1909–1993

A dancer and choreographer, Agnes de Mille also became the first woman ever to direct a Broadway show with her production of 110 in the Shade in 1963. As a director and choreographer, she believed choreographed movement to be as important as music and dialogue onstage and used dance as a method for advancing plot. Late in life she also became the first woman in the United States to be the head of a labor union, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Her influence is still seen in today’s productions; the dream sequence in Oklahoma! is a particularly famous example of her innovative choreography.