Filipino producer wins Grammy for best musical theater album

MANILA, Philippines — Iloilo-born producer Jhett Tolentino has just won the Grammy Award 2017 for Best Musical Theater Album for "The Color Purple," which he co-produces with Van Dean, Stephen Bray, Roy Furman, Scott Sanders, and Frank Filipetti.

Tolentino and his company, Broadway Records, are behind the award-winning cast recording of the album, which was based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel turned into film by Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment.

Tolentino and his fellow producers share the trophy with the album’s soloists, Jennifer Hudson, Cynthia Erivo, and Danielle Brooks. This is the second Grammy for Hudson, and the first for Tolentino, Erivo, and Brooks, who also stars in the hit series, “Orange Is the New Black.”

Tolentino and Erivo have also both won Tony Awards. Tolentino got his first Tony in 2013 for “Vania and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” which is currently run by Repertory Philippines in Manila. He also bagged Tonys in 2014 for producing “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” and “A Raisin in the Sun,” sharing the award with the musical's lead actor, Denzel Washington.

“The Color Purple” won over other nominees “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Bright Star,” “Waitress,” and “Kinky Boots.”

Apart from the Grammys and the Tonys, Tolentino is a recipient of the Drama League, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Off Broadway Alliance awards.