Alex Santoriello calls The Villages home now, but his singing and acting abilities have taken him around the world, most notably to the bright lights of Broadway.

Alex was part of the original company for Les Misérables when it opened on Broadway in 1987. He did three Broadway shows and three Broadway national tours, also appearing in the musicals “Chess,” “Cats,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Threepenny Opera” with Sting.

People know him as a singer, and he counts himself fortunate to have a memorable voice.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Alex’s voice training started early and in a rather unconventional place.

“I’ve been singing since my mom made me sing the Mickey Mouse birthday song during toilet training,” he says with a laugh.

Today, he’s known more for singing Broadway classics like “Music of the Night,” “The Impossible Dream,” “Bring Him Home” and “This is the Moment.” Alex produces and performs in several concerts a year, including his popular Sinatra show.

He also performed in the musical “Grumpy Old Men” at the Savannah Center last October and will be doing concerts there on April 5 and 6. 

Alex, 67, has had an adventurous life. He spent four years in the Army, owned and operated the only parasailing company in the history of New York City, moved to Barbados after 9/11 where he started a piano bar that became one of the islands’ top nightclubs. Alex has sailed his own boat from England to Barbados and qualified as a yacht master in both the U.K. and the U.S. and commercially delivers boats anywhere in the world. He’s also been a pilot since 1977 and is a flight instructor. He currently has a two-seater ultra-light Bristell he flies from a grass strip near his house.

Alex and his wife, Karen, moved to The Villages in 2014 to be close to his dad, who just turned 92.

“I get to do the stuff I love and my dad’s still here. I consider myself pretty fortunate,” Alex says.