karen Ziemba Karen Ziemba (born November 12, 1957) is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her work in musical theatre. In 2000, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''Contact''. Biography Ziem ...

and asked him to choreograph a production of ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a wor ...

'' that she directed in upstate New York and in Connecticut. Other performances include playing Pa Dolan in the City Center Encores! ''

On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dolan ...

'', Bobby in the National Tour of ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

'', and dancing in the premiere production of the ''

American Dance Machine The American Dance Machine was a theatrical dance company created by Lee Theodore, which played on Broadway at the Century Theatre, opening Jun 14, 1978 and in total running 199 performances. It was duplicated with a second cast for the American D ...

'' at

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater bo ...

. His Broadway work as a choreographer includes ''

Dames at Sea ''Dames at Sea'' is a 1966 musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise. The musical is a parody of large, flashy 1930s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals in which a chorus girl, newly arrived off the ...

'' (also directing). Skinner said that he played the role of "Dick" and choreographed ''Dames At Sea'' in an Ohio State University production in 1973, as an undergraduate. Skinner noted that "My influence has always been from the movies." He added "I'm very protective of my dancers. If I'm choreographing a trick or a lift, I always consider, "Can this be done eight times a week joyfully and safely without the dancer fretting about it?" Other work includes ''Irving Berlin's White Christmas'' and ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in th ...

''. He choreographed the Broadway revival of ''42nd Street'' in 2001 and also choreographed and staged the London, Germany, Australia and two U.S. national companies and the Amsterdam production of the musical."Randy Skinner biography"
Broadway Dance Center, accessed May 8, 2009 He has choreographed many productions for the City Center Encores! series, including '' Do Re Mi'' (1999), ''

Of Thee I Sing ''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President o ...

'' (May 2006), '' Face The Music'' (March 2007), '' No, No Nanette'' (May 2008), '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (May 2012) and Lady Be Good (February 2015). His Off-Broadway and regional theatre choreography work includes productions of ''Irving Berlin's White Christmas'' around the U.S. and the UK, Garry Marshall's ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'' (2006 in Los Angeles), ''

Lone Star Love ''Lone Star Love, or, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas'' is a musical based on Shakespeare's ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''. The score is by Jack Herrick (of the Red Clay Ramblers), and the book is by John L. Haber and Robert Horn. The setting ...

'' (2004 Off-Broadway; 2007 Seattle), ''Babes in Arms'' (2002 at the

Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. A distinctive feature of the view from the Connecticut River, th ...

), ''Abby's Song'' (1999 Off-Broadway, also directing) and ''Lucky in the Rain'' (1997 at Goodspeed). He has received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Drama-Logue Award, and

Connecticut Critics Circle The Connecticut Critics Circle is an organization of reviewers, feature writers, columnists, and broadcasters throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. It was founded in 1990 Mission statement "To honor the actors, director ...

Award among others. He has received the Hoofer Award from the

American Tap Dance Foundation The American Tap Dance Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose primary goal is the presentation and teaching of tap dance. Its original stated purpose was to provide an "international home for tap dance, perpetuate tap as a contemporary art ...

(2009) and the Flo-Bert Award (2010). Skinner's tap dancing has been heard on numerous recordings including ''Lucky In The Rain'', ''Sondheim At The Movies'', ''110 In The Shade'', and ''Strike Up The Band''. On September 11, 2017 Skinner directed the inaugural production of the

Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography The Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography (previously titled the Fred and Adele Astaire Awards) celebrate outstanding dance and choreography in theatre, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway and in film at an annual ceremony in New York City ...

held at the Hirschfeld Theatre.

Teaching career

In addition to his theatrical career, Skinner is also a guest teacher at various colleges and universities and at both Steps On Broadway and Broadway Dance Center in NYC. The Randy Skinner Collection was established at Ohio State University's Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, with his notes, scripts, playbills, posters, and personal papers.

Work

(As choreographer, except as otherwise noted) ''42nd Street'' 2022 Goodspeed Opera (also Director) ''Dames At Sea'' 2022 Bucks County Playhouse (also Director) ''Cheek To Cheek: Irving Berlin In Hollywood'' 2021 Off-Broadway York Theatre (also Conceiver/Director) '' 42nd Street'' 2017 West End"Cast"
whatsonstage.com, retrieved February 7, 2017 ''

'' 2015 Broadway (also Director) '' Lady Be Good'' 2015 City Center Encores! ''Irving Berlin's White Christmas'' 2014 West End ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'' 2014 Lincoln Center with the NY Philharmonic Orchestra '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' 2012 City Center Encores! ''

Lend Me A Tenor ''Lend Me a Tenor'' is a comedy by Ken Ludwig. The play was produced on both the West End (1986) and Broadway (1989). It received nine Tony Award nominations and won for Best Actor (Philip Bosco) and Best Director (Jerry Zaks). A Broadway re ...

'' 2011 West End ''Irving Berlin's White Christmas'' 2008/2009 Broadway '' No, No Nanette'' 2008 City Center Encores! '' Face the Music'' 2007 City Center Encores! ''

(musical)'' 2006 Los Angeles, California ''

'' 2006 City Center Encores! '' After the Night and the Music'' 2005 Broadway (also dance music arranger) ''The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde'' 2005 New York: Theatre at St. Clements ''Irving Berlin's White Christmas'' 2004 & 2005 San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston ''

'' 2004 Off-Broadway - 2007 Seattle (also Director) ''

'' 2002 Goodspeed Opera House '' 42nd Street'' 2001 Broadway revival ''

George M! ''George M!'' is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine ...

'' 2000 Goodspeed Opera House ''Abby's Song'' 1999 Off-Broadway (also Director) '' Do Re Mi'' 1999 City Center Encores! ''Lucky in the Rain'' 1997

'' 1996 Broadway (also Co-Director) ''Ain't Broadway Grand'' 1993 Broadway ''

'' 1985 New York and Connecticut '' 42nd Street'' 1980 Broadway (dance assistant to Gower Champion)

Awards and nominations

2022 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Choreography (nominated) - ''Cheek To Cheek: Irving Berlin In Hollywood'' 2018 Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer (nominated) - ''42nd Street'' 2018 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Choreography (won) - ''42nd Street'' 2016 Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominated) - ''Dames at Sea'' 2016 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (nominated) - ''Dames at Sea'' 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography (nominated) - ''Dames at Sea'' 2009 Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominated) - ''Irving Berlin's White Christmas'' 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (nominated) - ''Irving Berlin's White Christmas'' 2004 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Choreography (nominated) - ''Lone Star Love'' 2001 Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominated) - ''42nd Street'' 2001 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (nominated) - ''42nd Street'' 2001 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography (nominated) - ''42nd Street'' 1996 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography (nominated) - ''State Fair'' 1993 Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominated) - ''Ain't Broadway Grand'' 1993 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography (nominated) - ''Ain't Broadway Grand'' References

External links

*
Internet Off-Broadway listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Randy American choreographers Living people Artists from Columbus, Ohio Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American male dancers American tap dancers