Jeanine Tesori: Celebrating the Accomplishments of the Second Woman in History to Win Multiple Tony Awards for Best Score

Tony Awards • Tony Award for Best Choreography • Jeanine Tesori • Casey Nicholaw • David Lindsay-Abaire • Tony Award for Best Original Score: Jeanine Tesori, an accomplished American composer and musical theater artist, has now secured her second Tony Award. Alongside her collaborator David Lindsay-Abaire, she won the prestigious award for Best Score, following their successful work on the production of Kimberly Akimbo. Tesori's first Tony Award victory came in 2015 for her exceptional music in the Tony-winning musical Fun Home. Throughout her career, Tesori has received a remarkable total of six Tony Award nominations.

Born on November 10, 1961, in Port Washington, New York, Jeanine Tesori has established herself as a prominent figure in the realm of contemporary American theater. Renowned for her talents as a composer and lyricist, she has contributed to numerous stage musicals that have garnered critical acclaim.

Some of Tesori's notable works include the highly acclaimed musical Violet, which received multiple Tony Award nominations, and Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she earned the Tony Award for Best Original Score. She also collaborated with playwright Tony Kushner on the production Caroline, or Change. However, it was her exceptional work on Fun Home, an adaptation of Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir, that earned her the Tony Award for Best Original Score. Notably, Fun Home made history as the first musical to have an all-female writing team and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

In addition to her contributions to theater, Jeanine Tesori has also made notable compositions for film and television. She worked on the music for the DreamWorks animated film Shrek, which led to her Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. She also contributed to the score of the Disney animated film The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea.

Tesori's musical compositions often blend various genres, including jazz, gospel, classical music, and more. Her ability to create diverse and emotionally resonant scores that effectively complement the narratives of her musicals has earned her widespread acclaim and recognition in the industry.