Jill Santoriello
Jill Santoriello is the award-winning author of the Broadway musical A Tale of Two Cities (2008 Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding New Broadway Musical) and It Happened in Key West (London cast recording now available). A Tale of Two Cities also earned an Outer Critics nomination for the acclaimed performance of James Barbour as Sydney Carton, as well as three Drama Desk Nominations and a Drama League nomination. Prior to Broadway, the world premiere production of A Tale of Two Cities enjoyed a sold-out run at Florida's historic Asolo Repertory Theatre, winning numerous awards including Best Musical of the season.
Jill is one of only three women in history to write the book, music and lyrics for a Broadway musical. The first of three Korean productions of Tale received nine Korean Musical Award nominations, including one for Best Foreign Musical. The show had its Japanese premiere in Tokyo in 2013 and its English premiere in 2014. The show has had multiple productions in Canada, Germany, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Australia, as well as across the United States.
Her newest musical, It Happened in Key West, had its world premiere at London's Charing Cross Theatre on July 4, 2018. The show held a developmental lab the previous summer at the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, PA, directed by the Fulton's Artistic Director, Marc Robin, who also directed in London.
In 2009, Jill adapted A Tale of Two Cities and served as Executive Producer for the PBS special A Tale of Two Cities – In Concert. The program was narrated by veteran actor Michael York, filmed in the historic Theatre Royal in Brighton, England and featured many of the stars of the original Broadway cast. The PBS concert adaptation premiered on WGBH Boston in late 2009. A DVD of the program A Tale of Two Cities In Concert, featuring additional bonus material and including a new song with lyrics by Jill Santoriello and music by Frank Wildhorn, has been released in conjunction with the 2013 CD A Tale of Two Cities: International Studio Cast Recording and is currently available online at Amazon.
Other recordings include Jill's collaboration with Pulitzer Prize and Oscar-winning writer John Patrick Shanley on the song "Riding a White Horse" to benefit Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project. Jill is proud to have joined Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Tom Kitt, Charles Strouse and many others in contributing material to the 17-song collection of lullabies to benefit breast cancer research. Jill also wrote music and lyrics for the song “As Long As I Have You,” which premiered at the American Cancer Society Hope Gala in Honolulu, sung by her friend and cancer survivor Rebecca Robbins. Publications include the Samuel French Acting Edition of the Broadway script as well as Vocal Selections by Alfred Publishing.
Before the premiere of A Tale of Two Cities, Jill spent 13 years in original programming development at Showtime Networks. She has a BS in Journalism from Ohio University, is a 10-time ASCAP Plus Award winner, a NJ State Council on the Arts Fellowship winner and an alumna of the distinguished BMI and ASCAP Musical Theater Workshops.
Future projects include a musical adaptation of the NY Times bestseller Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, an adaptation of the classic Pollyanna, and an untitled new musical project. Please visit the websites jillsantoriello.com and keywestmusical.com.