John Shivers (sound designer)

John Shivers is a theatrical sound designer based in New York, United States. Shivers specialises in the design of sound systems for musical theatre productions on Broadway and internationally. ^[1]

Career

Shivers was the recipient of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical for his work on the Broadway musical Kinky Boots . ^{[2] [3]} Shivers was also nominated for the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design for his work on 9 to 5 . ^[4]

Broadway productions

Shivers has worked on the following productions on Broadway:

• " The Heart of Rock and Roll" (2024)
• "Shucked" (2023)
• "Pretty Woman" (2018)
• "Gettin' The Band Back Together" (2018)
• "Paramour" (2016)
• "Holler If Ya Hear Me" (2014)
• "Soul Doctor" (2013)
• "Kinky Boots" (2013) ^[5]
• "Leap of Faith" (2012)
• "Bonnie and Clyde" (2011) ^[6]
• "Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway" (2011)
• "Sister Act" (2011)
• "9 to 5" (2009)
• "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (2008)
• "The Little Mermaid" (2008) ^{[7] [8]}
• Disney's "Tarzan" (2006)
• "In My Life" (2005)

International

As part of his international career, Shivers has taken part in the following productions:

• "The Lion King" Paris (2021)
• "The Beauty and the Beast" UK Tour (2021)
• "Wicked" Hamburg (2021)
• "The Beauty and the Beast" Shanghai (2018)
• "Lion King" International Tour (2018)
• "Kinky Boots" Hamburg (2017)
• "The Secret" Shanghai (2016)
• "Tarzan" Oberhausen (2016)
• "Lion King" Shanghai (2016)
• "Kinky Boots" London (2015)
• "Lion King" Mexico City (2015)
• "Das Wunder Von Bern" Hamburg (2014)

Regional

• "Trading Places" Alliance Theater (2022)
• "Afterwords" The 5th Ave Theater (2022)
• "The Wanderer" Paper Mill Playhouse (2022)
• "Becoming Nancy" Alliance Theater (2020)
• "Rock of Ages" The 5th Ave Theater (2019)
• "The Heart of Rock and Roll" Old Globe (2018)
• "Hood" Dallas Theater Center (2017)
• "Born For This" The Broad Stage (2017)
• "Merrily We Roll Along" Huntington (2017)
• "Moonshine" Dallas Theater Center (2016)
• "First Wive's Club" Chicago (2015)
• "Harmony" CTG Los Angeles (2014)

MUNY St Louis

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
2015	My Fair Lady	Sound Designer	[9]
	Hairspray
	Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn
	Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
	Into the Woods
	Disney's Beauty and the Beast
	Oklahoma!
2016	42nd Street
	The Music Man
	Young Frankenstein
	Mamma Mia
	Fiddler on the Roof
	Aida
2017	Jesus Christ Superstar
	The Little Mermaid
	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
	All Shook Up
	The Unsinkable Molly Brown
	A Chorus Line
	Newsies
2018	Jerome Robbins' Broadway
	The Wiz
	Singin' in the Rain
	Jersey Boys
	Annie
	Gypsy
	Meet Me in St. Louis
2019	Guys and Dolls
	Kinky Boots
	1776
	Cinderella
	Footloose
	Paint Your Wagon
	Matilda
2021	Smokey Joe's Cafe
	The Sound of Music
	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
	Chicago
2022	Chicago
	Camelot
	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
	Legally Blonde
	The Color Purple
2023	Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
	Beauty and the Beast
	Chess
	West Side Story
	Little Shop of Horrors
	Rent
	Sister Act
2024	Dreamgirls
2025	Bring It On
	Come from Away
	Frozen
	Evita
	Dear Evan Hansen
	La Cage Aux Folles
	Jersey Boys

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2009	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Sound Design	9 to 5	Nominated	[10]
2013	Tony Awards	Best Sound Design of a Musical	Kinky Boots	Won
2023			Shucked	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical		Nominated
2025	Outer Critics Circle Awards	Outstanding Sound Design	Swept Away	Nominated

References

1. Robert Viagas; Amy Asch; Aubrey Reuben (2004). The Playbill Broadway Yearbook. Playbill Books. ISBN   9781557836823.
2. Time https://entertainment.time.com/2013/06/09/tony-awards-2013-the-complete-list-of-winners/
3. "Tony Winners: John Shivers For Kinky Boots". Live Design Online Aug 1, 2013 Ellen Lampert-Greaux
4. Playbill "Drama Desk Nominees Announced; 9 to 5 Garners Record-Breaking 15 Noms - Playbill.com". Archived from the original on 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
5. "Regional Reviews: Boston: Kinky Boots National Tour". Talkin' Broadway. Nancy Grossman
6. "Bonnie & Clyde: Theater Review". Hollywood Reporter, 12/1/2011 by David Rooney
7. Ben Hodges; Scott Denny (1 April 2011). Theatre World 2009-2010. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 97–. ISBN   978-1-4234-9271-9.
8. Oscar Brockett; Robert Ball (28 March 2013). The Essential Theatre, Enhanced. Cengage Learning. pp. 396–. ISBN   978-1-285-68751-3.
9. "John H. Shivers – AboutTheArtists". AboutTheArtists. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
10. "John Shivers – Performer". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 8 August 2025.

External links

• John Shivers at IMDb