Happy birthday to two-time Pulitzer nominee Jeanine Tesori, the most honored female Broadway composer in history. Born Nov. 10, 1961, in Port Washington, N.Y., Tesori attended Paul D. Schreiber High School, before studying music at Barnard College. She made her Broadway debut as dance arranger and associate conductor for the 1991 musical The Secret Garden. After gigs as associate conductor for the 1993 musical Tommy and dance arranger for the 1995 revival of How to Succeed… and 1997 revue Dream, she and Brian Crawley wrote the 1997 Off-Broadway musical Violet, which won the Obie and Lucille Lortel awards. Below is Sutton Foster and the Broadway revival cast at the 2014 Tonys.
Tesori returned to Broadway with dance arrangements for the 1998 revival of The Sound of Music and 1999 revue Swing! Her first Broadway score was for the 1998 production of Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center, which brought Tesori her first Tony nomination. In 2000, she and Dick Scanlan began working on the score for Thoroughly Modern Millie, which transferred from San Diego to Broadway in 2002, earning Tesori her second Tony nom. Below is Sutton Foster and the original Broadway cast at the 2002 Tonys.
She then collaborated with Tony Kushner on the 2004 musical Caroline, or Change, which earned her a third Tony nomination. After contributing to several Disney video sequels, Tesori joined David Lindsay-Abaire for the musical stage adaptation of Shrek, which transferred from Seattle to Broadway in 2008 and earned Tesori her fourth Tony nom. Below is Tonya Pinkins singing “Lot’s Wife” from Caroline, or Change at the 2004 Tonys.
In 2011, she teamed with Lisa Kron for the stage adaptation of Fun Home. The show opened Off-Broadway in 2013, winning an Obie, and moved to Broadway in 2015, earning Tesori her first Tony win. The musical was also a 2014 Pulitzer finalist. Her next musical, Soft Power, written with David Henry Hwang, premiered in Los Angeles in 2018 and opened Off-Broadway in 2019. It was a 2020 Pulitzer finalist. Below is the Los Angeles cast of Soft Power singing “Election Night.”