Thomas Kail (born January 20, 1977)^[1] is an American theatre and television director, known for directing theOff-Broadway andBroadway productions ofLin-Manuel Miranda's musicalsIn the Heights^[2] andHamilton, garnering the 2016Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for the latter. Kail was awarded theKennedy Center Honor in 2018. He has also directed the television seriesFosse/Verdon (2019), for which he was nominated for twoPrimetime Emmy Awards.

Kail grew up inAlexandria, Virginia^[3] and graduated fromSidwell Friends School in 1995 and subsequently fromWesleyan University in 1999.^[4][5] He remains good friends withLin-Manuel Miranda, with whom he co-created, along with Anthony Veneziale, thefreestylehip-hop groupFreestyle Love Supreme.^[6][7] Kail is Jewish.^[8]

Kail began a relationship withtheatre actressAngela Christian in 2006; they divorced in 2019.^[9][10][11] In December 2019, it was announced that he was engaged toFosse/Verdon actressMichelle Williams, who was expecting their first child together;^[12] they married in March 2020.^[13] Their son, Hart, was born by June that year.^[13] In May 2022, Williams revealed she is pregnant with their second child together, who was born later in 2022.^[14]

Kail and Williams are raising their two young children with Judaism, and Williams (who is not Jewish) is studying the religion herself.^[15] Williams also has a daughter from a previous relationship with actorHeath Ledger.^[16]

After graduating from Wesleyan University, Kail became assistant stage manager at New Jersey's American Stage Company.^[17]

Kail directed the24 Hour Plays benefit performances in 2007 and 2008, where "6 short plays are written, rehearsed, directed, and performed in 24 hours."^[18] In 2007, he directed Julia Jordan'sA Bus Stop Play, andBeau Willimon'sZusammenbruch in 2008. Both shows played at theAmerican Airlines Theatre onBroadway.^[19]

Kail directed the hitBroadway musicalIn the Heights, which garnered him aTony Award nomination forBest Direction of a Musical.^[20] The musical premiered on Broadway, starting inpreviews on February 14, 2008, with an official opening on March 9, 2008, at theRichard Rodgers Theatre.^[21]

Kail directedBroke-ology, which played from October 5, 2009, to November 22, 2009, at theLincoln Center Theater Off-Broadway. This play garnered Kail anAUDELCO Award nomination for Best Director of a Dramatic Production.^[22] Kail also staged the world premiere at theWilliamstown Theatre Festival.^[23] In 2009, Kail also directed theNew York City Center'sEncores! production of the musicalThe Wiz.^[24][25][26]

Kail directedEric Simonson's playLombardi, based onGreen Bay Packers coachVince Lombardi through a week in the 1965 season, as he attempts to lead his team to the championship.^[27][28][29]Lombardi officially premiered onBroadway at theCircle in the Square Theatre on October 21, 2010.^[30]

He then directed the Off-Broadway run of Nathan Louis Jackson'sWhen I Come to Die, which ran in January and February 2011.^[23][31]

Kail reunited withLombardi playwright Eric Simonson onMagic/Bird, a new play chronicling the intertwined life stories of basketball Hall of FamersLarry Bird andEarvin "Magic" Johnson. The play premiered on Broadway at theLongacre 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.^[32]

Kail continued his collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda, directing the musicalHamilton in 2015, both Off-Broadway and on Broadway, for which he won aTony Award.^[33]

Kail directedGrease: Live forParamount Television, screened live onFox on January 31, 2016;^[34] the world premiere ofDry Powder withHank Azaria,Claire Danes,John Krasinski andSanjit De Silva which ran from March to May 2016 atThe Public Theater in New York City;^[35] andTiny Beautiful Things, also atThe Public, from November to December 2016.

On July 5, 2018, FX announced an eight-episode order for a limited-series entitledFosse/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 alive action adaptation of the Disney animated filmMoana, making his narrative feature directorial debut.^[36] He is also attached to direct and co-produce the remake ofFiddler on the Roof forAmazon MGM Studios.^[37]

Film

• Hamilton (2020)
• Moana (2026)

As himself

Director

Performer

• Thomas Kail at theInternet Broadway Database
• Thomas Kail at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
• Thomas Kail atIMDb

• American theatre directors
• Broadway theatre directors
• Wesleyan University alumni
• Living people
• American hip-hop musicians
• American freestyle musicians
• American television directors
• Jewish American musicians
• People from Alexandria, Virginia
• Primetime Emmy Award winners
• Tony Award winners
• 1977 births
• Kennedy Center honorees

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• Internet Off-Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata