Wednesday, January 17, through Saturday, March 24
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Called “a delightfully spunky musical” by Variety magazine and “lively, agile, and full of fun, fun, fun” by DC Theatre Scene, the stage-musical adaptation of Disney's family favorite Freaky Friday runs at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse January 17 through 24, bringing to theatrical life the body-switching slapstick, generational laughs, and warm sentiment beloved from the 1976 film with Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris and the 2003 remake with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Featuring a book by Bridget Carpenter – the co-executive producer and writer on the TV hits Friday Night Lights and Parenthood – and music and lyrics by Next to Normal's Tony- and Pulitzer-Prize-winning team of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Freaky Friday finds an an overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swapping bodies, and having just 24 hours before Mom’s big wedding to put things right again. A hilarious, contemporary update of the classic story in which a mother and daughter see what it means to be a family while experiencing each other’s lives firsthand, if only for a day, the theatrical Freaky Friday offers a warmhearted, humorous, and touching take on a timeless story perfect for family audiences of all ages.
Directing the theatre's first production of 2018 is debuting Circa '21 helmer Erin Thompson, with venue veteran Travis Smith (Elf: The Musical, Ring of Fire, Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas) serving as the show's music director. And Freaky Friday's 16-member cast boasts both new area performers and several faces familiar to Circa '21 patrons, among them Paige Denton (The Music Man), Antoinette Holman (Sister Act), Brad Hauskins (Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver), Deborah Kennedy (Route 66), and Brittany Church (the title character in 2009's Peter Pan).
In addition to its preview performances on January 17 and 18, Freaky Friday will be performed Fridays, Saturdays, and Wednesdays at 7:45 p.m.; Sundays at 5:45 p.m.; and Wednesday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. All shows will be preceded by meals and pre-show entertainment by the theatre's performing wait staff of Circa '21 Bootleggers, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visiting Circa21.com.
