Jeanine Tesori facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jeanine Tesori
Tesori at the 76th Tony Awards in 2023
Born	(1961-11-10) November 10, 1961 (age 63) Port Washington, New York, United States
Education	Columbia University (BA)
Musical career
Genres	Musical Theatre
Occupation(s)	Composer, Musical Arranger
Years active	1995–present

Jeanine Tesori (born November 10, 1961) is an American composer and musical arranger. She is famous for her amazing work in theater. She has created music for many Broadway shows.

Jeanine Tesori is known as one of the most successful female theater composers ever. She has written music for five Broadway musicals. She has also been nominated for six Tony Awards, which are like the Oscars for theater.

She won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play in 1999 for Twelfth Night. In 2004, she won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music for Caroline, or Change. She also won the Tony Award for Best Original Score twice. The first time was in 2015 for Fun Home, which she shared with Lisa Kron. They were the first all-female team to win this award! She won again in 2023 for Kimberly Akimbo, sharing it with David Lindsay-Abaire.

Her most famous works include Kimberly Akimbo, Fun Home, Caroline, or Change, Shrek The Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Violet. She was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times.

Discovering Music and Learning

Jeanine Tesori was born in Port Washington, New York. When she was fourteen, she saw her first Off-Broadway show, Godspell. She loved the experience. She felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

She went to Paul D. Schreiber Senior High School. Later, she studied at Barnard College of Columbia University. She first planned to study medicine. But she soon changed her major to music.

Starting Her Musical Journey

Tesori began her career in 1989. She was an assistant conductor for the musical Gypsy. Her first official Broadway job was in 1991. She was a dance arranger and keyboard player for The Secret Garden.

After that, she worked on The Who's Tommy. She was an associate conductor and played keyboard. She even directed the music for the German version of Tommy. This experience gave her the confidence to keep directing music. She used what she learned from Tommy when she wrote Fun Home.

She also arranged dance music for other shows. These included the 1995 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. She also did music arrangements for The Sound of Music in 1998.

Creating Hit Musicals

In 1997, Tesori wrote the music for the Off-Broadway musical Violet. This show won her several awards. These included an Obie Award and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award.

She was then asked to write music for a play called Twelfth Night in 1998. She had only three months to write 60 minutes of music! She was even nominated for a Tony Award for her work on this play.

In 2000, Tesori teamed up with Dick Scanlan. They wrote eleven new songs for Thoroughly Modern Millie. This show became a big hit on Broadway in 2002. Tesori was nominated for a Tony Award for her music.

Tesori has worked many times with writer Tony Kushner. In 2004, she wrote the music for Caroline, or Change. This musical earned her another Tony nomination. They also created an opera together called A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck in 2011. Tesori also helped with the film West Side Story in 2021.

Tesori also wrote the music for Shrek The Musical. This show opened on Broadway in 2008. She received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her music.

Award-Winning Shows

In 2011, Tesori wrote the music for Fun Home. Lisa Kron wrote the story and lyrics. The musical is based on a true story by Alison Bechdel. Fun Home opened Off-Broadway in 2013 and was very popular.

It then moved to Broadway in 2015. Tesori and Kron won Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score. This was a historic moment. They were the first all-female team to win these awards! Fun Home was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Tesori was also an artistic director for a concert series. She helped bring back popular Off-Broadway musicals. She even helped Jake Gyllenhaal get a role in Little Shop of Horrors.

In 2018, her new musical Soft Power opened. David Henry Hwang wrote the story and lyrics. This musical was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2020.

In 2021, her musical Kimberly Akimbo opened. David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the story and lyrics. This show won many awards, including Best Musical at the Drama Desk Awards. It moved to Broadway in 2022. Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire won the Tony Award for Best Original Score. This made Tesori the first female composer to win this award twice! The show also won Best Musical.

Opera and Other Projects

Tesori has also composed music for films. These include Nights in Rodanthe, Shrek the Third, and Mulan II.

Her opera The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me premiered in 2013. It was performed at the Kennedy Center. In 2019, her opera Blue premiered. This opera talks about important social issues.

In 2023, Tesori's new opera Grounded opened. It tells the story of a fighter pilot who becomes a drone operator. This opera will also be performed at the Metropolitan Opera.

Life Outside the Theater

Jeanine Tesori lives in Manhattan with her child, Siena.

Musicals and Operas She Created

• Violet (1997), a musical
• Twelfth Night (1998)
• The First Picture Show (1999), a musical
• Thoroughly Modern Millie (2000)
• Caroline, or Change (2003)
• Mother Courage and Her Children (2006)
• Shrek The Musical (2008)
• A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck (2011)
• Fun Home (2013)
• The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me (2013)
• Soft Power (2018)
• Blue (2019), an opera
• Kimberly Akimbo (2021)
• Grounded (2023), an opera

Awards and nominations

Tony Awards

Drama Desk Awards

Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Grammy Award