Casey Nicholaw
Encyclopedia
Casey Nicholaw is an American
theatre director, choreographer and performer. He has been nominated for Tony Awards for directing and choreographing The Drowsy Chaperone
(2006), for choreographing Monty Python's Spamalot (2005), and choreographing The Book of Mormon (2011), as well as winning for his co-direction the latter with Trey Parker
. He also was nominated for the Drama Desk Award
s for Outstanding Direction and Choreography for The Drowsy Chaperone (2006), and for Outstanding Choreography for Spamalot (2005).
and performed in community theatre there as a teenager. He graduated from Clairemont High School
in 1980 and attended the University of California, Los Angeles
.
, Nicholaw has directed and choreographed The Drowsy Chaperone
(2006), choreographed Spamalot
(2005) and directed To Be or Not to Be, which opened October 2, 2008, for the Manhattan Theatre Club
. He has been nominated for both Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards for his Broadway work. As a performer, he played the role of Junior and other roles in Crazy For You
(1992–94); played Wall Street Wolf and other roles in The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public
(1994); played Gregor, Juke and other roles in Victor/Victoria
(1995–97), played Corky, Luke and other roles in Steel Pier
(1997); understudied and performed as Neville in The Scarlet Pimpernel
(1999); played the role of Frank Manero in Saturday Night Fever
(1999–2000); understudied the role of Horton and other roles in Seussical
(2000–01); and played the role of Dexter, among other roles, in Thoroughly Modern Millie
(2002–04). He can be heard on the cast album of most of these musicals.
Nicholaw's other choreography credits include Follies
for City Center's Encores! (Off-Broadway
, 2007; he also directed this production); Spamalot's West End
production and U.S. national tour (2006); The Drowsy Chaperone in Los Angeles (2005; as director and choreographer); South Pacific
at Carnegie Hall
(2005); Lucky Duck (Old Globe Theater, 2004) and Can-Can
for Encores! (Off-Broadway, 2004). His other performing credits include Billion Dollar Baby
(Off-Off-Broadway
), for a Musicals in Mufti concert (1998) and Bells Are Ringing
at the Goodspeed Opera House (1990). He also choreographed Bye Bye Birdie (2002) for City Center Encores!; Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way at Radio City Music Hall
; and Candide
for the New York Philharmonic
's series of Broadway concerts.
In January 2009, Nicholaw was both director and choreographer of the Los Angeles debut of Minsky's
, a musical based on the 1968 film The Night They Raided Minsky's
, at the Ahmanson Theatre
.
Nicholaw directed and choreographed a new musical, Robin and the 7 Hoods, based on the 1960s Rat Pack
film. The musical features songs by Sammy Cahn
and James Van Heusen
, and with a book by Rupert Holmes
(replacing Peter Ackerman
). The show played at the Old Globe Theatre
in San Diego, California, from July 30, 2010 through August, with a cast that featured Will Chase
and Amy Spanger
.
He is the director and choreographer for the musical Elf the Musical
, which officially opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre
on November 10, 2010 and closed on January 2, 2011. He is expected to direct and choreograph the stage musical Aladdin which is expected to run at the 5th Avenue Theatre
, Seattle, Washington, July 7–31, 2011. It will use songs from the 1992 film Aladdin, with a new book by Chad Beguelin
and new lyrics by Beguelin and Alan Menken
. The musical "is not being groomed for a Broadway future."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatre director, choreographer and performer. He has been nominated for Tony Awards for directing and choreographing The Drowsy Chaperone
The Drowsy Chaperone
The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli in Toronto and opened on Broadway on 1 May 2006. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. It started as a spoof of old...
(2006), for choreographing Monty Python's Spamalot (2005), and choreographing The Book of Mormon (2011), as well as winning for his co-direction the latter with Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
. He also was nominated for the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
s for Outstanding Direction and Choreography for The Drowsy Chaperone (2006), and for Outstanding Choreography for Spamalot (2005).
Biography
The oldest of three children, Nicholaw grew up in San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
and performed in community theatre there as a teenager. He graduated from Clairemont High School
Clairemont High School
Clairemont High School is a public high school located in the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District. The campus is situated close to the intersection of Balboa Ave and Clairemont Drive. There are approximately 1,350 students and 87...
in 1980 and attended the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
.
Career
On BroadwayBroadway 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...
, Nicholaw has directed and choreographed The Drowsy Chaperone
The Drowsy Chaperone
The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It debuted in 1998 at The Rivoli in Toronto and opened on Broadway on 1 May 2006. The show won the Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score. It started as a spoof of old...
(2006), choreographed Spamalot
Spamalot
Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
(2005) and directed To Be or Not to Be, which opened October 2, 2008, for the Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
. He has been nominated for both Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards for his Broadway work. As a performer, he played the role of Junior and other roles in 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...
(1992–94); played Wall Street Wolf and other roles in The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public
The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public
The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public is a musical with a book by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall.Ostensibly a sequel to the creative team's 1978 hit The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, it is more a series of burlesque-style sketches and musical interludes...
(1994); played Gregor, Juke and other roles in 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...
(1995–97), played Corky, Luke and other roles in Steel Pier
Steel Pier (musical)
Steel Pier is a musical written by the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb from the original book by David Thompson.-Productions:Directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Susan Stroman, it opened on Broadway on April 24, 1997 and closed on June 28, 1997, running for 76 performances...
(1997); understudied and performed as Neville in The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel (musical)
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a musical with music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics and book by Nan Knighton, based on the novel of the same name by Baroness Orczy. The show is set in England and France during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution...
(1999); played the role of Frank Manero in Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever (musical)
This is an article about the stage musical. For the article on the 1977 film, see Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a musical with a book by Nan Knighton and music and lyrics by the Bee Gees.Based on Nik Cohn's 1975 New York Magazine article "Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night" and...
(1999–2000); understudied the role of Horton and other roles in Seussical
Seussical
is a musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty based on the books of Dr. Seuss that debuted on Broadway in 2000. The play's story is a rather complex amalgamation of many of Seuss's most famous books. After a Broadway run, the production spawned two US national tours and a UK tour...
(2000–01); and played the role of Dexter, among other roles, in Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly 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...
(2002–04). He can be heard on the cast album of most of these musicals.
Nicholaw's other choreography credits include Follies
Follies
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
for City Center's Encores! (Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
, 2007; he also directed this production); Spamalot's 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 and U.S. national tour (2006); The Drowsy Chaperone in Los Angeles (2005; as director and choreographer); South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
(2005); Lucky Duck (Old Globe Theater, 2004) and Can-Can
Can-Can (musical)
Can-Can is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and a book by Abe Burrows. The story concerns the showgirls of the Montmartre dance halls during the 1890s....
for Encores! (Off-Broadway, 2004). His other performing credits include Billion Dollar Baby
Billion Dollar Baby
Billion Dollar Baby is a musical set on Staten Island and in Atlantic City during the late 1920s. It follows the adventures of an ambitious young woman, Maribelle Jones, in her quest for wealth during the Prohibition era. Betty Comden and Adolph Green, fresh from their success with On the Town,...
(Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway theatrical productions in New York City are those in theatres that are smaller than Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres. Off-Off-Broadway theaters are often defined as theaters that have fewer than 100 seats, though the term can be used for any show in the New York City area that...
), for a Musicals in Mufti concert (1998) and Bells Are Ringing
Bells Are Ringing (musical)
Bells Are Ringing is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story revolves around Ella, who works at an answering service and the characters that she meets there. The main character was based on Mary Printz, who worked for Green's answering...
at the Goodspeed Opera House (1990). He also choreographed Bye Bye Birdie (2002) for City Center Encores!; Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
; and Candide
Candide (operetta)
Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to...
for the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
's series of Broadway concerts.
In January 2009, Nicholaw was both director and choreographer of the Los Angeles debut of Minsky's
Minsky's
Minsky's is a musical by Bob Martin , Charles Strouse , and Susan Birkenhead , and is loosely based on the 1968 movie The Night They Raided Minsky's....
, a musical based on the 1968 film The Night They Raided Minsky's
The Night They Raided Minsky's
The Night They Raided Minsky's is a 1968 musical comedy film directed by William Friedkin and produced by Norman Lear. It is a fictional account of the invention of the striptease at Minsky's Burlesque in 1925...
, at the Ahmanson Theatre
Ahmanson Theatre
The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that comprise the Los Angeles Music Center.Through the generosity of philanthropist Robert H. Ahmanson, construction began on March 9, 1962. The theatre opened on April 12, 1967 with a production of More Stately Mansions starring Ingrid Bergman,...
.
Nicholaw directed and choreographed a new musical, Robin and the 7 Hoods, based on the 1960s Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
film. The musical features songs by Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
and James Van Heusen
James Van Heusen
Jimmy Van Heusen , was an American composer. He wrote songs mainly for films and television , and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song.-Life and career:...
, and with a book by Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes is an American-British composer, singer-songwriter, musician and author of plays, novels and stories. He is best known for his number one pop hit "Escape " and the song "Him", which reached the number 6 position on the Hot 100 U.S. pop chart in 1980...
(replacing Peter Ackerman
Peter Ackerman
Peter Ackerman is the founding chair of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and the managing director of Rockport Capital Incorporated. He chaired the board of trustees of Freedom House from September 2005 until January 2009. He is a member of the Board of the Council on Foreign...
). The show played at the Old Globe Theatre
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...
in San Diego, California, from July 30, 2010 through August, with a cast that featured Will Chase
Will Chase
Will Chase is an American actor and singer, best known for his work in Broadway musicals.Chase was born in Frankfort, Kentucky to Jerry and Betty Chase and is the youngest of three boys...
and Amy Spanger
Amy Spanger
-Biography:A graduate of Triton Regional High School in Byfield, Massachusetts, Spanger made her Broadway debut in 1995 in the musical Sunset Boulevard, following a half-year run in the pre-Broadway national tour of Jekyll & Hyde...
.
He is the director and choreographer for the musical Elf the Musical
Elf the Musical
Elf the Musical is a musical with a score by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin. The book is adapted by Bob Martin and Thomas Meehan from the 2003 Jon Favreau-directed film Elf.-Synopsis:...
, which officially opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre
Al Hirschfeld Theatre
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 302 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh for vaudeville promoter Martin Beck, the theatre opened as the Martin Beck Theatre with a production of Madame Pompadour on November 11, 1924. It...
on November 10, 2010 and closed on January 2, 2011. He is expected to direct and choreograph the stage musical Aladdin which is expected to run at the 5th Avenue Theatre
5th Avenue Theatre
The 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theater building located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building and land is owned by the University of Washington and was once part of the original campus...
, Seattle, Washington, July 7–31, 2011. It will use songs from the 1992 film Aladdin, with a new book by Chad Beguelin
Chad Beguelin
Chad Beguelin is an American playwright who wrote the lyrics and co-book for the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer. He was nominated for two Tony Awards for his work on the musical, as well as a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics...
and new lyrics by Beguelin and Alan Menken
Alan Menken
Alan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards...
. The musical "is not being groomed for a Broadway future."