Casey Nicholaw

Casey Nicholaw, born October 6, 1962, in San Diego, California, is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. The oldest of three children born to Andy and Kay Nicholaw, he grew up in San Diego and participated in community theatre as a teenager. He graduated from Clairemont High School in 1980 and went on to attend the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a nephew of the late George Nicholaw, who served for many years as general manager of radio station KNX (AM) in Los Angeles.

Nicholaw's performing career on Broadway spanned from 1987 to 2002. Among his earliest credits, he played Junior and other roles in Crazy for You from 1992 to 1994, followed by the role of Wall Street Wolf and others in The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public in 1994. He portrayed Gregor, Juke, and additional roles in Victor/Victoria from 1995 to 1997, then took on Corky, Luke, and other characters in Steel Pier in 1997. In 1999, he understudied and performed the role of Neville in The Scarlet Pimpernel, and that same year began playing Frank Manero in Saturday Night Fever, a role he continued through 2000. He subsequently understudied Horton and other roles in Seussical from 2000 to 2001, and played Dexter among other roles in Thoroughly Modern Millie from 2002 to 2004. His cast album recordings document most of these productions. Additional performance credits include Billion Dollar Baby in a Musicals in Mufti concert Off-Off-Broadway in 1998, Bells Are Ringing at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1990, and a Saturday Night on Broadway. In March 2023, he returned to performing when he took on the role of Spats Colombo in Some Like It Hot for a weekend run on Broadway.

As a director and choreographer, Nicholaw built an extensive Broadway résumé beginning with his choreography of Monty Python's Spamalot in 2005, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Choreography. The following year he directed and choreographed The Drowsy Chaperone, earning Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for both direction and choreography. He directed To Be or Not to Be for the Manhattan Theatre Club, which opened October 2, 2008. He served as director and choreographer of Elf: The Musical, which opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on November 10, 2010, and closed January 2, 2011. That same year he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for co-directing The Book of Mormon with Trey Parker, a production for which he also received a choreography nomination.

Nicholaw directed and choreographed the stage musical Aladdin, which premiered at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle from July 7 to 31, 2011, featuring songs from the 1992 film alongside a new book by Chad Beguelin and new lyrics by Beguelin and Alan Menken. The show transferred to Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre, opening March 20, 2014, and earned Nicholaw a Tony Award nomination for choreography. Something Rotten!, which he directed and choreographed, opened officially at the St. James Theatre on April 22, 2015, following previews that began March 23; the production brought him additional Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations. He directed and choreographed the West End production of Dreamgirls, which opened at the Savoy Theatre on December 14, 2016. The Prom, which Nicholaw directed and choreographed, opened at the Longacre Theatre on November 15, 2018, and received a New York Times Critic's Pick. His choreography of Some Like It Hot in 2023 earned him the Tony Award for Best Choreography and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Beyond Broadway, Nicholaw's credits include choreographing Spamalot's West End production and its U.S. national tour in 2006, directing and choreographing The Drowsy Chaperone in Los Angeles in 2005, and choreographing South Pacific at Carnegie Hall in 2005. He choreographed Bye Bye Birdie and Can-Can for New York City Center's Encores! series, as well as Follies for Encores!, which he also directed. Additional credits include Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way at Radio City Music Hall and Candide for the New York Philharmonic. In January 2009, he directed and choreographed the Los Angeles debut of Minsky's at the Ahmanson Theatre. He also directed and choreographed Robin and the 7 Hoods, based on the 1960s Rat Pack film with songs by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen and a book by Rupert Holmes, at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego from July 30 through August 2010, featuring Will Chase and Amy Spanger. Nicholaw is set to direct and choreograph 50 First Dates: The Musical, based on the 2004 film, at The Other Palace in London in autumn 2025.