Draft:Jake Ehrenreich

• Comment: I think a Jew Grows in Brooklyn is likely notable, but not sure if this subject is, as they don't seem to have independent WP:SIGCOV Sulfurboy (talk) 22:15, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

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Jake Ehrenreich (born February 24, 1956, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American performer, author, musician, television host, playwright, and producer. He appeared on Broadway in Dancin', Barnum, and They're Playing Our Song,starred in the title role of Jonah for producer Joseph Papp at The Public Theater,, toured internationally as Ringo Starr in Beatlemania, and created and starred in the autobiographical stage production A Jew Grows in Brooklyn. He is the author of the memoir A Jew Grows in Brooklyn: The Curious Reflections of a First-Generation American. His recording A Treasury of Jewish Christmas Songs was a featured new release in Billboard's 2018 holiday coverage and received a four-star review in DownBeat's 2018 Holiday Gift Guide. His television and film work includes creating and hosting the variety series The Jake Ehrenreich Show and appearances in documentary films including The Last Laugh and Making Light in Terezin.

Early life and background

Ehrenreich was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Holocaust survivors from Poland, and grew up in Brooklyn. He developed an early interest in popular music and drumming and later pursued a career as a musician and performer. His experiences growing up as a first-generation American in a family of Holocaust survivors became central to his later stage work and memoir.

In 2012, Ehrenreich was the featured guest on CUNY TV's BuildingNY: NYStories, where he discussed his Brooklyn roots and what motivated him to become a performer and playwright. His life and career have also received substantial coverage in The New York Jewish Week, including discussion of his family background, musical development, Broadway work and touring career, as well as profiles and features in QNS and the Brooklyn Eagle. A Publishers Weekly review of his memoir also discussed his childhood, family history and musical career.Hadassah Magazine, in its review of Ehrenreich's memoir, discussed his upbringing as the child of Holocaust survivors, his family experiences, and his development as a musician, singer, actor and playwright.The Times Herald-Record profiled Ehrenreich and his autobiographical work on multiple occasions. A 2006 profile by staff writer Steve Israel examined his childhood in a family of Polish Holocaust survivors, his early music career, and his evolving relationship with his Jewish identity, while a 2009 feature by Timothy Malcolm discussed his family background, development as a musician and performer, and the experiences that led to the creation of A Jew Grows in Brooklyn.

Career

Theater

Ehrenreich appeared on Broadway in the productions of Dancin', Barnum, They're Playing Our Song, and toured internationally as Ringo Starr in Beatlemania.

In 1990, he starred in the title role of the musical Jonah, adapted and directed by Elizabeth Swados for producer Joseph Papp at The Public Theater. In the production, he was characterized by The New York Times as a "rock star among the prophets." He also starred in the rock revue A Hot Minute at The Bottom Line in New York.

His other Off-Broadway credits include starring roles in The Golden Land and Songs of Paradise for the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, and he appeared on the original cast recording of The Golden Land.

Ehrenreich subsequently created and starred in the autobiographical musical comedy A Jew Grows in Brooklyn. Following an initial limited run at the American Theatre of Actors, the production moved Off-Broadway to the Lamb's Theatre in June 2006 for an extended run and later transferred to 37 Arts Theatre. The show subsequently toured nationally and internationally, including engagements in Canada and England. In 2013, Ehrenreich headlined the opening of JFest in Leeds, England, with A Jew Grows in Brooklyn. It received reviews and feature coverage in publications including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Toronto Star, Time Out New York, Jewish Journal, among others.

Television

Ehrenreich is the creator, host, and executive producer of The Jake Ehrenreich Show, a variety talk show taped before a live audience at the Triad Theater in New York City. The series premiered on Jewish Broadcasting Service (JBS) in 2018 and has featured guests including Alan Dershowitz, Tovah Feldshuh, Shecky Greene, Julie Budd, Marilyn Michaels, Mike Burstyn, Vanessa Hidary, and Lenore Skenazy.

A recurring segment on the program features inductions for the Catskills Hall of Fame, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on preserving and honoring the legacy of the Catskills and Borscht Belt entertainment era. Ehrenreich serves as curator of the organization.

In 2026, JBS broadcast The Lost Tapes - A Jew Grows in Brooklyn, a short documentary in which Ehrenreich combines stage material with newly uncovered documentary footage exploring memory and identity from Brooklyn to the Catskills.

Music

As a musician, drummer, singer, and bandleader, Ehrenreich has performed at New York venues including the Rainbow Room, The Red Parrot, and Birdland. He has also recorded and performed with artists including Richie Havens, Gregg Allman, Whitney Houston, Del Shannon, Tito Puente, Cab Calloway, John Davidson, and the Smothers Brothers.

As a studio session player, he played drums and sang backing vocals on singer-songwriter Cliff Eberhardt's 1990 Windham Hill/RCA album The Long Road; Richie Havens also appeared on the album.

His solo recordings include Yiddish Unplugged and A Treasury of Jewish Christmas Songs, recorded with Grammy Award-winning pianist Roger Kellaway and his trio. The latter was included in Billboard's 2018 roundup of new Christmas albums, and DownBeat included it in its 2018 Holiday Gift Guide and awarded it four stars. The album was also reviewed by The New York City Jazz Record, Jazz Weekly, Talkin' Broadway, The Arts Fuse.

Ehrenreich and Kellaway adapted the recording into a touring live concert presentation, including performances at Birdland Jazz Club in New York. The multimedia presentation featured taped interviews with Broadway songwriters Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof) and Charles Strouse (Annie, Bye Bye Birdie).

Publications

Ehrenreich authored the memoir A Jew Grows in Brooklyn: The Curious Reflections of a First-Generation American, published by Health Communications in 2010. The book, a print adaptation of his stage production, chronicles his upbringing in Brooklyn as the child of Holocaust survivors. Publishers Weekly reviewed the book, noting his performance-honed style and narrative timing.

His literary writings and reflections on the Holocaust and Catskills resort era are also featured in the academic anthology Summer Haven: The Catskills, the Holocaust, and the Literary Imagination (Academic Studies Press, 2016), alongside works by notable writers including Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer and Art Spiegelman. Ehrenreich's two contributions are "The Catskills (or What Was, Was, and Is No More) from A Jew Grows in Brooklyn" and "Reflections on A Jew Grows in Brooklyn."

Filmography

As Featured Subject

• The Last Laugh (2016) - Featured alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Rob Reiner in the critically acclaimed documentary exploring the boundaries of comedy and the Holocaust. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was broadcast nationally on PBS.
• Making Light in Terezin (2012) - Featured in the historic documentary focusing on a theater troupe's journey to the Czech Republic to recreate a 1943 concentration camp cabaret performance.

As Producer / Writer

• A Jew Grows in Brooklyn (film adaptation) - Producer and writer. The short film was selected for the Boca International Jewish Film Festival, Borscht Belt Film Festival, Jewish Nevada International Film Festival, and Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival.
• The Lost Tapes - A Jew Grows in Brooklyn - Writer/producer and featured performer; broadcast on JBS in 2026.
• Welcome to Where You've Always Been - Executive producer. The dramatic short screened at multiple film festivals and received festival awards.

Awards and Honors

• 2012 Brooklyn recognition – Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz declared May 17 "A Jew Grows in Brooklyn Day" in honor of the show, and the Carnegie Deli unveiled an "A Jew Grows in Brooklyn" sandwich in connection with the production.
• Brooklyn Jewish Hall of Fame - Inducted as a member of the 2016 class.
• Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition - Received in 2016 in recognition of "outstanding and invaluable service to the community."