Susan Stroman is born on October 17th, in Wilmington, Delaware to Charles and Frances Stroman.

She often dances to her brother Corky playing the organ. Corky suggests she attend dancing school.

Susan begins dancing at the age of five at Anna Marie’s Dance Studio.

Susan always sings and dances around the living room to her father playing the piano.

The Stroman house is filled with music.

Music is everywhere, even baby sister Debbie joins in.

Stroman dances on the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey for three summers.

Stroman studies dance at the Academy of Dance in Wilmington, Delaware under James Jamieson.

Stroman attends John Dickinson High School and is a featured baton twirler in their award-winning marching band.

Stroman begins choreographing at various community theaters in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Stroman begins teaching at Delaware Dance Center.

Stroman dances on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco as the tap dancing duo of Lindsay (Debbie Bouma) and Sunny (Susan Stroman). It ultimately leads to an appearance on The Tonight Show.

Stroman graduates from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

Stroman makes her professional stage debut in the musical Hit the Deck at Goodspeed Opera House.

Stroman plays Hunyak in the National Tour of Chicago, 
starring Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach.

Stroman makes her Broadway debut in Whoopee starring Charles Repole.

Stro does several ads for Capezio.

Stroman performs in the Broadway show Musical Chairs and takes on the roles of Assistant Director, Assistant Choreographer, and Dance Captain.

Stroman directs and choreographs several industrial shows, 
including Miller Beer, Honeywell, Met Life, and more.

Stroman co-conceives and stars in Trading Places with her dance partner, Jeff Veazey. They start presentations at the Equity Library Theater.

Stroman continues directing and choreographing 
several industrial shows across America.

Stro choreographs Flora the Red Menace Off-Broadway
 at the Vineyard Theatre. (Pictured here are Dirk Lumbard and Maggy Gorrill.)

Stro choreographs Don Giovanni at the New York City Opera. (Pictured here are Elizabeth Holleque and Jon Garrison)

Stro choreographs A Little Night Music at the New York City Opera.

Stro choreographs and co-conceives And the World Goes ‘Round Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre. She wins SDCF’s Joe A. Callaway Award for Excellence in Choreography and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Stro signs on with her first agent, Flora Roberts.

Liza Stepping Out opens at Radio City Music Hall on April 23rd. The show premieres on HBO on November 10th. It is nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and Stroman is nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Choreography.

Stro directs and choreographs An Evening with the Boston Pops: A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein. It premieres on PBS on May 20th.

Stro choreographs her first Broadway show, 
Crazy for You at the Shubert Theatre.

Stro wins her first Tony Award for Best Choreography for Crazy for You. (Pictured here with Patti Lupone and Liza Minnelli). The show also wins the Tony Award for Best Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Stro choreographs Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall for PBS. It is nominated for an Emmy Award. (Pictured here is Madeline Kahn).

Stro choreographs 110 in the Shade at New York City Opera. (Pictured here is Karen Ziemba)

Crazy for You opens at the Prince Edward Theatre in London on March 3rd. It wins the Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Musical and Best Theatre Choreographer.

Stro choreographs Picnic for the Roundabout Theatre Company.

Stro is on the cover of Theater Week.

Stro choreographs Show Boat on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre.

Stro choreographs A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden.
 It wins the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography. 
The show runs for 10 consecutive years.

Stroman marries British director, Mike Ockrent on December 31st.

Stroman wins her second Tony Award for Best Choreography of Show Boat. It also takes home a Tony Award for Best Revival. She wins the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Stroman receives an Award of Distinction from Emerson College.

Stro choreographs Big The Musical on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre. It is nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Stro choreographs Steel Pier on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. It is nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Stro choreographs the world premiere of 
But Not for Me for the Martha Graham Company. (Pictured here is Katherine Crockett).

Stro choreographs Show Boat in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre.

Stro choreographs the revival of Oklahoma! at the Royal National Theatre. It was later transferred to the Lyceum Theatre and was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer. (Pictured here are Hugh Jackman and Josefina Gabrielle)

Stro choreographs numbers in Warner Brothers’ You've Got Mail, which premieres in theaters nationwide on December 18th.

Stro choreographs the world premiere of the ballet Blossom Got Kissed for the New York City Ballet.

Stro directs, choreographs, and co-conceives Contact at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.

Stroman is “New Yorker of the Year” for New York Magazine.

Crazy for You: PBS Great Performances premieres on October 20th. (Pictured here are Jim Walton and Stacey Logan).

Stroman and her collaborator John Weidman receive the Joan Cullman Award for Extraordinary Creativity.

Stroman is awarded the position of 
Associate Director at the Lincoln Center Theater.

Contact opens at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on March 30th. (Pictured here are Seán Martin Hingston and Stephanie Michels).

The Music Man opens at the Neil Simon Theatre on April 27th. Stroman wins the Outer Critic Circle Awards for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Choreography and the Astaire Award for Best Choreography. It is Tony nominated for Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography, as well as Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Director of a Musical and Outstanding Choreography.

Stro choreographs Columbia Pictures’ Center Stage. It premieres in theaters nationwide on May 12th. (Pictured here is Amanda Schull).

Stroman wins her third Tony award for Contact. It wins the Tony Award for Best Musical. It also wins Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Musical, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Director, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical. She wins the Astaire Award for Best Choreography. It is nominated for the Drama Desk Award and Tony Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical. The closing performance is recorded for PBS and goes on to win an Emmy Award.

Stroman is Glamour Magazine's “Woman of the Year.”

Sardi's honors Stro with a caricature.

Stro directs and choreographs The Producers at the St. James Theater. It opens on April 19th. (Pictured here with Tom Meehan, Mel Brooks, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick).

Stroman wins her fourth and fifth Tony Awards. (Pictured here with Mel Brooks). This marks the first time a woman has won a Tony for directing and choreographing the same show. The Producers wins 12 Tony Awards (including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, and Best Choreography). The Producers is the most awarded show in Broadway history.

PBS Great Performances premieres Recording 'The Producers': A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks on August 15th.

Stro wins the American Choreography Award for the film Center Stage.

Stro wins the Dance Magazine Award.

Stro directs and choreographs the musical Thou Shalt Not. It opens at the Plymouth Theatre on October 25th. (Pictured here with Harry Connick Jr.).

Stroman receives the New York Public Library "Library Lion" for Outstanding Achievement in Art, Culture, Letters and Scholarship. (Pictured here with fellow “Lions” Philip Roth, Maurice Sendak, and Rita Dove.)

Stroman receives The George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater.

Stro choreographs Oklahoma! on Broadway. It opens at the Gershwin Theatre on March 21st. She wins the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography, and the Astaire Award for Outstanding Choreography. It is nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

Contact: Live from Lincoln Center airs on PBS on September 1st. It wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Classical Music-Dance Program.

Contact opens at the Queen's Theatre in London on October 23rd.

Stro is awarded the Common Wealth Award for Distinguished Service in the Dramatic Arts.

Stro’s choreography is seen in HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, "Mel's Offer". She also appears as herself. (Larry David and David Schwimmer).

Stro becomes the first woman to choreograph a full-length ballet for the New York City Ballet with Double Feature: The Blue Necklace and Makin' Whoopee. It opens on January 23rd.

Stro directs and choreographs The Frogs at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.  It opens on July 22nd. (Pictured here with Stephen Sondheim and the cast of The Frogs).

Stro appears in the PBS film Broadway: The American Musical.

The Producers opened at Drury Lane in London on November 9th.

Stro receives an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Delaware. (Pictured with UD’s Board of Trustee, P. Colman Townsend.)

Stro choreographs Terrence McNally’s play, Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams. It opens at Primary Stages on August 18th.

The Borough of Manhattan declares October 10th as Susan Stroman Day.

Sony Pictures premieres The Producers: The Movie Musical on December 25th. It receives four Golden Globe nominations.

Young Frankenstein opens at the Hilton Theatre on November 8th. It is nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography and the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Director of a Musical and Outstanding Choreographer.

Stro choreographs Take Five...More or Less for the Pacific Northwest Ballet. It premieres on April 17th.

Stro receives an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Boston Conservatory.

Stro appears several times with friends Ina and Jeffrey Garten on the Food Networks’ Barefoot Contessa.

Racehorse owner Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber names his new filly Susan Stroman. Pedigree: Born of Monsun and Twyla Tharp. Trained in Ireland by Ed Dunlop. Pictured here, ridden by Jamie Spencer, winning at Kempton Park, August 16th 2011.

Happiness opens at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on March 30th. It receives nominations for the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Choreography.

Stro directs the Mel Brooks segment of The Kennedy Center Honors for CBS.

The Scottsboro Boys opens Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre on March 10. It receives Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Choreography, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical, the Frederick Lowe Award for Dramatic Composition, the Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Director of a Musical and Outstanding Choreography, and the Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing.

The Scottsboro Boys opens on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on October 31st. It receives a total of 12 Tony Nominations. Stro wins the Astaire Award for Outstanding Choreography.

For the Love of Duke premieres at the New York City Ballet on January 28th.

Stro receives the Drama League Award for Excellence in Directing. (Pictured here with Artistic Director, Douglas Aibel.)

Stroman receives the inaugural Sackler Center First Award. (Pictured here with Gloria Steinem).

The Vineyard Theatre establishes The Biennial Susan Stroman Directing Award.

Stroman appears on Mel Brooks: Make a Noise. It airs on PBS American Masters on May 20th.

Big Fish opens at the Neil Simon Theatre on October 6th.

Stroman returns to HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm for the tenth episode of the ninth season, "Fatwa!"

Stroman receives the New Dramatist Lifetime Achievement Award.

Stroman joins the Board of Directors of The Perlman Center for the Performing Arts at The World Trade Center.

The New Yorker prints “Joy Ride”, a profile of Stroman’s career, on March 24th.

Stro directs and choreographs Bullets Over Broadway. It opens at the St. James Theatre on April 10th. It receives nominations for the Astaire Award for Outstanding Choreographer in a Broadway Show, Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Director of a Musical and Outstanding Choreography, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Choreographer, and the Tony Award for Best Choreography. (Zach Braff and Marin Mazzie).

Following a successful run at the Young Vic Theater, The Scottsboro Boys opens in London’s West End at the Garrick Theater on October 4th.

Stro directs and choreographs the world premiere of Little Dancer at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. It opens on October 25th and goes on to win a Helen Hayes Award. (Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, Susan Stroman, Tiler Peck, Boyd Gaines).

Stro directs and choreographs The Merry Widow at The Metropolitan Opera starring Renée Fleming, Kelli O'Hara and Nathan Gunn. It opens on New Year's Eve, December 31st.

Stroman is inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Stro directs, choreographs and co-conceives The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville with Taylor Mac and Mandy Patinkin. It opens at A.R.T. on May 12th.

Stro co-directs and choreographs Prince of Broadway. It opens at the Tokyo Theater Orb on October 23rd.

The Merry Widow opens at The Lyric Opera of Chicago on November 14th.

Stroman directs the play Dot, written by Colman Domingo. It opens at the Vineyard Theatre on February 21st.

Stro directs and choreographs the 25th Anniversary concert performance of Crazy for You at Geffen Hall.

Stro co-directs and choreographs the musical Prince of Broadway. It opens on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on August 24th.

A new version of Young Frankenstein opens on the West End at the Garrick Theatre on October 10th.

Stroman receives the College Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Delaware.

Stroman receives the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre.

The University of Delaware establishes The Susan Stroman Visiting Playwright Series.

Stroman appears in Bathtubs Over Broadway. It premieres via Focus Features on April 21st.

The Beast in the Jungle opens Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre on May 23rd. Stro wins SDCF's Joe A. Callaway Award for Excellence in Choreography. She is a nominee for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreographer.

Stroman appears in Harold Prince: The Director’s Life. It airs on PBS Great Performances on November 23rd.

Stroman receives an Honorary Doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music.

Stroman becomes a member of Lincoln Center Artists Committee.

Stro directs and choreographs Marie (formerly known as Little Dancer) at Seattle‘s Fifth Ave Theater.

Stroman joins the Board of Directors of The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

Audible releases Anna Ziegler’s play Photograph 51, 
directed by Susan Stroman.

Stroman directs a play for Broadway. POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive opens on Broadway Wednesday, April 27th, 2022 starring Julie White, Lilli Cooper, Rachel Dratch, Julianne Hough, Vanessa Williams, Lea Delaria, and Suzy Nakamura.

On Friday, May 13th, Stroman receives an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Oklahoma at its 2022 Commencement ceremony.

Stroman directs and choreographs New York, New York - A New Musical. It opens at the St. James Theatre on April 26th.

Stroman directs and choreographs a West End Revival of Crazy for You starring Charlie Stemp and Carly Anderson. It opens at the Gillian Lynne Theatre on July 3, 2023.

The Perelman Performing Arts Center opens September 13th 2023. PAC NYC, located at the World Trade Center, is a new home for emergent and established artists in theater, dance, music, opera, film, and media from New York and the world. Susan Stroman has been a Board member since 2014. Learn more.

On December 4th, 2023, Stroman receives The Louis Auchincloss Prize from the Museum of the City of New York. Pictured here are Josh Breckenridge, Anna Uzele, Vanessa Williams, Susan Stroman, Karen Ziemba, Robyn Hurder, Debra Monk, Cora Cahan, Brad Oscar.