Carnelia grew up in
Floral Park, New York. He was exposed to Broadway at the age of fourteen when he was inspired by the
Richard Rodgers musical
No Strings. He played guitar, was in a folksinging group and taught himself to play the piano. While attending
Hofstra University he won the role of The Boy in
off-Broadway's
The Fantasticks and dropped out of school as a sophomore. After a short stint in the production, Carnelia pursued songwriting and, later, musical theatre composition. Carnelia has one child, actress Daisy Carnelia, and lives in
Springfield, Missouri with his wife, actress
Lisa Brescia. His
Poster Boy (2016) was performed at the Williamstown Theater Festival in
Williamstown, Massachusetts. Carnelia's songs were heard with the work of other writers in the
Stephen Schwartz conceptual
revue Working (1978). From there he wrote full scores, both lyrics and music, for the short-lived Broadway musical
Is there life after high school? (1982), which is still performed in stock, amateur, and
regional theatres. He composed lyrics and music for
Three Postcards, with a book by
Craig Lucas, which was staged off-Broadway by
Playwrights Horizons in 1987 and revived by Circle Rep in 1994. For the musical
Sweet Smell of Success (2002), he teamed with composer
Marvin Hamlisch, with whom he also composed songs for the 2002
Nora Ephron play
Imaginary Friends. He has received the Johnny Mercer Award, "Emerging American Songwriter", the first annual
Gilman and Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award, and the Kleban Award. He also is a mentor to young writers through the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, the Dramatists Guild Musical Theatre Fellowship and the Eugene O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference. ==Awards and nominations==