After graduating from Wesleyan University, Kail became assistant stage manager at New Jersey's American Stage Company. Kail directed the
24 Hour Plays benefit performances in 2007 and 2008, where "6 short plays are written, rehearsed, directed, and performed in 24 hours." In 2007, he directed Julia Jordan's
A Bus Stop Play, and
Beau Willimon's
Zusammenbruch in 2008. Both shows played at the
American Airlines Theatre on
Broadway. Kail directed the hit
Broadway musical In the Heights, which garnered him a
Tony Award nomination for
Best Direction of a Musical. The musical premiered on Broadway, starting in
previews on February 14, 2008, with an official opening on March 9, 2008, at the
Richard Rodgers Theatre. Kail directed
Broke-ology, which played from October 5, 2009, to November 22, 2009, at the
Lincoln Center Theater Off-Broadway. This play garnered Kail an
AUDELCO Award nomination for Best Director of a Dramatic Production. Kail also staged the world premiere at the
Williamstown Theatre Festival. Kail directed
Eric Simonson's play
Lombardi, based on
Green Bay Packers coach
Vince Lombardi through a week in the 1965 season, as he attempts to lead his team to the championship.
Lombardi officially premiered on
Broadway at the
Circle in the Square Theatre on October 21, 2010. He then directed the Off-Broadway run of Nathan Louis Jackson's
When I Come to Die, which ran in January and February 2011. Kail reunited with
Lombardi playwright Eric Simonson on
Magic/Bird, a new play chronicling the intertwined life stories of basketball Hall of Famers
Larry Bird and
Earvin "Magic" Johnson. The play premiered on Broadway at the
Longacre Theatre on March 21, 2012, in previews, officially on April 11, 2012, and closed on May 12, 2012. Kail directed, with the cast that featured Kevin Daniels as "Magic" Johnson and Tug Coker as Larry Bird. Kail continued his collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda, directing the musical
Hamilton in 2015, both Off-Broadway and on Broadway, for which he won a
Tony Award. Kail directed
Grease: Live for
Paramount Television, screened live on
Fox on January 31, 2016; the world premiere of
Dry Powder with
Hank Azaria,
Claire Danes,
John Krasinski and
Sanjit De Silva which ran from March to May 2016 at
The Public Theater in New York City; and
Tiny Beautiful Things, also at
The Public, from November to December 2016. On July 5, 2018, FX announced an eight-episode order for a limited-series entitled
Fosse/Verdon, with Sam Rockwell playing the role of Bob Fosse and Michelle Williams playing the role of Gwen Verdon. On October 25, 2018, it was reported that Thomas Kail would direct at least four of the series' eight episodes and he would go on to direct a total of five episodes. Kail was nominated for Outstanding Directing – Movies for Television and Limited Series by the Directors Guild of America for the episode "Nowadays." In May 2023, it was announced that Kail would direct a
live action adaptation of the Disney animated film
Moana, making his narrative feature directorial debut. He was also attached to direct and co-produce the remake of
Fiddler on the Roof for
Amazon MGM Studios. ==Personal life==