NEWS RELEASE Media Contact: Melanie YC Pepe Artistic Director Weathervane Playhouse 330.836.2626 mycpepe@weathervaneplayhouse.com<mailto:mycpepe@weathervaneplayhouse.com> Weathervane Playhouse brings Daniel Pearle’s compelling “A Kid Like Jake” to the stage. What do you do, when all you want to do is what is right for your child? AKRON, OH – On the eve of the admissions cycle for Manhattan's most exclusive private schools, Alex and Greg have high hopes for their son Jake, a precocious four-year-old who happens to prefer Cinderella to G.I. Joe, but as the process continues, Jake's behavior becomes erratic and perplexing, and other adults in his life start to wonder whether his fondness for dress-up might be cause for concern. A Kid Like Jake is a story of a husband and wife struggling to do right by their son. This production is sponsored in part by the Gay Community Endowment Fund, in partnership with GLSEN. About the Play: A Kid Like Jake premiered in a sold-out run at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater (NY Times Critic’s Pick). The play won the 2013 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award and was also awarded the prestigious Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation’s Theatre Visions Fund Grant. It was also presented at 2012 Old Vic’s TS Eliot US/UK Exchange in London. "[A] smart, fluent drama…Mr. Pearle has found an intriguing subject of real currency, and one that stirs our natural sympathy." —NY Times. A Kid Like Jake is a searching, keenly perceptive look at how the nature-versus-nurture question can play out on the front lines of tolerance today." —Time Out NY. "Daniel Pearle's polished new dramedy…is full of perceptive details about the intense world of affluent parenting, where every child is gifted and the struggle for dominance begins at home." —NY Magazine. About the Playwright: Mr. Pearle's other works include The Prodigies, Tearin’ Up My Heart and Plunder (2008 Loeb Drama Center’s Phyllis Anderson Prize). His short play The Truth About Christmas was a winner of the 2011 Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and is published & licensed by Samuel French. Residencies/conferences include The Blue Mountain Center, New York State Summer Writers Retreat, UCLA Writers Studio. He earned his BA from Harvard University and his MFA from The New School for Drama. A Kid Like Jake is being performed at Weathervane Playhouse January 12 to 22, 2017: Thursdays, January 12 and 19 at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, January 13 and 20 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays January 14 and 21 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays January 15 and 22 at 2:30 p.m. For interviews, cast photos, or more information contact Melanie Pepe at 330-836-2626. Ext 17 or mycp@weathervaneplayhouse.com<mailto:mycp@weathervaneplayhouse.com> The cast and crew of A Kid Like Jake include: CAST Christine Wright, Alex Brian Westerley, Greg Dede Klein, Judy Allison Kump, Nurse CREATIVE TEAM Bob Belfance, Director Richard Worswick, Production Stage Manager Jared Sparks, Properties Designer Laura Niehaus, Scenic Designer Kellie Rossini, Lighting Designer Jasen J. Smith, Costume Designer Richard Morris Jr., Technical Director, Resident Scenic Designer Kathy Kohl, Assistant Technical Director Weathervane Playhouse provides high-quality live theater with volunteer artists, designers, and technicians under professional direction, delivers education and training in theater arts and appreciation, and engages and entertains its audience to enrich the quality of life in Northeast Ohio. Weathervane Playhouse’s 2016-2017 Season Support Provided by: AARP Akron Community Foundation Mary and Dr. George L. Demetrios Charitable Trust GAR Kenneth L. Calhoun Charitable Trust (KeyBank, Trustee) The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services, LLC The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation Millennial Group Northeast Ohio Boomer and Beyond Magazine Northeast Ohio Parent Magazine Ohio Arts Council Omnova WKSU 89.7 FM ###