Broadway’s Jake Ryan Flynn releases “Good Morning Quarantine”

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My pick for the best song and video I’ve yet seen in response to the Coronavirus healthy crisis? That would be “Good Morning, Quarantine,” which has just been released by Jake Ryan Flynn. And what makes this song and video even more newsworthy is that the creator is just 13! The new video may be viewed here:

Flynn, who starred as “Charlie” in the Broadway musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2017-2018, was supposed to be opening this spring in the highly anticipated new Broadway musical Mrs. Doubtfire. But that show had barely begun previews when all of Broadway was shut down, due to the Coronavirus. And instead of performing on Broadway, Flynn found himself confined to his family’s home in Wenham, Massachusetts.

Rather than sit around and mope, Flynn wrote “Good Morning, Quarantine”—setting his own new lyrics to the familiar melody of “Good Morning, Baltimore,” composed by Marc Shaiman (with lyricist Scott Wittman) for the musical Hairspray. And Flynn showed far more care than the typical writer of parodies—he followed the original rhyme scheme exactly, ending each phrase with a perfect rhyme (not the “near rhymes” so often found in such pastiches). He not only got Marc Shaiman’s blessings for his project, he also got tips from Shaiman on songwriting, and an opportunity to help introduce another a song that Shaiman himself had written (on hand-washing during the crisis).

Flynn produced the video right at his family’s home—roping in every member of his family (along with his neighbors) to help round out the cast. And the whole video is a terrific showcase for Flynn’s buoyant singing as well.Flynn’s musical-theater credits include regional productions of Billy Elliot, Shrek, A Christmas Story, Singin’ in the Rain, and Mary Poppins. His film and TV credits include Broad Squad and In My Mind. And he’s done commercials, as well.

The new video is dedicated to his castmates in Broadway’s Mrs. Doubtfire, and to Karen Nascembeni, the General Manager of the North Shore Music Theater (where he’s performed), who has been fighting Covid-19 for a month, and to her husband, Steven Richard Nascembeni, who recently died from the virus.