Alexander Gemignani

Alexander Cesare Gemignani, born July 3, 1979, in New York, New York, is an American actor, tenor, musician, and conductor whose career has spanned Broadway performance, music direction, and academia. He is the son of Broadway musical director Paul Gemignani and soprano Carolann Page. Raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, he graduated from Tenafly High School in 1997 and subsequently earned a degree from the University of Michigan's Musical Theater Department. In August 2008, he married actor and director Erin Ortman.

Gemignani's Broadway career, which began in 1996 and extended through 2018, encompasses a range of productions including Assassins, Les Misérables, Sunday in the Park with George, Carousel, My Fair Ladies, and the comedy Violet. His performance in Carousel earned him a Tony Award nomination, and his work in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street brought a Drama Desk Award nomination. In 2004, he received a Theatre World Award. His screen credits include The Producers, The Good Wife, Homeland, Chicago Fire, Empire, and a recurring role in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he played Janusz, the eventual husband of the Weissmans' maid, Zelda.

Gemignani has participated in several notable concert events centered on the work of Stephen Sondheim. In March 2005, he performed "Opening Doors" from Merrily We Roll Along at Symphony Space's Wall to Wall Sondheim event, which celebrated Sondheim's 75th birthday. For Sondheim's 80th birthday in 2010, he appeared in three separate gala concerts: singing "Something's Coming" from West Side Story with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in March, performing at New York City Center in April, and appearing with The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall in November. On April 26, 2020, he performed "Buddy's Blues" from Follies in the online 90th birthday celebration Take Me To The World. On December 31, 2019, he made his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic in Live from Lincoln Center's New Year's Eve: Celebrating Sondheim.

In addition to performing, Gemignani has built a career as a music director and conductor. He served as conductor, music director, and music supervisor for the 2020 revival of West Side Story, and has developed projects for the Public Theatre and the Roundabout Theatre Company. He also served as music director and orchestrator for the Fiasco Theatre production of Merrily We Roll Along. He holds the position of artistic director at both the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Music Theater Conference and the American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University, where he is also an associate professor.