Sam Pinkleton is an American theatre choreographer and director. He is best known for choreographing the Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, for which he received a Tony Award nomination.[1] Pinkleton's additional work on Broadway includes choreographing the 2017 productions of Amélie and Significant Other.[2]

Life and career

Sam Pinkleton was born on July 20, 1987, in a small town named Hopewell, right outside of Richmond, Virginia. As a child he attended Carter G. Woodson Middle School.[3] Pinkleton also attended and graduated from The Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology in Petersburg where he used to play the saxophone.[4] He moved to NYC when he was 18 to attend New York University as a Musical Theatre major, but later switched to the directing program instead. His first Broadway credit was in 2014 as Assistant Director, working on The Lyons by Nicky Silver. Pinkleton’s first choreography credit on Broadway was for a revival of Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal. He started working on his most famous Broadway show, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, in 2013, after seeing the first performance of it in 2012 at Ars Nova. The director of the show, Rachel Chavkin, asked Pinkleton to help with staging the show for a bigger space, to which he agreed to do.[5] The Great Comet then had a third run at American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge before finally transferring to Broadway. During its Broadway run, the show garnered 12 Tony Nominations including Best Choreography for Sam Pinkleton. Some of his most recent work includes co-choreographing and co-directing a production of Head Over Heels at the Pasadena Playhouse along with Jenny Koons as well as creating a cruise ship show for Virgin Voyages titled Untitled DanceShowPartyThing with Ani Taj and Sunny Min-Sook Hitt. In 2019 Pinkleton worked as an artist-in-residence at Pace University.[6] Pinkleton is currently working at Princeton University as a lecturer while dating theatre maker Andrew Russell.

Choreographic Style

Pinkleton often talks about not having a style, but instead focusing on the current dancers he has and working with them to create something together. Pinkleton says that he never choreographs on his own body, and tries to use the previous experience and special abilities of the actors to inspire his movement.[7]

Theatre Work

Broadway
Year Title Role Venue
2014 Machinal Choreographer American Airlines Theatre
2015 The Heidi Chronicles Movement Consultant Music Box Theatre
2016 Heisenberg Choreographer Friedman Theatre
2016 Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Choreographer Imperial Theatre
2017 Significant Other Choreographer Booth Theatre
2017 Amelie Choreographer/Musical Staging Walter Kerr Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2017 Tony Award[8] Best Choreography Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 Nominated
2020 Lucille Lortel Awards[9] Outstanding Choreographer Soft Power Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Sam Pinkleton". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  2. ↑ League, The Broadway. "Sam Pinkleton – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  3. ↑ Kollatz, Harry Jr. (2017-06-08). "Broadway Brass". richmondmagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  4. ↑ Times-Dispatch, BILL LOHMANN Richmond (15 April 2017). "Sam Pinkleton's road from Hopewell to Broadway". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  5. ↑ "The Accidental Choreographer". Dance Magazine. 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  6. ↑ "Sam Pinkleton". The American Theatre Wing. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  7. ↑ "Sam Pinkleton on Choreographing The Great Comet". Dance Teacher. 2016-10-31. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  8. ↑ BWW News Desk. "The 2017 Tony Awards - And the Nominees Are... Complete List! NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 and HELLO, DOLLY! Lead Pack". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  9. ↑ "2020 Lucille Lortel Awards Nominees". The Lucille Lortel Awards. Retrieved 2021-12-09.


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