Jhett Tolentino (born December 28, 1976) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

entertainment producer based in New York City, who is also known for being the second Philippine-born awardee of the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

. He has won three Tony Awards since his Broadway debut in March 2013 and has received his first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in February 2017. He was awarded by Malacañan the Pamana ng Pilipino Award for his non-profit and non-commercial work, and for becoming the first Filipino citizen to win both Tony and the Grammy award.

Education

Tolentino attended Calumpang Elementary School (which was since renamed as Esteban Juntado, Sr. Elementary School) from 1983 to 1989. He entered the Basic Education Unit of

University of Iloilo The PHINMA – University of Iloilo (colloquially referred simply to as UI) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational institution in Iloilo City, Philippines. It was established in 1947 by the López family of Iloilo who founded the broadcastin ...

as a high school freshman and took up his secondary education from 1989 to 1993. He continued attending University of Iloilo and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy degree in March 1997. He has pursued his high school education by applying to a scholarship program being promoted by the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Parish. Apparently, the scholarship grant is funded by the Meguko Society, a student organization operating at the Jesuit-run

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the to ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan. The Meguko Society caters to educational needs of indigenous children from India and the Philippines. Tolentino was awarded scholarship grants from high school to undergraduate by the organization. He wanted to pursue a

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

degree but has decided to take a degree in

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "langua ...

at the

due to the lack of course offering in the region. When he moved to the United States, he received his certificate in Nursing Assistance from the American Medical Career Training Center in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, New York in December 2005.

Career

Right after graduation, Tolentino worked in Iloilo City at Mercantile Credit Resource Corporation as a general bookkeeper, and was promoted as an accountant after three months, while serving as the company's corporate secretary. He worked at Mercantile Credit Resource Corporation from 1997 to 2002. He moonlighted in multinational

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

-based companies from 1999 to 2001: as internal auditor for JP Capital Partners Ltd., and as sales and marketing executive for Inside Fashion. In 2002, he moved to the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

for a sales and marketing job at The Good Guys, while moonlighting as a waiter for Continental Caterers and as a babysitter. Soon, he decided to move to the New York tri-state area for a mortgage and finance job in 2004, where he has learned much about the theatre industry. He has sidelined as a nursing assistant in 2006, and when the market crashed as part of the 2008 recession, he worked in the healthcare profession fulltime. While in New York, working in finance and healthcare, he started writing reviews of theatre shows in his blog. In February 2016, Tolentino was given recognition by the government of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

through the

National Commission for Culture and the Arts The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyon para sa Kultura at mga Sining, ceb, Nasodnong Komisyon alang sa Budaya ug mga Arte) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. ...

Ani ng Dangal Ani ng Dangal or "Harvest of Honors" is an organizational award given by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, an agency under the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines. It is an annual event in the Philippines cel ...

for giving international recognition to the Philippines; and was among The Outstanding Young Men and Women of the Philippines who were awarded the same year by President Rodrigo Duterte at

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace ( fil, Palasyo ng Malakanyang, ; es, Palacio de Malacañán), officially known as Malacañan Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila distric ...

in December of the same year. In 2019 Tolentino won Best Short Documentary at the NVIFF Awards in Amsterdam. In 2021, Blogtalk with MJ Racadio named him one of the "75 Most Influential Filipino-Americans".

Personal life

According to his self-produced biographical documentary ''Life Is What You Make It'', Tolentino is the youngest child of Gloria Dizon, a native of Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon and Arthur Tolentino, a native of Iloilo whose roots come from

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...

. Tolentino grew up in a severely impoverished area of Barangay Calumpang, Molo, Iloilo City, which was a few meters across the shore of the

Iloilo Strait The Iloilo Strait is a strait in the Philippines that separates the islands of Panay and Guimaras in the Visayas, and connects the Panay Gulf with the Guimaras Strait. It is the location of the Port of Iloilo, the third-busiest of the ports in the ...

Affiliations

Music credits

Theatre credits

Filmography

Notable awards and nominations

Special citations

References

External links

* * The Color Purple Cast Recording wins 2017 Grammy Awar

* Jhett Tolentino wins first Gramm

* Internet Broadway Database: Jhett Tolentin

* Lucile Lortel Archives: Jhett Tolentin

* Broadway World: Jhett Tolentin

* Life Is What You Make i

* Making Broadway Accessible to Pinoy

* Former OFW in HK, successful in Broadwa

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolentino, Jhett 1977 births Living people Filipino theatre people Grammy Award winners People from Iloilo City Businesspeople from New York City Filipino expatriates in the United States