Jerry Mitchell Opens Up on Secrets to Making A Great Musical

Choreographer Jerry Mitchell has an array of nominations and awards under his belt for his choreography and directing work on the Broadway and West End stages. During the past decade, Mitchell has worked on nine Broadway shows: Six of these shows went on to become long-running hits, and six have garnered him a Tony nomination for best choreographer; his work on 'La Cage aux Folles' earned him a Tony Award in 2005.

While dance is central to his work, it may be surprising to hear that Mitchell does not feel that dance is always an essential to a good production, 'It's a wonderful element, but it's so powerful, it can take the focus away from something important. It has to be used in the right way,' he tells The Age in an interview.

Mitchell also opens up on what years of choreographing have taught him; the secrets to a great musical, including the 'hope' factor where he cites 'West Side Story' as having perfecting this ingredient: 'Two gangs are at war, a young man dies - but it ends with Maria saying, 'We're going to clean up this mess, and we're going to do it together.' I can't get really passionate about a musical unless there is hope at the end.'

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Jerry Mitchell has been involved with dozens of shows as choreographer and director on the Broadway and West End stages, including 'Love Never Dies', 'Hairspray', 'Catch Me If You Can', 'Legally Blonde'. 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels', 'The Full Monty', 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show', Jerome Robbins' 'Broadway' and 'You're A Good Man Charlie Brown', amongst many others. In 2005, he won the Tony Award for Best Choreography for La Cage aux Folles. In the same year, he garnered the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for 'La Cage'.