Andy Sandberg

Andy Sandberg is a New York-based director, writer, and Tony Award-winning producer. He is also currently Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Florida.

Sandberg’s theatrical work has been represented in New York, London, and throughout the United States. He directed the U.K. premiere of Jeannette Bayardelle’s Shida, which opened to rave reviews and earned 2019 Off West End Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Director, and Best Lead Actress. He previously directed the world premiere of Shida Off-Broadway at Ars Nova (four AUDELCO Award Nominations, including Best Director and Best Musical) and at the American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, MA). Sandberg has been represented Off-Broadway as the director of Straight, named a Critics’ Pick by The New York Times, citing that the production was “directed with polished finesse.” He and the authors are adapting Straight as a film, which will be Sandberg’s feature directorial debut. He previously wrote and directed the critically acclaimed world premiere of Application Pending, a comedy about kindergarten admissions (BroadwayWorld Award: Best Off-Broadway Play, Drama Desk Nomination: Outstanding Solo Show, Winner: Book Pipeline Prize); he has also written a television pilot adaptation for Application Pending.

Additional world premieres that he has directed include Alan Brody’s historical drama Operation Epsilon (four IRNE Awards, including Best Play, Best Director, and Best Ensemble), the Off-Broadway comedy Craving for Travel (also co-author), and the Off-Broadway musicals The Last Smoker in America and Neurosis, among others. Select regional directing credits in the U.S. includeHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, City of Angels, Into the Woods, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He has written the feature-length screenplays for Five More Minutes(2021; starring Nikki DeLoach) and Haul Out the Holly (2022; starring Lacey Chabert), two of The Hallmark Channel’s most highly rated Christmas movies over the past two seasons.

In 2009, at the age of 25, Sandberg became the youngest producer in history to win a Tony Award. Sandberg’s Broadway and West End producing credits include the hit revival of Hair (2009 Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle Awards); the Broadway revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, starring James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury, John Larroquette, Candice Bergen, and Eric McCormack (2012 Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle Nominations); and Will Eno’s The Realistic Joneses, a critically acclaimed new play starring Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, and Marisa Tomei.

In his role as Artistic Director of the Hermitage, Sandberg has established the organization as one of the leading national arts incubators in the United States. The Hermitage is the only major arts organization in Florida exclusively committed to the development and creation of new work across all artistic disciplines, spanning theater, music, visual art, literature, dance, film, and more. Under Sandberg’s leadership, the Hermitage has dramatically expanded its live programming (to over 50 unique events per year), tripled its finances and operations, introduced dozens of new collaborations, and grown two of the largest theater-commissioning initiatives in America.

Born and raised in New York, Sandberg is a graduate of Yale University, where he managed and performed with the Whiffenpoofs, The Dramat, and the Yale Alley Cats. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), and the Writers Guild of America (WGA).