Randy Skinner

Randy Skinner is an American dancer, director and choreographer, primarily for the stage. He has been nominated four times for Tony Awards, three times for Drama Desk Awards, and four times for Outer Critics Circle Awards for choreography.

Early life and education

Skinner was born in Columbus, Ohio. [1] He attended Upper Arlington High School[2] and graduated from Ohio State University, with a major in speech and communication and a minor in psychology.[1][3][4]

Career

He moved to New York in 1976 seeking dancing jobs, and Gower Champion asked him to be a dance assistant on 42nd Street in 1980. In 1985, Ginger Rogers cast him as Val opposite Karen Ziemba and asked him to choreograph a production of Babes in Arms that she directed in upstate New York and in Connecticut.[5]

His Broadway work as a choreographer includes Dames At Sea (also directing). Skinner said that he played the role of "Dick" and choreographed Dames At Sea in an Ohio State University production in 1973, as an undergraduate. Skinner noted that "My influence has always been from the movies." He added "I'm very protective of my dancers. If I'm choreographing a trick or a lift, I always consider, "Can this be done eight times a week joyfully and safely without the dancer fretting about it?"[6]

Other work includes Irving Berlin's White Christmas and State Fair. He choreographed the Broadway revival of 42nd Street in 2001 and also choreographed and staged the London, Germany, Australia and two U.S. national companies and the Amsterdam production of the musical.[7] He has choreographed many productions for the City Center Encores! series, including Of Thee I Sing (May 2006), Face The Music (March 2007), No, No Nanette (May 2008), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (May 2012) and Lady Be Good (February 2015).[8][9] His Off-Broadway and regional theatre choreography work includes productions of Irving Berlin's White Christmas around the U.S. and the UK, Garry Marshall's Happy Days (2006 in Los Angeles), Lone Star Love (2004 Off-Broadway; 2007 Seattle), Babes in Arms (2002 at the Goodspeed Opera House), Abby's Song (1999 Off-Broadway, also directing) and Lucky in the Rain (1997 at Goodspeed). He has received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Drama-Logue Award, and Connecticut Critics Circle Award among others. He has received the Hoofer Award from the American Tap Dance Foundation (2009) and the Flo-Bert Award (2010). Skinner's tap dancing has been heard on numerous recordings including Lucky In The Rain, Sondheim At The Movies, 110 In The Shade, and Strike Up The Band.[10]

Teaching career

In addition to his theatrical career, Skinner is also a guest teacher at various colleges and universities and at both Steps On Broadway and Broadway Dance Center in NYC. The Randy Skinner Collection was established at Ohio State University's Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, with his notes, scripts, playbills, posters, and personal papers.

Work

(As choreographer, except as otherwise noted)

Awards and nominations

References

  1. 1 2 "Q & A Randy Skinner 'White Christmas the Musical'" wordpress.com, December 17, 2013
  2. ↑ Grossberg, Michael. "Star-studded alumni toast hometown talent" The Columbus Dispatch, April 12, 2012, accessed November 30, 2016
  3. ↑ "Randy Skinner to visit OSU Dance and Theatre Departments" osu.edu, November 6, 2015
  4. ↑ "Randy Skinner Bio" broadwaydancecenter.com, accessed November 30, 2016
  5. ↑ Sturdivant, Doug. "Making Merry: White Christmas Plays Broadway", December 6, 2008
  6. ↑ Stewart, Zachary. " 'Dames at Sea' 's Randy Skinner Creates Giant Production Numbers With Just Six Actors" theatermania.com, October 21, 2015
  7. ↑ "Randy Skinner biography", Broadway Dance Center, accessed May 8, 2009
  8. ↑ Goldman, Phyllis. "Master Tap Teacher Randy Skinner…Talks about his long career both on Broadway and at Encores", danceruniverse.com, March 27, 2008
  9. ↑ Encores! Previous Seasons,New York City Center, accessed May 8, 2009
  10. ↑ Randy Skinner, Broadway World, accessed May 8, 2009
  11. ↑ "Cast" whatsonstage.com, retrieved February 7, 2017
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