Cultural Leadership Breakfast: Matthew Gardiner

In 1991, two years after its founding by Eric Schaeffer and Donna Migliaccio, Signature Theatre presented its first musical: “Sweeney Todd.” Garnering four Helen Hayes Awards, the production put Signature on the map, establishing its bond with musical theater in general and the work of Stephen Sondheim in particular.

After a stint in a former automobile garage, in 2007 the company built a new two-theater facility that continues to serve as the cultural anchor of Arlington’s Village at Shirlington. Home to the American Musical Voices Project, one of the nation’s largest musical theater commissioning projects, Signature received the 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award.

Having joined Signature in 2010 as associate artistic director, Matthew Gardiner became artistic director in 2021. He has directed over 40 Signature productions, including many Sondheim musicals, some of which he also choreographed. During the 2023-24 season, he directed major new productions of “Ragtime” and “Hair.” He will kick off Signature’s 2024-25 season directing Sondheim’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

Gardiner, who holds a BFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon University, has received three Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Director of a Musical. At the Sept. 19 breakfast, he will talk about the evolution of his approach to programming and the challenges of leading a company in the current environment.

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