Jake Flynn is 15 and is one busy kid.
The Wenham native, whose family hails from Lynn, is starring in his second Broadway production — this time acting as Christopher Hilliard in the musical adaptation of “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
His schedule is far from that of the average teenager, but Jake has been treading the Broadway boards since the age of 10, so he’s used to it.
“I do school in the morning and then I do the show at night, at either 7:30 or 8 ― that’s on a normal day,” he said. “But in previews, which is the time where we rehearse during the day and then do the show at night, I do tutoring at the theater with hired tutors in between rehearsals and the show.”
Jake’s family has had plenty of time to adjust to the theatrical life, as well.
“When he was 5, he did community theater,” Jake’s mother, Mary Wells Flynn, recalled. “And I was like, ‘Okay, he loves this.'”
Opportunity knocked early for Jake, as community theater led him to a starring role ― as Tiny Tim ― in North Shore Music Theatre’s flagship production, “A Christmas Carol.” However, it wouldn’t be long before Jake was called up to New York City as Charlie, in the Broadway production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Jake said that acting in North Shore Music Theatre gave him a crash course on what Broadway would be like.
“North Shore Music Theatre is actually not much different from Broadway; there’s just bigger budgets in a Broadway house, as opposed to a regional (theater),” he said. “My theater (on Broadway) actually has less seats than North Shore.”
And North Shore Music Theatre was an apt place for Jake to cut his teeth, as the Beverly-based stage was close to his mom’s old stomping grounds.
“I was born and raised in Lynn and my dad is still there ― he’ll never leave Lynn. My best friend’s still in Lynn. When people say, ‘Where are you from?’ I still say Lynn,” Mary said.
The 1994 Bishop Fenwick graduate was a softball standout in high school and continued her upward trajectory at the University of Maine.
“If my kids are randomly playing any Lynn team, I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna get crushed, they’re gonna be awesome,'” she added. “And usually they are, still.”
Mary’s softball prowess ― coupled with the NFL career of her husband and Jake’s dad, Mike Flynn ― set a big precedent in terms of family athleticism. As it happened, Jake’s interest in theater caught Mary and Mike a bit off guard.
“Initially, my husband and I thought we were just going to get the most ridiculous athletes,” Mary said. “And then you just see who your kids are, and he just was always singing, like always.”
“And it’s not that he didn’t enjoy (playing sports),” she added. “He’s actually very competitive, but it just didn’t bring him the joy that performing does.”
It’s not all black and white, however. Jake may have developed his love of theater from his parents as well.
“My dad always loved the theater, even when he was playing football,” Jake said. “And my mom would do shows in high school, so she liked it. And my brothers, even though they don’t do it as much, I think they love watching the shows.”
Both Mary and Mike are determined to help Jake follow his dreams. After a frenetic two years, with “Mrs. Doubtfire’s” pandemic postponement being only one of the bumps in the road, they’ve resolved to do whatever they can to help their son continue acting onstage.
“Me and Mike, we’re like, ‘How does this guy reach his dreams at age 10?”’ Mary said. “It’s incredible, and that’s a main reason why we can’t say no: We got to make it work for him because you never know when he could go again… (the fact) that he was able to make lightning strike twice was incredible.”
“Mrs. Doubtfire’s” return to the stage comes after a long COVID-induced pause, as the show was set to open right before Broadway announced a full shutdown in March 2020. In the intervening months before “Doubtfire” returned (opening night was on Dec. 5), Jake went through some personal changes that spelled trouble for his role in the production.
“I outgrew the role over the pandemic,” he said of his character, Christopher Hilliard, who is scripted as a 12-year-old. “Usually, when your voice changes in Broadway, they don’t see you until you’re an adult and you play younger; that’s how it works.”
“He certainly pulled off 12, easy,” said Mary. Jake was 13 when “Doubtfire” was originally supposed to run. “But now, two years later, he grew six inches and his voice dropped,” his mother said.
Against the odds, Jake and “Doubtfire” were granted a reprieve.
The show is to remain open for the Broadway season, in spite of recent concerns over the new variant, and Jake is to remain in his role as Christopher.
“The producers and the director, I gotta hand it to them,” Mary said. “They kept saying ‘Doubtfire’ was always a family and they meant it.”
“It’s just an open-ended run,” Jake explained. “So as long as we’re getting ticket sales, the show stays open.”
With stage lights finally on for Broadway’s “Doubtfire,” the Flynn family has to adjust to a new form of family life.
“All of us were going to live together,” said Mary, but the changes that ensued after “Doubtfire” was shut down in 2020 made that notion impossible. “(These days) Jake is a full-time New York resident, and either I live with him, or my husband or (his) grandparents. We just kind of change off duties.”
“It’s hard to say no to Broadway when he can live his dream. We don’t want to take that away from him if we can.”
Still, Jake sometimes finds that he misses Wenham and eastern Massachusetts.
“It’s not the countryside,” he said about Manhattan. “You don’t have many trees. I like the atmosphere of Lynn and Hamilton-Wenham and Beverly way better. I love New York, but I think being in a small town with trees is way better.”
Jake will get to return home eventually, but for now he’s fully occupied with putting on a production that’s been a long-time coming.
“I’ve worked on the show for three years, and to be able to do it after a pandemic, defying the odds and having Broadway reopened, it’s very exciting to show the show to the world,” he said.
“The pandemic made you reevaluate what’s important in life,” Mary added. “Family is sticking together, and they do. I mean, this cast is beyond tight. He’s going to have friends for life.”
Sophie Yarin can be reached at [email protected].
