Thomas Kail

Thomas Kail is an American theatre, television, and film director whose dynamic career has reshaped modern musical storytelling. Born on January 20, 1977, in Alexandria, Virginia, he grew up attending Sidwell Friends School before graduating from Wesleyan University in 1999, where he forged a lasting friendship with Lin‑Manuel Miranda and co‑created the freestyle hip‑hop collective Freestyle Love Supreme. After a brief stint as an assistant stage manager at New Jersey's American Stage Company, Kail quickly emerged as a bold visionary, directing the 24‑Hour Plays in 2007 and 2008 and helming early productions such as Julia Jordan's A Bus Stop Play and Beau Willimon's Zusammenbruch. His breakout came with the Broadway hit In the Heights, which earned him his first Tony nomination for Best Direction of a Musical in 2008. Kail's partnership with Miranda reached its zenith when he directed the Off‑Broadway and subsequent Broadway productions of Hamilton, a cultural phenomenon that secured him the 2016 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and cemented his reputation as a master of kinetic staging and narrative pacing. Beyond the stage, he has directed televised events like Grease: Live (2016) and the acclaimed limited series Fosse/Verdon (2019), earning two Primetime Emmy nominations and a Directors Guild of America nod. In 2018 he received a Kennedy Center Honor, recognizing his impact on American theatre. Recent projects include directing the live‑action adaptation of Disney's Moana and co‑producing a new Fiddler on the Roof for Amazon MGM Studios. On a personal note, Kail married actress Michelle Williams in 2020; the couple share three children, raised in a Jewish household, and continue to collaborate creatively while balancing family life. His career, marked by relentless innovation and cross‑medium storytelling, continues to influence the next generation of directors and performers.