By JESSICA NEU
When our kids are young, parents often make a silent decree to their child and themselves that they will remember what it felt like to be a child and not to repeat their own parents’ mistakes. Fast forward a decade or so, when present-day life has consumed most wistful thinking. Pretty soon, your child is a nearly grown teenager, and you are still trying to navigate parenting in the digital era (cue “Slipping Through My Fingers” from Mamma Mia).
But what would happen if a parent and child could temporarily switch places to gain a different perspective and appreciation for their own lives and those around them? Based on the novel by Mary Rodgers, Freaky Friday follows a mother and daughter who argue over an oversized hourglass. After a brief struggle, the hourglass breaks, unlocking the magic within and causing mother and daughter to switch places. Following the 1976 and 2003 film adaptations of Freaky Friday, the 2018 musical features music and lyrics by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey of Next to Normal fame, while the book is by Bridget Carpenter, a writer for TV’s Parenthood and Friday Night Lights as well as a playwright. Riverfront Theater Company brings the 2018 musical adaptation to Pittsburgh for a regional premiere. The second show in their “Sapphire” anniversary season, Freaky Friday, is Riverfront’s annual summer youth musical.
Director Caitlin Dobronz leads a cast of young performers who are talented beyond their years. Overworked perfectionist Katherine Blake (Juliet Forrest) runs a catering service while also planning her upcoming wedding. At the same time, her daughter Ellie Blake (Piper Redford) is a typical angsty teenager who just wants her mother to get off her back. Their initial banter and arguing are pretty typical for a mother-daughter pair. Ellie also has plenty of attitude for her younger brother Fletcher (Greyson Peters) and soon-to-be stepfather Mike (Eowyn McCutchen). The opening number, “Just One Day,” sets a catchy and up-tempo tone for the show as we get to know each primary character.
Ellie desperately wants to go on “the hunt” – an annual scavenger hunt where the teenagers all go out and try to find random objects throughout the town. The hunt is led by clue master, Adam (Sawyer Peters), who also happens to beEllie’s crush. Katherine quickly dismisses Ellie’s plea and is instead focused on styling her hair out of her face, wearing different clothes, being more appreciative, and so on. As the two continue to argue, the hourglass incident ensues, leaving them inside each other’s bodies.
Mortified, the two must embark on a busy day, leaving Katherine to go to school as Ellie hosts a photo shoot for a prominent Wedding Magazine that is featuring her catering company and upcoming nuptials. The only thing that the mother-daughter pair can agree on is that they need to find the second hourglass. The hourglass was a gift from Ellie’s father, who passed away several years ago, leaving Katherine a widow. He gifted an identical hourglass to Katherine as well, but she sold it to a pawn shop when money was tight.
Katherine and Ellie embark on a day full of anger, frustration, and confusion. Forrest and Redford are perfectly yoked as actors and vocalists. As Katherine, Forrest is driven, but distracted, and Redford is perfectly moody, anxious, and uncertain as Ellie. However, the brilliance of Freaky Friday comes as Redford and Forrest begin to live a day in each other’s shoes. Forrest seamlessly keeps part of her Katherine persona while trying to live as Ellie. Conversely, Redford flawlessly teeters a line of sassy teen while trying to live life as her over-achieving, micro-managing mother.
Numbers in the first act, including “I Got This” and “Oh, Biology,” are comedic standouts that take us on a journey through navigating the psyche of living in someone else’s body. As both Katherine and Ellie begin to discover that they are each unique, tenacious women, they begin to recognize past mistakes, confront their grief, and grow as individuals.
Redford and Forrest shine in “Busted,” which pokes fun at the secrets that we keep, but also highlights the important point that nobody is fully transparent. As Katherine, Redford painstakingly delivers a moment lamenting that she is partially glad that this opportunity has allowed her to discover some of Ellie’s secrets. Still, some of those secrets should have stayed her own – an undoubtably relatable moment for any parent in the room, and a mark of Redford’s depth and maturity as a performer.
Forrest has her cathartic moment during the emotionally powerful “Parents Lie.” As Ellie is trapped in her mother’s body, Forrest is driving with Fletcher and breaks his innocence as she describes how all parents will eventually let you down. Forrest soars with vocal confidence, but also pierces my own mamma heart with the veracity of her performance. “Parents Lie” says the quiet part out loud. No parent wants this song to be true, but it is.
Forrest and Redford took turns commanding attention at precise moments, never outshining the other, but rather complementing each other’s talents just as any good mother-daughter duo can bring out the best in one another. Greyson and Sawyer Peters also shone as Fletcher and Adam, respectively. Greysons’ Fletcher is a delightfully innocent ten-year-old who proudly believes that he can take his puppet act to Hollywood. His puppeteer voices are dynamic and hysterical, bringing a whimsical charm to the show. As Adam, Sawyer Peters is a perfectly awkward teen in his Green Day t-shirt. We would have been great friends in High School. Sawyer’s comedic timing adds to his likability (“sandwich lady”), and he has the opportunity to highlight his impressive vocal range in “Women and Sandwiches” and “Go.”
The primary characters are supported by a triumphant ensemble of young actors ranging in age from 10 to 18. Together, they allow musical numbers to swell with joy and provide depth to the emotional rollercoaster of a very “freaky” day. As the ensemble embarks on the “hunt,” they unite in a way that unites all of the subplots and themes throughout the show and brings the day to a tidy yet not micro-managed solution. The cast unites for a fun-filled musical where each song instills an important life lesson. Whether it’s the gravity that parents lie or the cheeky truth surrounding the horrors of gym class, Riverfront’s Freaky Friday hits all the right notes and strikes a perfect chord with parents and children alike. With a little perspective, pause, reflection, and acceptance, we can all be a better version of ourselves.
And with that, I will sign off and check on my children, being cognizant not to micromanage their water intake or criticize their messy hair. Maybe I will even try not to lose my mind when they get cereal all over the kitchen floor. I’m sure I would not handle being a nine-year-old girl or an eight-year-old boy with the poise and fortitude that Redford and Forrest brought to the stage.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Riverfront Theatre Company’s production of Disney’s Freaky Friday at Allegheny RiverTrail Park has performances on August 1, 2025 at 7:30pm and August 2nd at 2 and 7:30pm Tickets at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/riverfront-theater-company/rtc-young-artists-present-freaky-friday
Categories: Arts and Ideas
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