Jerry Mitchell is an American

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and choreographer.

Early life and education

Born in

Paw Paw, Michigan Paw Paw is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,534 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Van Buren County. Overview The village is located at the confluence of the east and south branches of the Paw Paw Riv ...

, 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 Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate program ...

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 ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a ...

'' 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 The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

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 ''Step It Up and Dance'' is an American reality television competition series where contestants are supposed to "learn what it takes to make it big in the cutthroat dance industry". Actress and dancer Elizabeth Berkley serves as host, and director ...

'' in 2008. Mitchell created, directed, and choreographed a stage show for

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

, '' 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 Matthew Sklar (born October 7, 1973) is an American composer for musical theatre, television, and film. His works have appeared on Broadway, the West End, and theatres worldwide. Sklar has written primarily with lyricist Chad Beguelin, having w ...

and lyrics by Nell Benjamin, with additional music by

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Academy Awards, Oscar and Tony Awards, Tony awards. This collection of all fou ...

. The musical opened at the Paper Mill Playhouse in

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from the 19,765 counted in the 2000 Census, which had ...

on May 31, 2018.Hetrick, Adam
"New Musical 'Half Time', Starring André De Shields, Georgia Engel, Donna McKechnie, and Lillias White, Begins Paper Mill Run"
Playbill, May 31, 2018

Personal life

He is openly gay.

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 (musical)'' (2002 Broadway) (2007 & 2020 West End) * ''

Imaginary Friends Imaginary friends (also known as pretend friends, invisible friends or made-up friends) are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than physical reality. ...

'' (2002) * ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with si ...

'' (2003 revival) * '' Never Gonna Dance'' (2003) * '' La Cage aux Folles'' (2004 revival) * '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (2005) * '' Legally Blonde: The Musical'' (2007) * '' Peepshow'' (2009 Las Vegas) * '' Catch Me If You Can'' (2009 Seattle, 2011 Broadway) * '' Love Never Dies'' (2010 West End) * ''

Kinky Boots (musical) ''Kinky Boots'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein. Based on the 2005 British film '' Kinky Boots'', written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth and mostly inspired by true events, the musical tells the st ...

'' (2013 Broadway) (2014 US Tour) (2015 West End) * '' On Your Feet!'' (2015 Chicago and Broadway) (2019 West End) * '' Pretty Woman: The Musical'' (2018 Chicago and Broadway) (2020 West End)

Awards and nominations

;Drama Desk Awards ;Laurence Olivier Awards ;Tony Awards

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Jerry American male dancers American choreographers American male musical theatre actors American musical theatre directors Drama Desk Award winners Helpmann Award winners People from Paw Paw, Michigan Tony Award winners Webster University alumni Living people 1960 births American gay actors LGBT dancers