The final show of this school year by the Wicdd theater, the musical, Freaky Friday, has come to a close. The nights of April 11th to the 13th consisted of costumes and reciting lines, along with singing and dancing from the amazing actors. Let’s not forget the techies, or the ones behinds the scenes making sure that everything ran smoothly and who built all the sets! I want to start by saying a congratulations to everyone involved for having pulled it off!
(This article won’t exactly contain any criticism, as the shows were phenomenal, but I guess more of a summary of the show and parts I liked :)
As soon as you walk in, there are opportunities to purchase snacks for the show and even flowers to give to your friends who brought everything together. I always say to bring some change in order to support your local theater production! I got into a seat near the front, waiting in anticipation for the show to start, the first set, a kitchen, already in view.
Finally, the show begins, a prologue song to start everything off. Through song, we learn of the desires of the two main characters: Mother Katherine Blake and her daughter Ellie. Katherine is a wedding caterer, stressed from not only planning her soon to come wedding, but also catering it all by herself! She wants to prove to a prestigious magazine that will interview her that she can be a bride, caterer, and a mother all at once. Ellie can be considered a rebellious teen, her focus solely on “The Hunt,” a yearly school scavenger hunt that is hosted by her crush: the one and only Adam. Tensions rise as the two of them have conflicting schedules. Along with that, both start to resent the other, both underestimating all of the work that being a working mother and the pressures of being a high school teen can be.
Ellie’s younger brother, Fletcher, comes in with an hourglass, which unbeknownst to them, is magical and during an argument they break it and…switch bodies!!! They not only have to find the other hourglass that Ellie’s late father gave to her mother (that she ended up selling to an antique shop), but also figure out how to get throughout their days in the other person’s body and most importantly, not make a fool out of each other. But of course, what kind of story would it be if they didn’t?
Katherine goes throughout the day in Ellie’s body, dealing with the awkwardness of being a teen with her confusing feelings towards her crush, Adam (Biology was one of my favorite songs with the dance sequences and vocals <3), the ever-dreaded gym class, and dealing with bullies. Ellie on the other hand goes through her mom’s schedule, which involves an interview with the popular magazine and working through the catering at the same time. Both start to understand the pressures that the other faces as they seem to mess a lot up for the other without even trying.
There’s a scene next with Ellie as Katherine driving Fletcher around while trying to find an antique shop with the hourglass. Ellie feels frustrated by her brother’s seemingly naïve way of looking at his future and his admiration for their mother, so she decides to tell him what she thinks. Ellie’s very emotional and harsh during this song, speaking of the unrealistic expectations kids have towards their parents—which made even me tear up :,( Fletcher, unable to take it, runs away!
(Then there was an intermission where I bought some snacks and the tension built :O Would Fletcher ever make it home!?)
The whole family, neighborhood, friends, and even the reporters from the magazine put their differences aside in order to find little Fletcher. He’s eventually found by Adam at a bus stop, where he says he was going to run away to pursue his dreams in Hollywood. Luckily, Adam is able to convince him that his family is probably looking for him and would miss him if he left, so they meet back with the Blake family.
Katherine and Ellie realize that there are more important things than fighting and butting heads at every little inconvenience, like making sure everyone around them are happy and safe. So, Ellie and Katherine in each other’s bodies do what the other asked of them, Ellie going through with the rehearsal dinner for the wedding and Katherine going the The Hunt with her friends. Katherine was able to find the hourglass during the scavenger hunt (not before there was a really cool dancing scene) and then meet to finally have the wedding.
They have a really sweet moment right before though, where they are able to finally talk about their conflicts and start the mend of their relationship. Now with the hourglass in hand, they are finally able to switch back. . . or at least that’s what they hoped, but it didn’t work!! They both start to panic, Ellie mourning the life she can’t have, and Katherine dreading having to go back through some of the worst years of her life. All the wedding guests are waiting for them though, so they decide to confront all of them to call of the wedding.
Just when they are though, they switch back and Katherine is finally able to get married! They basically all live happily ever after as Ellie starts dating Adam, Katherine gets that spot on the prestigious magazine and the family is able to repair their relationships!
Anway, for those who couldn’t go see the musical, I really encourage you to go see the shows that Wicdd has in store for next year, as they always do phenomenally in them. Also, for anyone interested in joining theater, McKev is always open to new recruits, so go talk to her in F-105. A final thank you to everyone in theater for always putting together such wonderful shows!
Until next time for the 2024 fall play ;)
About the Contributor
Nico Carillo
Nico Carillo, Staff Writer
Nico likes to read, watch anime/shows, listen to music, and paint on their free time. They also like exploring their clothing style, spending time with stray cats, and collecting a heinous number of buttons. They don’t really know what write about for the newspaper, but they’re figuring it out :)