Other Desert Cities

PHILIP WM. MCKINLEY**

Director

PHILIP WM. MCKINLEY – Director

McKinley has directed record-breaking productions from Broadway to Salzburg to Tokyo. His production of Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark with music by Bono and The Edge is one of the top 20 all-time box office grossing productions in Broadway history. In New York City, McKinley also directed the five-time Tony Award® nominated Broadway musical The Boy From Oz starring Hugh Jackman, the revival of The Most Happy Fella starring Paul Sorvino at the New York City Opera, the Drama Desk-nominated comedy THWAK, and the cult Off-Broadway musical Zombie Prom. Most recently Elf The Musical returned to Broadway in a critically acclaimed production directed by McKinley, breaking the Marquis Theater’s box office record. First staged in 2022 at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End, this production became the venue’s fastest-selling show in nearly a century and became a firm holiday favorite for London audiences, breaking its own box office records during its 2023 run. At the Salzburg Music Festival, McKinley directed West Side Story starring Cecilia Bartoli with Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. McKinley directed the multi-million-dollar production, Steve Wynn’s Showstoppers. The show was awarded Best New Show 2014 and Best Musical 2015 in Las Vegas. CNN stated it was… “One of the best Musical Show Openings in Vegas history.” At The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, McKinley re-imagined and directed the aquatic spectacular Le Reve – The Dream. The production was renowned for its dramatic theater-in-the-round setting and high divers and acrobats flying in and out of the one million-gallon, 27-foot-deep pool. The show was awarded the title “Best Production Show in Las Vegas” for a record-breaking nine consecutive years. His more recent projects include a production of That Woman – Wallis Simpson, Duchess Of Windsor which was recognized as the “Pick of the Fringe” top five productions for the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His past projects include Mozart L’opera Rock in Tokyo, which broke Tokyo’s theatrical box office records, and Ben Hur Live, which premiered at the O2 Dome in London. Phil McKinley developed and directed the Japanese-language live-stage original musical, The Three Musketeers, which premiered in Tokyo September 8, 2024. The Three Musketeers was completely sold out in Tokyo and continued to Osaka and Hiroshima, which were also completely sold out

McKinley is presently developing a new biographical musical about the life of Ella Fitzgerald titled ELLA, as well as the verbal-sparring dramedy The Elaborate Truth with New York Times bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz.

**A Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.