Lainie Munro BDC Faculty Headshot

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Lainie Munro is a New York City-based director, choreographer, and performer. Most recently she choreographed Sweet Charity for New Haarlem Arts Theater, which won her the 2012 AUDELCO award for Best Choreography. Her work on Sweet Charity earned her praise from critics and was described in the New York Times as “new, exhilarating choreography.”

Other choreography credits include: an episode of Hope and Faith starring Kelly Ripa, Oklahoma! starring Rue McClanahan for the Broadway Series of Charlotte, Das Barbecu for the Arvada Center in Denver, Cabaret for Music Theatre of Connecticut, and Crazy For You for Florida State University’s Mainstage. Additional regional productions include: Seven Brides…, Barnum, Grand Hotel, and Fiddler on the Roof.

Her directing credits include: Great Day for the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. starring Norm Lewis, Christiane Noll, and Davis Gaines, Cabaret for Weathervane Rep, and That’s Entertainment and Swing Time — two Mainstage shows she created for Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2. She also choreographed for designer Christian Louboutin and Piper Heidsieck champagne for the 2009 Fashion’s Night Out event.

As a performer Lainie was in the Cameron Mackintosh/National Theatre of Great Britain production of My Fair Lady, directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Matthew Bourne. The show toured 26 cities across the USA, including the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. Lainie also originated the role of Margolis McCloud in The Unlikely Adventure of Race McCloud, Private Eye, which enjoyed a sold out run in NYC’s 2009 Fringe Festival. Regional roles include Velma in Chicago, Diana in Of Thee I Sing, Helene in Sweet Charity, Kristine in A Chorus Line and Phyllis on the European tour of 42nd Street.

In addition to her work as a director, choreographer, and performer, Lainie also has an extensive teaching career and is a frequent guest artist for master classes in Musical Theatre both in the U.S. and internationally. Recently she was a guest artist at the McDonald College of Performing Arts in Sydney, Australia, and will return again as a guest artist for their July 2013 Musical Theatre Intensive. She has taught Broadway Theatre Dance for the Musical Theatre Intensive Program at NYU’s C.A.P. 21 Conservatory and is a guest teacher at other prestigious dance studios in New York City. She is the Artistic Director of “The Broadway Big Brother/ Big Sister Program” — a program she created in 2001 that pairs Broadway dancers with aspiring young performers, giving them an opportunity to work together through rehearsals and performances. Lainie was selected as a finalist for the Woman’s Day Magazine Awards, “Women That Inspire Us”, for her work with the Broadway Big Brother/ Big Sister Program.

Lainie holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Florida State University. She is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and the Actors’ Equity Association.

Visit her website at LainieMunro.com.