Matthew Gardiner (he/him/his) is a Director, Choreographer, Producer and Arts Leader residing in Washington, DC, where he is the Artistic Director of Signature Theatre. The Washington Post has called him “One of the top young musical-theater directors in the land” and “one of those rarefied musical theatre beasts.”
At Signature, Matthew has directed over 40 productions including revivals of classic musicals like Ragtime, RENT, She Loves Me, A Chorus Line, West Side Story, La Cage Aux Folles, Cabaret, Crazy For You, Jelly's Last Jam, Billy Elliot, The Threepenny Opera, and Dreamgirls, as well as contemporary musicals like Todd Almond’s Girlfriend, Michael John LaChuisa’s See What I Wanna See and the world premieres of Nick Blaemire's Soon, Matt Conner and Hunter Foster’s The Hollow, and Josh Schmidt and Royce Vavrek’s Midwestern Gothic. With Signature’s special commitment to producing the work of Stephen Sondheim, Matthew has directed and/or choreographed many Sondheim musicals including Into The Woods, Passion, Sunday in the Park with George, Company, Sweeney Todd, Saturday Night, Side By Side By Sondheim and the world premiere theatrical concert Simply Sondheim created with David Loud and Jonathan Tunick in celebration of Signature’s 25th Anniversary. Also at Signature, Matthew has directed plays like Yasmina Reza’s Art, Philip Ridley’s Tender Napalm, Christopher Shinn’s Dying City, as well as the world premiere of Paul Downs Colaizzo’s Really Really. As the Washington Post said about Matthew’s work, “an overarching keen intelligence seems to be a hallmark of Matthew Gardiner’s direction, from brassy musicals to taut intimate dramas… all have been first-rate in execution.”
As the Associate Artistic Director from 2010-2021, Matthew helped build several groundbreaking seasons, cultivating relationships with prominent and emerging artists, and developing over a dozen new works. He has overseen several of Signature’s new work development initiatives including the American Musical Voices Project (one of the largest musical theatre commissioning programs in the country), SigWorks Play Reading Series (highlighting the work of DC area playwrights) and the Signature/Yale Composer Partnership, which seeks to give opportunity to early career composers. He works closely with the Director of Education as the Program Director for Signature’s Summer Musical Theatre Intensive, Overtures. He has also been the Director of Signature’s Cabaret, creating and producing multiple musical performances over the years and an annual Summer Cabaret Series, seeking out musical talent from the DC area and nationally.
Over the past year, in the midst of a global pandemic, that has made live performance impossible, Matthew has worked to make certain Signature continues to engage it’s current audience with bold and exciting new artistic content, while also actively working to expand Signature’s reach to a broader audience. Matthew selected and planned Signature’s current 2021 Season, Signature Features, which includes 5 fully produced productions that can be streamed from home in partnership with Marquee TV. The season is available for viewing on any web enabled device, anywhere in the world. The 5 show season, includes Simply Sondheim, Daniel J. Watt’s The Jam: Only Child, Mark Sonnenblick’s Midnight at The Never Get, After Midnight, and Dominique Morriseau’s Detroit ’67. This On Demand season also includes The Signature Show- a monthly free online series featuring performances and interviews, an outdoor filmed concert called Signature Vinyl, SigWorks: Monday Night New Play Readings, and additional cabaret programming. During this time, Matthew continues to be committed to the development of new musicals and plays, seeking out exciting and diverse voices. Matthew has a deep commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and honing the theatre’s anti-racist practices, as well as his own.
Outside of Signature, Matthew has directed and/or choreographed at most of the prominent regional theatre’s in the Washington, DC area. Including productions of The Laramie Project (Fords Theatre), Caroline, or Change, Ordinary Days (Round House Theatre), Jerry Springer: The Opera, Reefer Madness (Studio Theatre), Marcy Heisler and Zina Glidrich's Snow White, Rose Red and Fred (The Kennedy Center), The Power of Two (Arena Stage). He also choreographed The Legend of Georgia McBride (Round House Theatre), The Tempest (Shakespeare Theatre), Jacques Brel is Alive And Well... (MetroStage), Adding Machine, Grey Gardens, Fuckin’ A, and Dog Sees God (Studio Theatre). Matthew has also worked abroad, choreographing Titanic and directing and choreographing Doctor Zhivago for OD Musical Company in Seoul, Korea.
Matthew is the recipient of three Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Director of a Musical and has been honored with over a dozen nominations. He holds a BFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University and is a member of the Society for Stage Directors and Choreographers.