Kansas City native helps bring the music and comedy to acclaimed new animated show

Jeff Drake writes songs that are performed by stars of the millennium’s two most iconic musicals.

“Sometimes it does strike me that we have Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson, (Princess) Anna and Olaf the snowman singing our songs, and that’s just a weird sentence to form in your head,” Drake says.

The Kansas City native and University of Kansas grad is enjoying his first season as a staff writer on “Central Park,” the new animated musical-comedy series on Apple TV+. The show’s top-notch ensemble includes cast members from “Hamilton” and “Frozen,” along with a rotating roster of notable guests.

In addition to writing the scripts, Drake (a former professional musician) composes some of the songs and lyrics.

“It’s great to write songs that anyone will sing. But then to have some of the most talented singers singing melodies and words that you wrote is additionally amazing,” he says.

“Central Park” concerns a Central Park caretaker (Leslie Odom Jr., who played Aaron Burr in “Hamilton”) and his interracial family. They are constantly battling Bitsy (voiced by Stanley Tucci), an elderly heiress who is attempting to buy up the prominent Manhattan acreage and convert it into retail property. (Odom’s “Hamilton” co-star Daveed Diggs voices Bitsy’s right-hand woman.)

Critics love it. The New York Times said the “weird, warm, joyful animated sitcom” is just “the show we need right now, even if its makers couldn’t have anticipated how and why.”

The series is the brainchild of “Bob’s Burgers” creator Loren Bouchard, producer Nora Smith and actor Josh Gad (perhaps best known as the voice of Olaf and here is Birdie, a busker who acts as the show’s narrator).

Although Drake is one of the staff writers who contributes to every episode, he earns sole credit on one titled “Squirrel, Interrupted.”

“When you write an episode, you kind of become the shepherd of that one. You also have a say in the casting,” he explains.

So Drake brought in a Kansas City ringer: Ed Asner. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Elf” and “Up” veteran — who has earned the most Emmys of any male performer — voiced Ambrose Brandenham, brother of Bitsy.

“It was crazy to meet him,” the 54-year-old Drake says. “It’s normally not a big deal talking to (a celebrity). But every now and again there’s somebody who kind of flusters you. I was really touched to meet him and sit down and talk.”

A family sensibility

“Central Park” loads up on celeb guest appearances (Fred Armisen, Tony Shalhoub) and original compositions by famous musicians (Fiona Apple, Sara Bareilles and Cyndi Lauper) for its first season. But series creator Loren Bouchard claims the emphasis of the show always comes back to the core family.

“Jeff is funny, but he’s also a husband and a dad,” Bouchard says.

“Those are real and measurable strengths if you’re writing about family life. Of course, single people can do the job too — we all were kids once, and we all came from a family of one kind or another. But Jeff has a keen sense of what’s funny about being a parent.”

Bouchard additionally notes how Drake’s songwriting skills elevated his episode.

“He co-composed not one but two fantastic songs for his already great story. It’s a rare achievement. Most writers are happy to pitch on lyrics. But on all the shows I’ve worked on — in the 20-something years I’ve been doing this job — I’ve worked with only a very few scriptwriters who can also contribute undeniably strong musical ideas and work with a music team to bring them to life,” Bouchard says.

His new series (which premiered May 29) became a hot topic of discussion earlier this summer when star Kristen Bell (“Frozen,” “The Good Place”) announced she was leaving her “Central Park” role voicing the mixed-race daughter, Molly. In a statement, the white actress claimed playing the character “shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege.” She was one of several performers on animated shows who vacated their roles in the wake of the racial reckoning that followed the death of George Floyd.

“You want to have fair representation in animation,” Drake says.

The writer admits Bell’s departure didn’t necessarily surprise him.

“I think it was probably in the wind with our executive producers for a while. I feel like everybody handled it really incredibly graciously, and I’m proud that we were able to make that adjustment,” he says. She’ll be replaced by Emmy Raver-Lampman, who appeared in “Hamilton.”

Drake got drawn into the world of TV animation through his association with “Bob’s Burgers.” He’s been married for nearly 15 years to Wendy Molyneux, one of the original staff writers and now co-executive producer. While he never actually worked on the series, he got recruited to write for a “Bob’s Burgers” comic book adaptation published by Dynamite, which he penned for several years.

Yet getting to the point where Drake was making a living writing comedy in Los Angeles proved a rather long road.

Out of Kansas City

More than two decades ago, he was the managing editor of KC’s weekly newspaper The Pitch when he had an epiphany.

“I remember sitting in my office at The Pitch. I don’t know what prompted this, but I just asked myself the question, ‘Where do I want to be in 10 years?’ And it was like a voice inside me immediately said, ‘Not here.’ Journalism wasn’t really my bag,” he says.

A restless Drake was fearing time might be running out on his dream career.

“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to write for TV,” he recalls. “I had long wanted to move to L.A., but I talked myself out of it. I was 33, and was like, ‘Is it too late?’ Sure, but it’s gonna be even more ‘too late’ if I wait another year.”

In 1999, he relocated to Los Angeles. He first found work running the website of a music trade publication. Meanwhile, he continued to hone the formidable improvisational comedy abilities he developed in KC. He formed a team named Tiny Hostages in 2001 that not only included his future wife but also future talk show host Seth Meyers and future “The Office” star Angela Kinsey.

But it was while crafting TV promos for NBC in 2006 that he (and Molyneux) got their “big break.”

When filming a promo for the daytime series “The Megan Mullally Show,” the “Will & Grace” veteran formed an instant bond with Drake and Molyneux, offering them jobs as staff writers.

The program proved short-lived, but the gig got both of them into the Writers Guild of America and launched an enduring friendship with Mullally and husband Nick Offerman.

This provided one of several opportunities for Drake and Molyneux to work together on comedy projects. They co-wrote the TV special “Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally: The Summer of 69: No Apostrophe” and Offerman’s stage show titled “Full Bush.”

“Nick had a basic structure and kicked it back to us, asking, ‘Do you have any ideas for this? Here are some song lyrics. Can you punch these up?,’” Drake says, noting how writing with his wife is less collaborative than one might envision.

“Because of mine and Wendy’s schedules, it was like each of us taking an individual pass at the material,” he says. “It wasn’t like we’re sitting down together, arms entwined on a love seat under an afghan.”

When asked which of the two of them is the funniest, Drake offers no hesitation.

“Wendy is 100 times funnier. Easily. She has an Emmy and everything to prove it,” he asserts.

“I obviously enjoy collaborating with Jeff,” says Molyneux, who’s earned seven Emmy nominations and one win for “Bob’s Burgers.”

“We have the same sensibility, so it’s unsurprising that we work on the same family of shows. We’ve also collaborated on four wonderful kids. I mean, some of them could use a rewrite in terms of how often they ask to play iPad, but nothing’s perfect.”

Finding inspiration

Just prior to “Central Park,” Drake was a staff writer on the second season of the truTV comedy series “I’m Sorry.” He wrote the episode “Extra Boobs,” based on star Andrea Savage’s true story of having surgery to remove excess breast tissue.

Since Savage was initially unsure about moving forward with a third season (which she eventually decided to do), Drake took a job with the fledgling “Central Park.” This despite the fact his connection to the iconic Manhattan location is rather tenuous.

“I know probably less about the day-to-day workings of New York as anybody else in the Kansas City/Lawrence area. It’s been a long time since I’ve even visited New York,” he confesses.

Fortunately, the creators of the show have a much closer relationship with the metropolis.

“Many of the producers, like Josh Gad, who has been on Broadway, has a deep connection to New York. So there are a lot of people who add that flavor to it. But a lot of the other stuff is mostly just family dynamics, and that’s the same whether it’s New York or Kansas City or wherever,” he says.

Drake concedes he rarely encounters Kansas Citians involved in the television industry.

“I definitely run into more people with a connection to KU than KC,” the Shawnee Mission East High School grad says.

“I also seem to run into more people from St. Louis, honestly. Like there are two other writers at ‘Central Park’ who are from St. Louis. And they kind of look alike, especially in quarantine times. They’re both white dudes with curly brown hair. They both let their hair get a little Afro-ish. And both have ’70s-era glasses. It’s like, ‘Why are you guys Single White Female-ing each other?’”

After more than 20 years away from his hometown, Drake professes he misses his family (most of whom still live in KC), the Royals, Boulevard Beer and barbecue, among many other things.

“There’s a lot of stuff I miss, but I do love it out here. I haven’t regretted moving for one minute, especially now that I have a family. I wouldn’t have met my wife had I not moved out here. And now I have so many children. So many.”

Molyneux says their six-person household (with children ranging from 1 to 10 years old) provides plenty of comedic inspiration for both their careers.

Take “Squirrel, Interrupted,” for example.

In Drake’s episode, Cole (voiced by Tituss Burgess) is eager to take part in a scavenger hunt in the park, based on his favorite YA fantasy adventure novels, “The Squirrel Quarrels.” But his dad just doesn’t seem to grasp the nonsensical logic of the books.

“My favorite part about the episode is how excited Cole is about this one very specific thing,” Molyneux says.

“That’s a lot like Jeff. He’s extremely excitable and loves pop culture and music, and our kids are like that, too. It’s fun to see a little bit of his own nature translated into the show. Also, of course, the songs. He makes up songs for our kids all the time … and now he’s making up songs for everyone’s kids.”

Jon Niccum is a filmmaker, freelance writer and author of “The Worst Gig: From Psycho Fans to Stage Riots, Famous Musicians Tell All.”

This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Kansas City native helps bring the music and comedy to acclaimed new animated show."