Sam Pinkleton (born July 20, 1987) is a Tony-Award-winning American choreographer and theatre director.
He is known for directing the Broadway play Oh, Mary!, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play, and choreographing the Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, for which he received a Tony Award nomination. Pinkleton's additional work on Broadway includes choreographing the 2017 productions of Amélie and Significant Other.
Early life and education Sam Pinkleton was born on July 20, 1987, in Hopewell, a small city right outside of Richmond, Virginia.
As a child, he attended the Carter G. Woodson Middle School. Pinkleton also attended and graduated from the Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology in Petersburg, Virginia, where he used to play the saxophone.
He moved to New York City when he was age eighteen to attend New York University as a musical-theatre major, but later switched to the directing program instead.
Career 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 the musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 in 2013 after seeing the first performance of it in 2012 at the Ars Nova theater in New York City. The director of the show, Rachel Chavkin, asked Pinkleton to help with staging the show for a bigger space, which he agreed to do. The Great Comet then had a third run at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, before finally transferring to Broadway. During its Broadway run, the show received twelve Tony Award nominations including Best Choreography for Pinkleton.
Some of his more recent work includes co-choreographing and co-directing a production of Head over Heels at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California, 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 New York City's Pace University.
In 2026, Pinkleton directed the Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway production of The Rocky Horror Show.
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.
Theatre work +YearTitleRoleVenue2012The LyonsAssistant DirectorCort Theater2014MachinalChoreographerAmerican Airlines Theatre2015The Heidi ChroniclesMovement ConsultantMusic Box Theatre2016HeisenbergChoreographerFriedman Theatre2016–17Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812ChoreographerImperial Theatre2017Significant OtherChoreographerBooth TheatreAmélieChoreographer/Musical StagingWalter Kerr Theatre2022MacbethMovementLongacre TheatreYou Will Get SickDirectorRoundabout Theatre Company2023Here We AreChoreographerThe Shed2024Can I Be Frank?DirectorLa MaMa Experimental Theatre ClubOh, Mary!DirectorLucille Lortel TheatreLa Cage aux FollesDirectorPasadena Playhouse2024–25Oh, Mary!DirectorLyceum Theatre2025Here We AreChoreographerNational TheatreJosh Sharp: ta-da!DirectorGreenwich House TheatreCan I Be Frank?DirectorSoHo PlayhouseCeilidhDirector and choreographerM&T Bank Exchange2026The Rocky Horror ShowDirectorStudio 542027You're a Good Man, Charlie BrownDirectorNew York City Center
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResult2017Tony AwardBest ChoreographyNatasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 18122020Lucille Lortel AwardsOutstanding ChoreographerSoft Power2025Tony AwardBest Direction of a PlayOh, Mary!2026Drama League AwardsOutstanding Direction of a MusicalThe Rocky Horror ShowNominated
See also
List of choreographers List of people from New York City List of theatre directors
References
External links