About Freaky Friday

FREAKY FRIDAY – ABOUT THE PLAY

Welcome to Freaky Friday, a new musical twist on an American classic — a smart modern fairy tale about parenting and growing up in today’s world. A mother and teen daughter are at odds until they magically swapped bodies and are forced to see life from the other side of their generation gap.  

Brimming with honesty, heart, and humor, this is a musical for all ages about families and healing and how to move on boldly and without fear after life throws us a difficult curve. The title is whimsical, and of course, the play is funny, but it is also poignant and inspirational, reminding us to take the risk to live and love fully even though we can never know where that path will lead.

Freaky Friday began as a novel by Mary Rodgers and was adapted into two movies (starring Jodie Foster and Hayley Mills in the 70’s, and Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsey Lohan in the 90’s). Its story of the healing of a family was ripe for the next generation, so Disney commissioned this new version by an A-list team. The Pulitzer Prize-winning composers of Next to Normal and If/ Then created the high energy pop rock score. The writer and Co-Executive Producer of the hit TV series Parenthood and Friday Night Lights tapped her expertise in storytelling about American families to cook up this fresh take. It premiered in 2016 at regional theatres around the country and will be a television movie later this summer.

At Horizon, we have been fortunate to have an audience grow and change with us for over 30 years. That is a gift.  Now we are looking to build the next generation of audiences for Horizon by producing at least one play each season that multiple generations can enjoy together. So, bring your teens, tweens, aunts, uncles, friends, co-workers, and grandparents. Our lives are made richer by sharing theatrical stories together. We see our lives and our communities reflected onstage, and we learn to understand the perspectives of others who are different from ourselves. So, next time you come, reach out to someone different from you and bring them along for the ride. We welcome all of you to our intimate home for today’s stories that connect and inspire us.

“Go where you never thought you would go.“