Jhett Tolentino (born December 28, 1976) is a Filipino film and theatre producer. He is 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 a 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 ...

, behind

Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, ( ; born February 22, 1971) is a Filipino singer and actress. Known primarily for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on Broadway and in the West End. Her accolades include a Tony Award and a L ...

. Having won three Tony Awards for his producing work between 2013 and 2015 and received his first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in February 2017, he holds the record for the most wins of any naturalized Filipinos. In 2018, Tolentino was honored the Pamana ng Pilipino Award by the

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...

for his non-profit work.

Early 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 Prieto Diaz, officially the Municipality of Prieto Diaz, is a municipality in the Philippine province of Sorsogon. In the 2020 census, it had a population of 22,644 people. History The town of Prieto Diaz was once a Visita of the old municipal ...

and Arthur Tolentino, a native of Iloilo whose roots come from

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of 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 entire Bataan Peninsula ...

. 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 Panay Gulf with the Guimaras Strait. It is the location of the Port of Iloilo, the third-busiest of the ports in the ...

. Tolentino attended Calumpang Elementary School (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 broadcasting ...

as a high school freshman and took up his secondary education from 1989 to 1993. His high school education was enabled by a scholarship program promoted by the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Parish. The scholarship grant is funded by the Meguko Society, a student organization operating at the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

-run

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese language, Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private List of Jesuit educational institutions, Jesuit research university in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1913 by ...

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

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

degree but decided to study

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

at the

due to the lack of course offerings in the region. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy degree from the university in March 1997.

Career

After graduation, Tolentino worked in Iloilo City at Mercantile Credit Resource Corporation as a general bookkeeper and later, corporate secretary. He worked at Mercantile Credit Resource Corporation from 1997 to 2002. He moonlighted in multinational

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

-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, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

for a sales and marketing job at The Good Guys, while moonlighting as a waiter for Continental Caterers and as a babysitter. In 2004, he moved to the New York tri-state area for a mortgage and finance job, where he learned about the theatre industry. Tolentino received a certificate in Nursing Assistance from the American Medical Career Training Center in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in December 2005. He worked as a nursing assistant in 2006, and when the market crashed as part of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, he worked in the healthcare industry full-time. While in New York and working in finance and healthcare, he started writing reviews of theatre shows on his blog. In February 2016, Tolentino was given recognition by the government of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

through the

National Commission for Culture and the Arts The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines (NCCA; , ) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, d ...

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 c ...

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 Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...

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".

Affiliations

Music credits

Theatre credits

Filmography

Notable awards and nominations

Special citations

Notes

References

External links

*
Jhett Tolentino
at

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

Jhett Tolentino
at

BroadwayWorld BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City, New York. Launched in 2003, the site covers Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater productions, with sections devoted to particular countries, cities, or regi ...

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