Degrassi - The Weirdos {Jake/Craig} #6: Because we hope he's having the time of his life in American Idiot. - Page 5

**kaleidocat** · 08-03-2014, 02:54 PM

Jake got to meet Hillary Clinton! Jealous. She was at a bookstore signing in my neighborhood the past month but I couldn't attend. Ah well, I'm not good with crowds and that one attracted a lot of people.

source.

I have to admit that I wasn't aware how many songs Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote together even though I'm sure I grew up with them all since it was my parents favorite music. I should buy the Beautiful soundtrack. So should you guys.

**JustMe2000** · 08-05-2014, 09:56 AM

Who's the guy down in the right corner behind the railing? That dude's got a future serial killer on Criminal Minds role ahead of him.

**kaleidocat** · 09-10-2014, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Producers Paul Blake and Sony/ATV Music Publishing announced today that Scott J. Campbell, previously with Jersey Boys, will step into the role of 'Gerry Goffin' in Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, beginning Tuesday, September 23, 2014. Campbell will take over for Jake Epstein. Beautiful - The Carole King Musical opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd Street) on Sunday, January 12, 2014, where it has broken all box office records and continues to play to standing-room-only crowds nightly.

Scott J. Campbell to Succeed Jake Epstein in Broadway's 'BEAUTIFUL'

I wonder what went down there. I hope it wasn't because he was the only one not to receive a Tony nom and it was his personal choice to move on.

Best of luck to him!

And if you haven't seen his ice bucket challenge yet:

**JustMe2000** · 09-11-2014, 12:31 PM

Maybe they just want him to move to a city where he can afford an apartment with a bathtub that isn't built for a two-year-old.

**kaleidocat** · 09-26-2014, 06:25 PM

Jesse - CBC Short Film Faceoff Trailer - on Sept. 27th (which I guess it tomorrow) this short will air on CBC at 7pm. And you can vote for it here - Short Film Face Off | CBC.

Hey, I just remembered I get CBC since Seattle is so close to Vancouver. Wow. I'll actually get to see a recent performance by Jake.

**JustMe2000** · 09-29-2014, 12:21 PM

So the Jesse film made the finals. From what I understand a lot of votes came from the Seattle area, one IP address in particular.

And from the looks of it, you can watch that thing here.

**kaleidocat** · 10-04-2014, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by actingupstage.com

Triple Threat with Jake Epstein

Get to know our 2014/15 season artists as we get them to dish on their favorite and most influential musicals. Triple Threat is a regular feature in which we interview a musical theatre artist and ask them to recall which musicals left indelible impressions on them. Plus, we’ll throw in a couple of extra questions every interview to see what kind of musicals make their inner theatre geek sing.

Rehearsals begin this week for this year’s UnCovered featuring the music of Elton John and Billy Joel. Fresh from his Broadway turns in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Spiderman: Turn off The Dark, Jake Epstein is making his first stage appearance back in Canada with his return to UnCovered.

1. What musical’s score will you always remember?
Duncan Sheik’s music in Spring Awakening will forever be etched in my brain. Not only because I did the show for a year on tour, but because I remember how moved I was when I first saw the show on Broadway. Sheik wonderfully captures the perfect mix of 1890’s repressed Germany with an authentic wink to punk/rock music. And coming from more of a rock/pop background, I loved how raw the music felt and how fresh it was to see younger people pouring their souls into their handheld microphones.

2. What musical’s book or virtuosic acting will you always remember?
Cabaret is my favourite musical largely because of its multi-layered and clever book. I love the concept behind the show- all the singing happens at the Kit Kat Club as part of the act, and characters don’t just break into song like in most musicals. And on top of that, the way that the politics are interwoven into life at the Kit Kat Club makes for such a moving story.

3. What were some of the roles you played in musicals in High School?
I played Harold Hill in The Music Man, and (not surprising I’m sure ) Emcee in Cabaret- two of the best experiences of my life.

4. What is your dream role that you’ll never get to play?
I don’t think I’ll get to play Usnavi in In the Heights- but MAN it would be great! I’d also love to play the girl in Once, but the part here in Toronto was already cast and my sister was cast as the cover!

5. What’s your guiltiest pleasure musical?
Ok… I suppose it’s time to just fess up… Big: The Musical. It was the first Broadway show I ever saw and I think my sister and I literally broke the TAPE that we bought at the show because of how many times we listened to it. I actually think the music by Maltby and Shire is gorgeous. I would be extremely available to audition for the revival.

6. What movie or book would you love to see musicalized?
I think A League of Their Own would make a great musical- I’d love to sing ‘There’s No Crying in Baseball’.

7. Do you have any pre-performance rituals?
Nothing too exciting. I stretch, I warm-up, I check in with my cast, take a few big breaths and dive in!

source: Triple Threat With Jake Epstein | Acting Up Stage Company

**JustMe2000** · 10-26-2014, 07:55 PM

Some of you might be familiar with the movie that Ana and Sarah are starring in about former UCLA gymnast Ariana Berlin, called Full Out.

Ana stars as Ariana, and it turns out that in the role of the creepy older boyfriend is....

Well, he's in the movie. But, maybe that's not what he's playing.

Or maybe it is..

zoerivas · 10-27-2014, 01:31 PM

I thought he was playing her boyfriend when I saw that picture too! nice to see them working together.

**kaleidocat** · 02-11-2015, 01:43 AM

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical won a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album.

Congratulations Jake!

Jake has a new project out this spring. He wrote a play with his mother.

Quote:

How is the Mom/Son writing team working out?

JE- We’re still talking to each other so that’s a good sign! Truly I never thought we would be able to work together as well as we have. I’ve been such a big fan of my mom’s writing, and to be able to work with someone you have such respect for has been a gift.

KK- I think it’s been fantastic – and pretty remarkable! I believe that we have a great respect for each other’s skills and insights. We have a similar work ethic and style. We’ve worked out an effective routine of writing apart and then coming together to hash out the details of scenes, characters, and story lines. And at the end of this whole process, we are still close! I always said that no matter what happened with this play, the best part was to have had the opportunity to work with my son on it. To see it come to the stage is really the icing on top of an already fulfilling experience.

What was the spark in writing Therefore Choose Life in the first place?

JE- My mom and I had been talking about wanting to create something meaningful and decided to collaborate on a play. Very soon after she had heard about an unbelievable story that resonated very deeply with both of us. We then took the crux of that story and spent that summer writing the first draft of Therefore Choose Life.

KK- Jake and I were talking about the possibility of doing some kind of project together. We had tossed around a couple of ideas but hadn’t found anything that we both felt we could get our teeth into. Then I heard about the story of a man who had survived the Holocaust thinking he had lost his first wife in the camps. He remarried after the war and discovered years later that his first wife had survived. I immediately thought that this story would make a wonderful play and brought the idea to Jake. He loved it and that’s how we began.

How has the workshop process helped you shape the play?

JE- When you’re working on a new play you’re working in a bit of a vacuum, and it’s been so helpful to take a step back and hear the whole piece read aloud by talented actors. You immediately hear what’s working, where it drags and you begin to understand the emotional arc of the piece. I would say the bulk of work on our play has happened through our workshop process.

KK- You can’t possibly know what a play is going to feel like until you’ve had the chance to hear it read aloud. While the root of this story has remained the same as when we first started, most of the scenes, dialogues, and even characters have changed through the course of several workshops. It’s tough to go through the process; I hate having to change something I felt so passionate about! But workshopping this play has been absolutely essential to its development.

source.

I don't think this vid has been shared in this thread yet. Even I haven't seen it.

And that concludes my stalking session.

**kaleidocat** · 05-11-2015, 01:56 AM

Perfect time to dump all media mentions of Therefore Choose Life because it was Mother's Day and Jake wrote the play with his mom. This was the last weekend to catch the show so I hope all in the Toronto area were able to see it!

For 16 years, Kathy Kacer has been writing sensitive, powerful fiction for readers of all ages about the Holocaust, most notably The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser.

And for just as long, her son Jake has been a successful actor, starring in Degrassi: The Next Generation on TV and shows like American Idiot, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical onstage.

But they’d never worked together before. Now they’ve co-authored a play called Therefore Choose Life, which starts performances Saturday night for Harold Green Jewish Theatre at the Toronto Centre for the Arts.

Epstein is starring in the show as well.

“It started six years ago when Jake was between shows,” begins Kacer.

“I moved back in with my parents like any good 23-year-old does when he’s between things,” grins Epstein.

Kacer raises a maternal eyebrow. “They always come back home. And we had always been talking about the possibility of working together.” thestar.com.

THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE - Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company in Toronto
Celebrity Spaces: Kathy Kacer and Jake Epstein | Homes | New Homes & Condos | To
GlobalNews.Ca - Actor Jake Epstein (video interview)
Writers of 'Therefore Choose Life' Stop By CP24 (video interview)
Etalk video interview with Jake Epstein on his career and Therefore Choose Life
Now Toronto Review: Therefore Choose Life
BWW Review: HGJTC's THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE is Sheer Perfection
Heartstrings pulled in Therefore Choose Life: review | Toronto Star
Author Kathy Kacer and actor son Jake Epstein collaborate on play | Toronto Star
Jake Epstein to debut play he co-wrote with author-mom Kathy Kacer - 680 NEWS
Mother and son collaborate on play | The Canadian Jewish News
Jake Epstein to Premiere New Work THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE in Toronto

So, what’s it like writing with your mom and having to edit each other’s work?

“It should be disastrous,” Epstein says with a laugh in a phone interview. “(But) it’s been surprisingly wonderful, I say cautiously. 680news.com.

**JustMe2000** · 05-16-2015, 11:01 PM

So....Mr. Epstein will be appearing on your TV screen on Tuesday night if you happen to live in Canada and get Global. Although since it's the season finale and all, you might not want to get too attached to him and all. At least for this season.

**kaleidocat** · 07-02-2015, 02:23 PM

I downloaded his Remedy episodes and was going to post in here after I watched them and it hasn't happened yet. Whoops! But I loved his tweets and retweets while his episodes (209-210) aired.

So summer started out with Jake appearing on Remedy and then announcing it was cancelled. Then Degrassi was momentarily cancelled and I was hoping he wouldn't appear on any other my favorite shows.

But that seems to have triggered nostalgia in almost every cast member and Pat posted this pic of tall Craig with bald Joey.

Then there was a Spring Awakening reunion...

Youtube: Jake Epstein & Julie Benko - "Our House" (CSNY)
Youtube: Krystina Alabado, Krista Pioppi & Jake Epstein - "Paris Oo La La" (Grace Potter And The Nocturnals)

And unless you have been living under a rock you have heard that the next reunion is with Degrassi. I'm kinda impressed with the sources reporting it: Degrassi: Shane Kippel, Lauren Collins and Jake Epstein Reunite on Instagram : People.com, Degrassi Costars Lauren Collins, Shane Kippel, Jake Epstein Reunite - Us Weekly, Degrassi Reunion Special Brings Back All of Your Original Favorites—Check Out All the Pics! | E! Online. So be sure to watch the TeenNick special that will air on Friday, July 31, called It Goes There: Degrassi's Most Talked About Moments.

socialfirefighter · 07-19-2015, 04:40 PM

Can be added to the list?

Tryst · 08-15-2015, 12:21 AM

I'm surprised you didn't freak out over the Dr. Jake photo, Nicole.

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Fan Forum > TV Shows - Past > Degrassi > The Weirdos {Jake/Craig} #6: Because we hope he's having the time of his life in American Idiot.