TAJLEI LEVIS  grew up in Manchester Vermont, where she began writing and producing musicals for living room cabarets. Her bat mitzvah musical revue: The Boogie Woogie Patriarchs is still performed at summer camps. More recently, Tajlei wrote book and lyrics for Glimpses of the Moon, a Jazz Age musical based on Edith Wharton’s 1922 novel (with composer John Mercurio).  Glimpses of the Moon has been published by Samuel French. The Original Cast Recording will be released in 2012. www.GlimpsesOfTheMoon.com.

Tajlei previously wrote book and lyrics for A Time to be Born: A 1940’s New York Musical, based on Dawn Powell’s 1942 novel (with composer John Mercurio). A timeless musical about love and ambition, A Time to be Born had a sold-out run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre as part of the New York International Fringe Festival.  Tajlei was an artist-in-residence at Makor/92^nd St Y.  During her residency, she wrote book and lyrics for a one-act musical Flappers & Philosphers, based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald story, The Offshore Pirate, which was presented as a reading at Makor.

Tajlei was the Vice President and General Counsel of Cresta Point Films. Projects in development included David Halberstam’s Best & The Brightest, and Red China Blues and the Pamela Harriman bio, Reflected Glory as well as original screenplays.

Tajlei is a graduate of Columbia College (and a writer/producer of the Varsity Show and winner of the Seymour Brick award for Best Play). She graduated from NYU Law School and has worked as both a corporate and entertainment lawyer.  She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Hunter College where she received the Scharps Prize for her comic memoir and was mentored by Change Rae Lee. Tajlei was a lyricist member of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop and is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.