Jeanine Tesori
Encyclopedia
Jeanine Tesori is an American
musical arranger
and composer
who won the 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play
for Nicholas Hytner
's production of Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center
and the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music
for Caroline, or Change
.
Tesori made her Broadway
debut when she arranged the dance music for the 1995 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
. In 1997 she composed the score for the off-Broadway
musical Violet
, which won her an Obie Award
, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical
, and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, and arranged the music for the Johnny Mercer
revue
Dream
, a task she repeated with the 1998 revival of The Sound of Music
and the 1999 revue Swing!
She also served as associate conductor for the Broadway productions of The Secret Garden
and The Who's Tommy
.
In 2000, Tesori joined forces with lyricist Dick Scanlan
to write eleven new songs for a stage adaptation of Thoroughly Modern Millie
. A successful run at the La Jolla Playhouse
in San Diego prompted a transfer to Broadway in 2002, and Tesori was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music.
Tesori has collaborated with Tony Kushner
twice, supplying music for Caroline, or Change in 2004 and a new translation of Bertolt Brecht
's Mother Courage and Her Children
, which was produced as part of the 2006 Shakespeare in the Park
season staged at the Delacorte Theater
by The Public Theater. Caroline garnered her a second Tony nomination for Best Original Score.
Tesori has composed music for the films Nights in Rodanthe
, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
, Shrek the Third
, Mulan II
, and The Emperor's New Groove 2: Kronk's New Groove.
Tesori's most recent stage project is Shrek the Musical, which earned her both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her music.
Tesori is a graduate of Barnard College
and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America
. She lives with her husband, conductor and musical director Michael Rafter, and their daughter Siena in Manhattan
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who won the 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
for Nicholas Hytner
Nicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...
's production of Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
and the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprising New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
for Caroline, or Change
Caroline, or Change
Caroline, or Change is a through-composed musical with book and lyrics by Tony Kushner and score by Jeanine Tesori that combines spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music....
.
Tesori made her Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut when she arranged the dance music for the 1995 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name....
. In 1997 she composed the score for the off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
musical Violet
Violet (musical)
Violet is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and libretto by Brian Crawley based on the short story "The Ugliest Pilgrim" by Doris Betts. It tells the story of a young disfigured woman who embarks on a journey by bus from her farm in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma...
, which won her an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical
New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 24 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley...
, and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, and arranged the music for the Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
Dream
Dream (musical)
Dream is a 1997 musical revue based on the songs of Johnny Mercer.The Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Wayne Cilento, opened on April 3, 1997 at the Royale Theatre after twenty-four previews...
, a task she repeated with the 1998 revival of The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
and the 1999 revue Swing!
Swing!
Swing! is a musical conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing era of jazz , including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodman and others...
She also served as associate conductor for the Broadway productions of The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden (musical)
The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's book and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon...
and The Who's Tommy
The Who's Tommy
The Who's Tommy is a rock musical by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff based on The Who's 1969 double album rock opera Tommy, also by Pete Townshend, with additional material by John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Sonny Boy Williamson.-Productions:...
.
In 2000, Tesori joined forces with lyricist Dick Scanlan
Dick Scanlan
-Biography:Scanlan has written articles that have appeared in The New York Times "Arts & Leisure" section, The Village Voice, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Advocate, Playboy and Theatre Week....
to write eleven new songs for a stage adaptation of Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
. A successful run at the La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
in San Diego prompted a transfer to Broadway in 2002, and Tesori was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score
Tony Award for Best Original Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics...
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music.
Tesori has collaborated with Tony Kushner
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...
twice, supplying music for Caroline, or Change in 2004 and a new translation of Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
's Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin...
, which was produced as part of the 2006 Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park is a concept used across the world, as a form of free public presentation of William Shakespeare's works. Such performances exist in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America....
season staged at the Delacorte Theater
Delacorte Theater
The Delacorte Theater, established in 1962, is an open-air theater located in Manhattan's Central Park and has a seating capacity of 1,800. The Delacorte is owned by the City of New York and operated by The Public Theater. It is an open-air amphitheater, with the Turtle Pond and Belvedere Castle...
by The Public Theater. Caroline garnered her a second Tony nomination for Best Original Score.
Tesori has composed music for the films Nights in Rodanthe
Nights in Rodanthe
Nights in Rodanthe is a 2008 American/Australian film adaptation of the novel with the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane in their third screen collaboration after Unfaithful and The Cotton Club . The film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "some sensuality" and...
, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond is a 2009 film by director Jodie Markell. The film is based on Tennessee Williams's long-forgotten 1957 screenplay. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard in the leading role of Fisher Willow.- Plot :...
, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a 2008 Disney animated feature film, and the direct-to-video prequel to the 1989 film The Little Mermaid...
, Shrek the Third
Shrek the Third
Shrek the Third is a 2007 American animated film, and the third film in the Shrek series. It was produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg for DreamWorks Animation, and is distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was released in U.S. theaters on May 18, 2007...
, Mulan II
Mulan II
Mulan II is a 2004 American direct-to-video Disney animated feature directed by Darrell Rooney and Lynne Southerl and is a sequel to the 1998 animated film Mulan. The entire cast from the first film returned, except for Eddie Murphy , Miriam Margolyes , Chris Sanders and Matthew Wilder...
, and The Emperor's New Groove 2: Kronk's New Groove.
Tesori's most recent stage project is Shrek the Musical, which earned her both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her music.
Tesori is a graduate of Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America
Dramatists Guild of America
The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market.Membership as an Associate Member is open to any person having written at least one stage play. Active Members are playwrights who have had at least one play...
. She lives with her husband, conductor and musical director Michael Rafter, and their daughter Siena in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.