Alexander Cinema

Dinelaris was born in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, and lived there until he was six years old, after which he grew up in East Rockaway, New York. He is of Cuban and Puerto Rican ancestry through his maternal grandparents, and Armenian ancestry on his father's side. He took an early interest in theatre after acting in a high school production of Fiddler on the Roof, and pursued directing for some time before turning to writing.

In 2003, Dinelaris provided additional book and lyrics to Zanna, Dont!, receiving Drama Desk nominations for Best Book of a Musical and Best Lyrics. In 2009, his play Still Life was presented Off-Broadway in a Manhattan Class Company production starring Sarah Paulson, Frederick Weller, Ian Kahn, and Dominic Chianese. Dinelaris wrote the book for the Broadway musical On Your Feet! about the life and career of Gloria Estefan. For this, he was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical. In 2012, he wrote an off-Broadway play, Red Dog Howls, about a man uncovering his family's buried secrets related to the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide. In 2019, he formed…