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 ''The Will Rogers Follies'' is a Musical theatre, musical with a book by Peter Stone (writer), Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. It focuses on the life and career of humorist and performer Will Rogers, ...

'' 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 The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

nomination for his work on ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...

''. 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

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, '' 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 ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, and James Brolin in ...

''. 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 theatre, Broadway, the West End theatre, West End, and theatres worldwide. Sklar has written primarily wi ...

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. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy Awards, Emmy, Grammy Awards, Grammy, Academy Awards, Oscar, and Tony Awards, Tony awards, a feat ...

. 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 ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

'' (2000 revival) * '' The Full Monty'' (2000) * '' Hairspray'' (2002 Broadway) (2007 & 2020 West End) * '' Imaginary Friends'' (2002) * ''

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'' (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) * ''

'' (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 Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based 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 ;Laurence Olivier Awards ;Tony Awards

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Jerry 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