Hi there! I'm an LA-based writer, lyricist, and director who is subtly trying to convince you to make your next project a musical.

**NOMINATED** My latest creation, the true-crime musical podcast In Strange Woods, has been nominated at the 2022 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards for Best Fiction Podcast of the year!

Some past noteworthy projects of mine include:

• The track Jet Lag, performed by Jay Pharoah in the Hulu  series "Champaign ILL."
• Hall Stars, a mockumentary-style pilot for Nickelodeon.
• The original stage show Nantucket! The MusACKal.
• The song You Made Me, featured in H&M's campaign with Hailey Bieber.
• The award-winning comedic webseries Table for Two.

EXPLORE MY WORK:

MUSICALS

POP & COMEDY

SHORT FORM

 

---

ORIGINAL MUSICALS

---

In Strange Woods

**NOMINATED at the 2022 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards for Best Fiction Podcast**

Selections from the Album... 

"Alone" 

"A Man Who Cannot Be Saved"

"Shatter"

"In the Dark With Him"

In Strange Woods is a musical drama in the style of a "true crime" podcast. It centers around Peregrine Wells, an 18-year-old girl in northern Minnesota, reeling from the disappearance of her brother.

"Unlike anything you’ve ever heard... I am not a fan of musicals, but somehow this ambitious drama transcends."
- Miranda Sawyer, The Guardian
​
"a compelling story... the vocal performances are beautiful" 
- Phoebe Lett, The New York Times

"Gripping... a rich atmospheric podcast"
- Ella Watts, BBC 4 Podcast Radio Hour

Jeff directed the 5-episode series and co-wrote the show and its original songs with Brett Ryback and Matt Sav.

​You can listen to the full series here, featuring the voices of Donna Lynne Champlin (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Patrick Page (Hadestown, Tony nominee), Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone, Tony winner), Michaela Watkins (SNL, Casual), and Lily Mae Harrington (All Rise).

 

---

NANTUCKET!
​The MusACKal

 “Nantucket! The MusACKal” is a feel-good, one-act musical spanning 400 years of history on the island of Nantucket. The show runs annually at Centre Stage in Nantucket, MA.
​

• “The songwriting team of Sav and Luppino-Esposito has found a unique voice, with catchy yet deceptively complex music and inventive lyrics that sparkle with wit.” ​       -The Inquirer and Mirror

​Music & Lyrics by Jeff Luppino-Esposito and Matt Sav
​​Book by Ryan Runstadler with Jeff Luppino-Esposito

"It's Cool to be a Quaker"

"Endless Summer Breeze"

---

Aces

Set in the summer of 2000, "Aces" is a sci-fi thriller and queer coming-of-age story wrapped into one musical. It follows 14-year-old Kevin Marino as he wrestles with the metaphorical (and literal) demons of joining his first group of male friends.

A preview of "Aces" premiered at the Rockwell Tables and Stage in Los Angeles, the show is currently in development.

Book, Music & Lyrics by Jeff Luppino-Esposito and Matt Sav

"Sign Me Up" (DEMO)

"Bend the Castle Walls" ​(DEMO)

 

---

​POP & COMEDY SONGS

---

CHAMPAIGN ILL - "JET LAG"
The original song "Jet Lag" was performed in the YouTube Original series "Champaign ILL"  by Jay Pharoah (and magnificently reprised later in the episode by a full church choir). It was named by Decider as one of the Top 10 Music Moments on TV in the year it premiered.
​
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Luppino-Esposito, Stelios Phili & Leven Kali
​PRODUCED BY: Stelios Phili

DEV09 - "YOU MADE ME"
The breakout track for Dev09 has been streamed millions of times, featured in an H&M commercial with Hailey Bieber, and included in Connor Franta's "Common Culture IV" compilation album.
​
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Luppino-Esposito, Dev Murphy and Stelios Phili
PRODUCED BY: Stelios Phili

NICKELODEON - "RANDALL THE WRAPPING PAPER MONSTER"
Two original comedic tracks for Nickelodeon starring Randall, a wrapping paper monster who raps.
​
LYRICS BY: Jeff Luppino-Esposito
​MUSIC BY: Matt Sav

CRICKET WIRELESS - "MAKE A DEAL"
Cricket Wireless asked for an anthem to their proudly thrifty customers. The result is "Make a Deal," a high-energy, comedic jam that's accrued millions of views across platforms.

LYRICS BY: Jeff Luppino-Esposito
​MUSIC BY: Matt Sav

 

---

SHORT-FORM COMEDY

---

"TABLE FOR TWO"
Two hosts at a fancy restaurant grapple with life, love, and the proper pronunciation of "gluten" in this award-winning webseries.

DIRECTED BY: Jeff Luppino-Esposito
CREATED BY & STARRING: Julia Addis and Brent Pope

NICKELODEON - "HALL STARS"
An original mockumentary for Nickelodeon about a ragtag crew of middle school hall monitors.
​
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Luppino-Esposito
DIRECTED BY: Jamie T. McCelland
CREATED BY: Jeff Luppino-Esposito & Matt Sav