Broadway and Off-Broadway As a dancer, Ashford made his Broadway debut in the 1987 Lincoln Center revival of
Anything Goes starring
Patti LuPone. Ashford began working as a choreographer when
Rob Marshall sent Ashford to re-stage
Kiss of the Spider Woman in Buenos Aires. He next served as Associate Choreographer to Kathleen Marshall on the Broadway revival of
Ring Round the Moon in 1999 the 1999 Broadway revival of
Kiss Me, Kate, Ashford won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Choreography for the Broadway musical
Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002). Additional Broadway choreography credits include the
Roundabout Theatre production of
The Boys from Syracuse at the
American Airlines Theatre in 2002,
The Wedding Singer (2006) (Tony Nomination),
Curtains (2007) (Tony Nomination),
Cry-Baby (2008) (Tony Nomination) and
Evita starring Ricky Martin (2012) (Tony Nomination). He directed and choreographed
Promises, Promises starring
Sean Hayes and
Kristin Chenoweth in 2010 (Tony Nomination for Best Choreography) and
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring
Daniel Radcliffe and
John Laroquette in 2011, receiving Tony Nominations for Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography of a Musical. He also directed Scarlett Johansson in the 2012 revival of "
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" on Broadway. For the New York City Center
Encores! staged concert series, Ashford has choreographed:
Tenderloin (2000),
Bloomer Girl (2001),
A Connecticut Yankee (2001), and
Pardon My English (2004). He directed and choreographed a 2010 pre-Broadway production of
Leap of Faith at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. In April 2015, Ashford directed and choreographed an acclaimed production of
Carousel for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, starring Laura Osnes and Steven Pasquale. Ashford served as the choreographer of the musical
Frozen. Off-Broadway credits include
Pardon My English (2004),
The Thing About Men (2003),
Bloomer Girl (2001),
A Connecticut Yankee (2001), and
Time and Again (2001).
London In London, Ashford's directing credits include:
Parade at the
Donmar Warehouse (2007) (Olivier Nominations for Best Director and Best Theatre Choreographer) and
A Streetcar Named Desire in 2009 at the Donmar Warehouse starring Rachel Weisz (Olivier nomination, Best Revival). He directed a revival of
Anna Christie, starring
Jude Law and
Ruth Wilson at the Donmar Warehouse in 2011. This production won the Olivier Award for Best Revival. Ashford co-directed, with Jason Moore, the
West End production of
Shrek The Musical, which ran from 2011 to 2013 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. For the
Manchester International Festival, Ashford directed
Kenneth Branagh and
Alex Kingston in
Macbeth in 2013. The production transferred to the
Park Ave Armory in New York City for a limited run in June 2014. His choreography credits include
Evita (2007 Olivier Nomination, Best Theatre Choreographer),
Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre starring Ewan McGregor and Jane Krakowski (2006 Olivier nomination for Best Theatre Choreographer), and
Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Shaftesbury Theatre (2004 Olivier nomination for Best Theatre Choreographer). He directed and choreographed a musical version of the film
Finding Neverland which premièred in autumn 2012 at Curve, Leicester.
Royal National Theatre choreography credits include
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (2004) and
Once in a Lifetime in 2005. He directed and choreographed the new Gershwin musical
A Damsel In Distress for Chichester Festival Theatre in 2015. In 2016, he co-directed ''
The Winter's Tale with Branagh in a production that starred Branagh and Judi Dench, and he also directed Branagh in The Entertainer'', for London's West End.
Film and television Film credits include staging the musical numbers for the Bobby Darin biopic
Beyond the Sea starring
Kevin Spacey,
Seth MacFarlane's
A Million Ways to Die in the West and
Ted 2, and the Disney film
Cinderella directed by
Kenneth Branagh. For television, Ashford has choreographed tributes to
Andrew Lloyd Webber,
Barbra Streisand, Jerry Hermann,
Meryl Streep, Barbara Cook,
Shirley MacLaine, and
Tom Hanks for
The Kennedy Center Honors. He was the choreographer for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007 and 2009, and also a co-producer for 2011, 2012 and 2014. He collaborated with filmmaker
Baz Luhrmann on a production number featuring
Hugh Jackman and
Beyoncé Knowles for The 81st Annual
Academy Awards, and won the 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography. He also served as choreographer for the
85th Academy Awards (2013),
86th Academy Awards (2014), and the
87th Academy Awards (2015). In December 2013, Ashford was stage director and choreographer of
NBC's live television presentation,
The Sound of Music Live!, and received a
DGA Award Nomination, and an Emmy Award nomination.
Other Asford choreographed the opening number of the 2013 Tonys, "Make it Bigger". Ashford choreographed a new production of
Candide at the
Theatre du Chatelet (with subsequent productions at La Scala, Milan and The English National Opera). He directed
The Barber of Seville for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which began performances on February 1, 2014. He directed and choreographed
Carmen at the Houston Grand Opera in April and May 2014. Ashford is on the executive committee of The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Board of Trustees of The
Joyce Theater, Artists' Committee for the Kennedy Center Honors, and has been an associate director at
The Old Vic since 2012. In 2011, the
New York Observer listed Ashford as number 42 on "The New Power Gays: NYC’s Top 50" list; Ashford was selected for
Out magazine's "Out 100" in 2013.
Upcoming projects In February 2019, it was announced that Ashford would direct a film adaptation of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical
Sunset Boulevard, starring
Glenn Close reprising her on-stage role as Norma Desmond. However, in 2024, it was confirmed that Ashford had left the project due to delays in production caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic and studio
Paramount Pictures putting the project in
turnaround. Ashford will direct the
musical adaptation of
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in the summer of 2024. ==Credits (select)==