(Composer of Fun Home, Caroline or Change, Thoroughly Modern Millie; Vocal Producer for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story)
“Musical Storytelling: A Conversation with Jeanine Tesori,” will be presented on the Hermitage Beach (Manasota Key), Friday, March 25 at 6pm.
March 7, 2022 (Sarasota County, Florida) — Tony Award-winning stage and film composer Jeanine Tesori will present a free Hermitage community program, “Musical Storytelling: A Conversation with Jeanine Tesori,” at the Hermitage Artist Retreat on Friday, March 25 at 6pm. Tesori has written four Tony Award-nominated scores for Broadway, including Twelfth Night (Lincoln Center); Thoroughly Modern Millie; Caroline, or Change; and Shrek the Musical. She won a Tony Award for Fun Home and recently served as supervising vocal producer on Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated adaptation of West Side Story. Her newest musical, Kimberly Akimbo, opened to critical acclaim Off-Broadway earlier this season and has just announced that it will be transferring to Broadway this fall. She has also twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, for her musicals Fun Home (written with Lisa Kron) and Soft Power (written with David Henry Hwang).
“We are honored to welcome Jeanine Tesori to host this special program for our Gulf Coast community,” said Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg, who will be moderating the conversation. “I had a ‘very Tesori weekend’ when I last returned to New York, seeing a matinee of her beautiful musical Kimberly Akimbo, followed by an evening screening of West Side Story. Jeanine is one of the most influential theater artists of our time. She is a brilliant composer, passionate theater-maker, and inspiring educator with a list of impressive accolades throughout her career. This promises to be an exciting conversation on the Hermitage Beach and an exciting opportunity for the members of our community to meet one of the true musical theater greats.”
Winner of the Tony, Drama Desk, and Obie Awards, and a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Tesori has also composed the music for The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of Brecht’s Mother Courage, starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline, as well as the film adaptation of Nights in Rodanthe, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. Her opera commissions include Met/LCT Opera/Theater and Glimmerglass Opera. She is on the council of the Dramatists Guild and teaches musical theater composition at Yale University. She has collaborated with numerous previous Hermitage Fellows throughout her distinguished career.
Jeanine Tesori’s Hermitage Residency is generously sponsored by Carole Crosby and Larry Wickless.
Hermitage outdoor programs like this one are free and open to the public with a $5/person registration fee. Due to capacity limitations and social distancing, registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
The program description:
- “Musical Storytelling: A Conversation with Jeanine Tesori,” Friday, March 25, 6pm: Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori joins Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Sandberg for a conversation on the Hermitage Beach about her creative work and experience with acclaimed stage and film projects, including a Q&A session with the audience. Tesori has written four Tony-nominated scores for Broadway, including Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Caroline, or Change; and Shrek the Musical. She won a Tony Award for Fun Home and served as supervising vocal producer on Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated adaptation of West Side Story. Her musical Soft Power was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and her newest musical, Kimberly Akimbo, is set to open on Broadway this fall. Jeanine Tesori’s Hermitage Residency generously sponsored by Carole Crosby & Larry Wickless. Registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org ($5/person registration fee). The Hermitage Beach, 6660 Manasota Key Road, Englewood, Florida 34223.
About the Hermitage Artist Retreat:
The Hermitage is a non-profit artist retreat located in Manasota Key, Florida, inviting accomplished artists across multiple disciplines for residencies on its beachfront campus, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hermitage artists are invited to interact with the local community, reaching thousands of Gulf Coast residents and visitors each year with unique and inspiring programs. Hermitage Fellows have included 14 Pulitzer Prize winners, Poets Laureate, MacArthur ‘Genius’ Fellows, and multiple Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar winners and nominees. Works created at this beachside retreat by a diverse group of Hermitage alumni have gone on to renowned theaters, concert halls, and galleries throughout the world. Each year, the Hermitage awards the $30,000 Hermitage Greenfield Prize for a new work of art, the newly announced $35,000 Hermitage Major Theater Award for an original theater commission, and the Aspen Music Festival’s Hermitage Prize in Composition.
For more information, visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.
The Hermitage is supported by:
Hermitage programs are supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts; by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues; and by The State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture (Section 286.25 Florida Statutes), as well as the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED HERMITAGE PROGRAMS:
Saturday, Mar 19, 6pm, “Ocean Body”: The Live Premiere of the Commission from 2019 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner Helga Davis (Live at the Hermitage Palm House Studio / Virtual Streaming Event)
Presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, EnsembleNewSRQ, and New College of Florida
Wednesday, Mar 23, 6pm, “Reimagining the Musical: Past, Present, & Futurity” with Hermitage Fellow and 2022 Kleban Prize Winner César Alvarez (Live at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Downtown Sarasota Campus)
Presented in partnership with Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Friday, Mar 25, 6pm, “Musical Storytelling: A Conversation with Jeanine Tesori” (Live on the Hermitage Beach, Manasota Key)
Friday, Apr 8, 6pm, “A Theater Maker’s Year: What ‘Went Down’” with Playwright and Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner Aleshea Harris (Live at New College of Florida’s campus bayfront)
Presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation and Community Foundation of Sarasota County
ALSO:
Sunday, Apr 10, 6pm, 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner: “A Celebration of Music,” honoring composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón. This is the Hermitage’s annual spring gala, and sponsorship packages range from $1,000 to $10,000.