Fairfield Area Community Theatre (F.A.C.T.) is excited to present Freaky Friday: A New Musical the weekend of June 12–15 at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center. A family-friendly production based on the 1972 Mary Rodgers novel and the hit Disney films, Freaky Friday is the comedic and heartrending tale of a mother and daughter at odds who accidentally—magically—swap bodies. And they’ve got to figure out how to switch back before everything they care about implodes.
The stakes are higher than ever. Teenage Ellie, stuck in her mother’s body, is forced to perform a stressful balancing act as Katherine—who is not only on the brink of getting remarried but is catering her own wedding as a possible cover story for a high-profile magazine. Meanwhile Katherine, as Ellie, must navigate the landmines of a day in high school, coming face-to-face with the awkward nuances of a budding teen romance, gym class (gasp!), terrible grades, and an amped-up scavenger hunt event—the kind that could make or break a teenager’s social life.
With a book by Bridget Carpenter and music and lyrics by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (the Pulitzer Prize-winning composers of Next to Normal and If/Then), Freaky Friday has catchy, contemporary music and a revitalized script that make it an entertaining story,·both hilarious and heartfelt.
The production team’s key players include Betsie Wotherspoon (co-director), Noel Wotherspoon (co-director and choreographer), Jim Edgeton (music director), LeAnne Edgeton (vocal director/rehearsal pianist), Betty Mayer (rehearsal pianist) and Rachel Biggs (stage manager).
Fairfield favorites Tena Edlin and Ella Holderbaum star as the charming and whip-smart mother-daughter duo, Katherine and Ellie. Quimby Scotton portrays Fletcher, Ellie’s younger brother, who speaks at all times through his two favorite puppets; Andrew Edlin plays the ever-patient Mike, Katherine’s fiancé; and Meredith Siemsen plays Torrey, Katherine’s tightly wound catering assistant. Ellie’s crush, Adam, is Tristen Garretson; Amber Burroughs is Ellie’s high school nemesis, Savannah; and Laney Bowers, Naomi Stiemsma, Tanner Bruckman, and Niko Emerson are Ellie’s loyal friends.
Additional community talents, each playing multiple characters, include Amber Adkins (whose portrayal of Ms. Meyers will make you shake in your tennis shoes), Jason Deprey, Phoenix Haessler, Jessica Hamm, Elizabeth Hootman, Fred Hucke, Douglas Marshall, Andrew McKenzie, and Angela Winter.
Tickets are available at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center box office and online at FairfieldACC.com. Adult tickets are $25 and students (K–12th) are $10.