As a student at Richland High School, now
Pine-Richland High School (Gibsonia, PA; North of Pittsburgh), Calhoun was interested in both athletics and performance, playing football and studying
tap dance. He danced in the ensemble at The
Kenley Players in Ohio in the late 1970s where he met
Tommy Tune. Tune later hired Calhoun to perform in the First National Tour of
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Calhoun made his
Broadway debut in the stage adaptation of
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982). He also starred opposite
Twiggy in
My One and Only (1983). Calhoun’s collaboration with Tommy Tune resulted in the 1991 Tony Award for Best Choreography for
The Will Rogers Follies. His Broadway directing debut was
Tommy Tune Tonight! (1992). Calhoun began his association with
Deaf West Theatre in 2000 when he directed and choreographed a world premiere adaptation of
Oliver! Calhoun continued his work with Deaf West Theater with
Big River the following season.
Big River subsequently played
Roundabout Theatre Company’s America Airlines Theatre in 2003 on Broadway and garnered the 2004
Tony Award for Excellence in Theater. Calhoun also directed the world premiere of the first original
American Sign Language musical,
Sleeping Beauty Wakes, at the Kirk Douglas Theater in 2007. In 2009, he directed and choreographed the Deaf West Theatre & Center Theater Group production of
Pippin at the
Mark Taper Forum, which included new and revised material from composer
Stephen Schwartz. Calhoun directed both the world premiere and international productions of
Disney’s High School Musical: On Stage and
Disney’s High School Musical 2: On Stage. He also provided choreography for
Xena: Warrior Princess (The Bitter Suite),
Downtown,
Happy Together and
Weekend Warriors. Calhoun's additional Broadway credits include the first Broadway revival of
Grease (1994),
Annie Get Your Gun (1999),
Bells Are Ringing (2001),
Brooklyn The Musical (2004), and
Grey Gardens (2006).
Off-Broadway he appeared in
One More Song/One More Dance (1983) with
Ann Reinking, choreographed
Bouncers (1987) and
Comic Potential (2000), and directed
Holy Cross Sucks! (2005). His regional theater credits include the First National Tour of
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas presented by Theater of the Stars (2008),
Shenandoah at the
Ford’s Theater (2006) and
Himself and Nora, a musical based on James Joyce and Nora Barnacle, which he choreographed and co-directed (with Joseph Hardy) for the
Old Globe Theatre in 2005. Calhoun is an Associate Artist at Ford’s Theater,
Washington, DC where he directed both the 2008 Presidential Gala presentation of Frank Wildhorn’s
The Civil War, and a new production of that same work as part of the Ford’s Theater 2009 reopening season. In 2011, Calhoun directed and choreographed the Broadway musical
Bonnie & Clyde, a collaboration with composer
Frank Wildhorn, lyricist
Don Black and
librettist Ivan Menchell. The show opened at the
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on December 1, 2011, and closed on December 30.
Bonnie & Clyde had its world premiere at
La Jolla Playhouse in 2009 and had another out-of-town tryout at the
Asolo Repertory Theatre in
Sarasota, Florida, in 2010. Calhoun also directed and choreographed the national tour of
Dolly Parton's
9 to 5: The Musical, which began performances in September 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. Calhoun directed the Disney musical
Newsies. After a run at the
Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey in fall 2011, Disney Theatrical Productions announced that the show would transfer to Broadway for a strictly limited engagement.
Newsies, which opened at the
Nederlander Theatre on March 29, 2012, and closed on Broadway on August 24, 2014. The musical has had 8
Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical and Best Director of a Musical for Calhoun. Calhoun worked on the first revival of
Jekyll & Hyde. The production, starring
Constantine Maroulis and
Deborah Cox, will play a 25-week national tour before landing on Broadway in Spring 2013. Calhoun also directed the UK tour of
9 to 5 in Fall 2012. ==Awards and nominations==