Not long after he married high school sweetheart Cathy Colety, Cilento made his Broadway musical debut in the chorus of Seesaw.
During the development of the show, the creators also toyed with Cilento having a second solo titled "Joanne" about his first crush on a girl (done in a Gene Kelly-style dance), and appearing as a backup dancer for Cassie's nightclub act, which was later cut.
In this period, he was featured in more than 100 national commercials, including spots for VISA, Dr Pepper, Burger King, McDonald's, Kmart, and Dairy Queen.
Concert stage and television include Alicia Keys, Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, Donna Summer, Jonas Brothers and Pete Townshend.
Music videos for Billy Joel's "Keeping the Faith" and Barry Manilow's "Read 'em and Weep" followed with a PBS special called Spirit - A Journey in Dance, Drums and Song and dozens of commercials, for which he has won two Clio Awards.
In 2023, he directed and staged the first revival of Dancin' on Broadway, which received positive reviews and 7 Chita Rivera Award nominations in recognition of its dancers.