Coming-of-Age Musical Like Father to Have World Premiere at Alliance Theatre

Alliance Theatre will produce the world premiere musical Like Father as part of its 2026-27 season. The new musical created by Jacob Ryan Smith, with book, music, and lyrics by Smith and Caroline Pernick was a semi-finalist at the Eugene O’Neill New Music Theater Festival and the winner of the inaugural Open Jar Musical Shark Tank.

Directed by Alliance’s Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, Like Father will start performances on the Hertz Stage in October.

A coming-of-age musical set against America’s true-crime obsession, Like Father is about seventeen-year-old Chris, who moves in with her estranged mother, Michelle, and stepfather, Ben, after her father’s arrest. When a hit true-crime podcast exposes their family’s disturbing past to the world, they are forced to face the truth of what brought them together.

The creative team also includes choreographer Dell Howlett, music director Alejandro Senior, and dramaturg Amanda Watkins.

Casting and performance dates will be announced at a later date.