Rob Ashford
Encyclopedia
Rob Ashford is an American choreographer and director. He is a seven-time Tony Award
nominee (winning one), five-time Olivier Award nominee, Emmy Award
winner, Drama Desk winner, and Outer Critics Circle Award
winner.
, Ashford attended Washington and Lee University
, Lexington, Virginia, in the pre-law program. He became interested in theatre with his work in the theatre department, and went on to study dance at Pittsburgh’s Point Park University
. He performed in the Pittsburgh theatre scene
while in college, appearing with such companies as Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
. After graduation, Ashford moved to New York City where he shared an apartment with friend and fellow choreographer Kathleen Marshall
.
starring Patti LuPone
. Productions of The Most Happy Fella
(1992), Crazy for You
, My Favorite Year
(1992), Victor/Victoria
and Parade
(1998) quickly followed.
Ashford began working as a choreographer when Rob Marshall
sent Ashford to re-stage Kiss of the Spider Woman
in Buenos Aires. He next served as Associate Choreographer to Kathleen Marshall on the 1999 revival of Kiss Me, Kate
.
Ashford’s first Broadway show as choreographer was Thoroughly Modern Millie
(2002), for which he won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Choreography. For City Center’s Encores!
, Ashford has choreographed: Tenderloin
(2000), Bloomer Girl
(2001), A Connecticut Yankee (2001), and Pardon My English
(2004). Other New York Credits include The Boys from Syracuse
at The Roundabout Theatre.
In London, Ashford's choreography credits include: Thoroughly Modern Millie (Olivier Award Nomination), Guys and Dolls starring Ewan McGregor and Jane Krakowski (Olivier Nomination), and Evita (Olivier Nomination). He made his directorial debut with Parade, in a production that included additional songs by Tony winner Jason Robert Brown. Ashford received Olivier Nominations both for Direction and Choreography. Other London choreography credits include: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Once in a Lifetime, both at the Royal National Theatre, and a new production of Candide at the English National Opera
(with subsequent productions at La Scala, Milan and La Chatelet Theatre, Paris).
Film credits include staging the musical numbers for the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea
starring Kevin Spacey
. For television, Ashford has choreographed tributes to Andrew Lloyd Webber
and Barbra Streisand
for The Kennedy Center Honors. He collaborated with filmmaker Baz Luhrmann
on a production number featuring Hugh Jackman
and Beyonce Knowles
for The 81st Annual Academy Awards
(Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography).
Current projects include directing A Streetcar Named Desire
at the Donmar Warehouse
starring Academy Award Winner Rachel Weisz
, directing and choreographing Parade for The Mark Taper Forum
(LA), and directing and choreographing the currently running Broadway
revival of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
, which began previews in February 2011 and stars Daniel Radcliffe
. He is the director and choreographer of the first major Broadway revival of Promises, Promises
starring Sean Hayes
and Kristen Chenoweth, which started in previews in March 2010.
He currently co-directs the US national tour of Shrek the Musical with Jason Moore
, which began in July 2010. He will also co-direct the upcoming West End
production of the show, which begins in May 2011.
Future productions include a musical version of the film Finding Neverland
and a musical version of the film Leap of Faith
in September 2010 in Los Angeles, both of which he will direct and choreograph. Ashford has also been announced as the choreographer for the Broadway revival of "Evita", starring Elena Roger
and Ricky Martin
, due in March 2012.
Ashford is on the executive committee for The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Board of Trustees for The Joyce Theatre, and an Associate Director at The Donmar Warehouse.
London
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominee (winning one), five-time Olivier Award nominee, Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winner, Drama Desk winner, and Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
winner.
Biography
Born in Orlando, Florida and raised in Beckley, West VirginiaBeckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, which was founded on April 4, 1838. The 2008 population was estimated to be 16,832 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Early in its history, the town was known as Beckleyville and Raleigh Court House...
, Ashford attended Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
, Lexington, Virginia, in the pre-law program. He became interested in theatre with his work in the theatre department, and went on to study dance at Pittsburgh’s Point Park University
Point Park University
Point Park University is a liberal arts university located in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Point Park College, the school name was revised in 2004 to reflect the number of graduate programs being offered....
. He performed in the Pittsburgh theatre scene
Theatre in Pittsburgh
Theatre in Pittsburgh has existed professionally since the early 1800s and has continued to expand, having emerged as an important cultural force in the city over the past 30 years.-History:...
while in college, appearing with such companies as Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera is a nonprofit professional theater company based in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA....
. After graduation, Ashford moved to New York City where he shared an apartment with friend and fellow choreographer Kathleen Marshall
Kathleen Marshall
Kathleen Marshall is an American choreographer, director, and creative consultant.-Life and career:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Marshall graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School and Smith College. She worked in the Pittsburgh theatre scene when she was younger, performing with such...
.
Career
As a dancer, he made his Broadway debut in the 1987 Lincoln Center revival of Anything GoesAnything 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 antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
starring Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
. Productions of The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella
The Most Happy Fella is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the play They Knew What They Wanted by Sidney Howard...
(1992), Crazy for You
Crazy for You
Crazy for You is a musical with a book by Ken Ludwig, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as "The New Gershwin Musical Comedy", it is largely based on the songwriting team’s 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but interpolates songs from several other productions as well...
, My Favorite Year
My Favorite Year
My Favorite Year is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin which tells the story of a young comedy writer. It stars Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna, Lou Jacobi, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, Selma Diamond, Cameron Mitchell, and Gloria Stuart. O'Toole was...
(1992), Victor/Victoria
Victor/Victoria (musical)
Victor/Victoria is a musical with a book by Blake Edwards, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and additional musical material by Frank Wildhorn...
and Parade
Parade (musical)
Parade is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The musical was first produced on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on December 17, 1998. The production was directed by Harold Prince and closed 28 February 1999 after only 39 previews and 84 regular...
(1998) quickly followed.
Ashford began working as a choreographer when Rob Marshall
Rob Marshall
Rob Marshall is an American theater director, film director and choreographer. He is a six-time Tony Award nominee, Academy Award nominee, Golden Globe nominee and four-time Emmy winner whose most noted work is the 2002 Academy Award for Best Picture winner Chicago.-Life and career:Marshall was...
sent Ashford to re-stage Kiss of the Spider Woman
Kiss of the Spider Woman (musical)
Kiss of the Spider Woman is a musical with music by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with the book by Terrence McNally. It is based on the Manuel Puig novel El Beso de la Mujer Araña...
in Buenos Aires. He next served as Associate Choreographer to Kathleen Marshall on the 1999 revival of Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
.
Ashford’s first Broadway show as choreographer was Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a 1967 American musical film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay by Richard Morris focuses on a naive young woman who finds herself in the midst of a series of madcap adventures when she sets her sights on marrying her wealthy boss.The...
(2002), for which he won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Choreography. For City Center’s Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
, Ashford has choreographed: Tenderloin
Tenderloin (musical)
Tenderloin is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Jerome Weidman, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock, their follow-up to the highly successful Pulitzer Prize-winning Fiorello! a year earlier. The musical is based on a 1959 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams...
(2000), Bloomer Girl
Bloomer Girl
Bloomer Girl was a Broadway musical that premiered on October 4, 1944. Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy wrote the book, Harold Arlen the music, and E.Y. Harburg the lyrics. Agnes de Mille was the choreographer...
(2001), A Connecticut Yankee (2001), and Pardon My English
Pardon My English
Pardon My English is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Morrie Ryskind, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Set in 1933 Dresden, the farcical plot satirizes the Prohibition era.-Production history:Producers Alex A...
(2004). Other New York Credits include The Boys from Syracuse
The Boys from Syracuse
The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporary rhythms of the 1930s. The show was the first musical...
at The Roundabout Theatre.
In London, Ashford's choreography credits include: Thoroughly Modern Millie (Olivier Award Nomination), Guys and Dolls starring Ewan McGregor and Jane Krakowski (Olivier Nomination), and Evita (Olivier Nomination). He made his directorial debut with Parade, in a production that included additional songs by Tony winner Jason Robert Brown. Ashford received Olivier Nominations both for Direction and Choreography. Other London choreography credits include: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Once in a Lifetime, both at the Royal National Theatre, and a new production of Candide at the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
(with subsequent productions at La Scala, Milan and La Chatelet Theatre, Paris).
Film credits include staging the musical numbers for the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea
Beyond the Sea (film)
Beyond the Sea is a 2004 biographical film based on the life of singer/actor Bobby Darin. Kevin Spacey, who stars in the lead role and used his own singing voice for the musical numbers, co-wrote, directed, and co-produced the film, which takes its title from the Darin song of the same name...
starring Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
. For television, Ashford has choreographed tributes to Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
and Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
for The Kennedy Center Honors. He collaborated with filmmaker Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
on a production number featuring Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
and Beyonce Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
for The 81st Annual Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
(Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography).
Current projects include directing A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
starring Academy Award Winner Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
, directing and choreographing Parade for The Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
(LA), and directing and choreographing the currently running Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
revival of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name....
, which began previews in February 2011 and stars Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
. He is the director and choreographer of the first major Broadway revival of Promises, Promises
Promises, Promises
Promises, Promises is a musical based on the 1960 film The Apartment. The music is by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David, and book by Neil Simon. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett; Robert Moore directed and David Merrick produced...
starring Sean Hayes
Sean Hayes (actor)
Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, one American Comedy Award, and six Golden Globes nominations.He also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the...
and Kristen Chenoweth, which started in previews in March 2010.
He currently co-directs the US national tour of Shrek the Musical with Jason Moore
Jason Moore (director)
Jason Moore is an American director of theatre and television. He was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas and later studied at Northwestern University.-Career:...
, which began in July 2010. He will also co-direct the upcoming West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production of the show, which begins in May 2011.
Future productions include a musical version of the film Finding Neverland
Finding Neverland
Finding Neverland is a 2004 semi-biographical film about playwright J. M. Barrie and his relationship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan, directed by Marc Forster. The screenplay by David Magee is based on the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee...
and a musical version of the film Leap of Faith
Leap of Faith (film)
Leap of Faith is a 1992 American dramedy film, directed by Richard Pearce and starring Steve Martin, Liam Neeson and Debra Winger. The film is about Jonas Nightengale, a fraudulent Christian faith healer who uses his revival meetings, in Rustwater, Kansas, to bilk believers out of their money.-Plot...
in September 2010 in Los Angeles, both of which he will direct and choreograph. Ashford has also been announced as the choreographer for the Broadway revival of "Evita", starring Elena Roger
Elena Roger
Elena Silvia Roger is an Argentine actress who won the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Édith Piaf in Piaf. She has also appeared in the West End in Evita, Boeing-Boeing, and Passion...
and Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...
, due in March 2012.
Ashford is on the executive committee for The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Board of Trustees for The Joyce Theatre, and an Associate Director at The Donmar Warehouse.
Choreography credits
Broadway- Thoroughly Modern MillieThoroughly Modern Millie (musical)Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
(2002) (Tony Award) - The Wedding SingerThe Wedding Singer (musical)The Wedding Singer is a musical with music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy. It is based on the 1998 film The Wedding Singer.-Synopsis:Act 1...
(2006) (Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk Award nomination) - CurtainsCurtains (musical)Curtains is a musical with a book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, with additional lyrics by Kander and Holmes....
(2007) (Tony Award nomination) - Cry-BabyCry-Baby (musical)Cry-Baby is a musical based on the 1990 John Waters movie of the same name. The music is by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger, and the book is by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan. O'Donnell and Meehan also adapted Waters' film Hairspray for the musical stage...
(2008) (Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk Award, Fred Astaire Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award) - Promises, PromisesPromises, PromisesPromises, Promises is a musical based on the 1960 film The Apartment. The music is by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David, and book by Neil Simon. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett; Robert Moore directed and David Merrick produced...
(2010) (Tony Award nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination) - How to Succeed in Business Without Really TryingHow to Succeed in Business Without Really TryingHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name....
(2011)
London
- Thoroughly Modern MillieThoroughly Modern Millie (musical)Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
(2003) (Olivier Award nomination) - Guys and Dolls (2005) (Olivier Award nomination)
- Evita (2006) (Olivier Award nomination)
- ParadeParade (musical)Parade is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The musical was first produced on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on December 17, 1998. The production was directed by Harold Prince and closed 28 February 1999 after only 39 previews and 84 regular...
(2008) (Olivier Award for Direction and Choreography) - A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
(Royal National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
) - Once in a LifetimeOnce in a Lifetime (play)Once in a Lifetime is a play by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, the first of eight on which they collaborated in the 1930s.-Plot:The satirical comedy focuses on the effect talking pictures have on the entertainment industry...
(2005) (Royal National Theatre) - CandideCandideCandide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
(2008) - new production at the English National OperaEnglish National OperaEnglish National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
(With subsequent productions at La Scala, Milan and La Chatelet Theatre, Paris)