Theatre Arden made his
Broadway debut as
Tom Sawyer in the 2003
Roundabout and
Deaf West revival of
Big River. He also starred opposite
John Hill in the 2004
off-Broadway show
Bare, a Pop Opera. In summer 2005, he played Nick, a sexually promiscuous gay man in love with a shark, in
Adam Bock's surreal play
Swimming in the Shallows at New York's
Second Stage Theatre. He played the title character in
Pippin for the
World AIDS Day Broadway benefit concert in November 2004. He starred in the
Twyla Tharp musical ''
The Times They Are A-Changin''', based on the music of
Bob Dylan, which ran January 25 to March 5, 2006, at the
Old Globe Theatre in
San Diego, California, and then on Broadway at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre from October 26 to November 19, 2006. in 2006 at a
Broadway on Broadway concert. In 2007 he starred as John Robert in
Ace at the Old Globe Theatre from January 13 to February 18. In the summer of 2007, he toured Europe with
Barbra Streisand as one of her "Broadway Boys." Arden's regional theatre credits include
Pippin,
God of Vengeance,
Falsettoland,
Tom Jones'
Harold and Maude,
West Side Story,
Songs for a New World,
The Common Pursuit, and ''
The Winter's Tale''. Beginning in October 2014, Arden played the role of Quasimodo in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame musical at San Diego's
La Jolla Playhouse. The production ran from October 26 to December 7, 2014, and at
Paper Mill Playhouse from March 4 to April 5, 2015. Arden directed
Deaf West Theatre's acclaimed Broadway revival of
Spring Awakening. The production featured a cast made up of both
deaf and hearing actors, performed simultaneously in
American Sign Language and English. The production began in at Inner City Arts in Los Angeles in September 2014, transferred to the
Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills in May 2015, and finally transferred to Broadway, where it began previews September 8, 2015, and opened on September 27, 2015, at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre. On May 3, 2016, Arden received a nomination for the
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for his work on the
Spring Awakening revival. Arden went on to direct the musical
My Fair Lady at the Bay Street Theater in
Sag Harbor, New York in August 2016. He then returned as the first
artist-in-residence at the
Wallis Annenberg Center, where he directed productions of
The Pride and
Merrily We Roll Along, the latter of which earned him a 2017
Ovation Awards nomination for Best Director of a Musical. Arden directed the first Broadway revival of
Once on This Island, which began previews on November 9, 2017, and opened on December 3 at the
Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran until January 6, 2019. The acclaimed revival was nominated for seven
Drama Desk Awards and eight
Tony Awards, including a second Best Director Tony nomination for Arden. Arden directed
Annie at the
Hollywood Bowl in July 2018 for the venue's annual summer musical production. Following this, Arden was directed
Jefferson Mays in his one-man adaptation of
Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol at Los Angeles'
Geffen Playhouse beginning October 2018. Arden directed the American premiere of
Maybe Happy Ending at the
Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in January 2020. In November 2022, Arden directed a production of
Jason Robert Brown's
Parade for
New York City Center's 2022 gala. The production transferred to Broadway in March 2023. This production won Arden the 2023
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. He won a
Tony Award for Best Director for the show.
Television He has appeared on ABC's ''
Grey's Anatomy (in the episode "17 Seconds" as Neal Hannigan) and in NUMB3RS for CBS. He was cast in the Fox show The Return of Jezebel James, which cancelled after three episodes in the spring of 2008. Arden had a recurring role in the NBC series Kings as Joseph. He also guest starred in an episode of The Closer as well as guest starring in an episode of Bones. In August 2011, Arden was cast in a recurring role on The Good Wife. He had a regular role in the FX series Anger Management''.
Film Arden featured in Colin Spoelman's independent film
The Cave Movie (2009). He also acted in the 2011 movie
Source Code, and appeared as Kevin in the film
Bride Wars. Composing and writing As a composer, Arden has written several works, including
Easter Rising,
As You Like It, and
Ripley. == Personal life ==