Jake Johnson is a writer, pianist, and vocal coach on faculty at the University of Oklahoma. His writing and teaching explore the interweaving of music, literature, art, and media in American life. He is the author or editor of three books on belief and American music, and his most recent book Unstaged Grief: Musicals and Mourning in Midcentury America will be published early 2025 through the University of Illinois Press. Many of his former students work prominently in theater, including starring roles on Broadway, in film and television, and on numerous regional and touring productions around the world.