Switched at Verse: Freaky Friday the Musical

My personal favorite time of year has finally arrived, spring time! Hopefully you all have been enjoying the nice weather, taking walks, or maybe you stopped by the MHS auditorium to watch this year’s spring musical.

This year, the MHS Drama Department put on a great production of the broadway musical, Freaky Friday. Based on the book by Bridget Carpenter with music by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Freaky Friday tells the story of a bickering mother and daughter who switch bodies because of a magical hourglass. 

Lexi Taylor and Luna Haskins took center stage in this year’s musical, with Lexi stepping into the role of Ellie Blake, the daughter, and Luna shining as Kathrine Blake, the mother. 

“Ellie is a girl in high school who is true to herself. She is sloppy, sulks around, and skips class often. She is usually mistaken as a troubled, rude teenager because of this, when in reality, she is processing her father’s death and struggling through emotions that keep getting in the way of her happiness and healthy relationship with her family,” said Lexi, Senior.

“Katherine is a very uptight mother who loves to have things a certain way. She has a very type-A personality. However, her daughter is the complete opposite. She is very messy and lazy and doesn’t have a real concept of responsibility. So when the two switch bodies there is a very obvious contrast,” said Luna, Junior.

Since the two leads switch bodies, Lexi and Luna had to learn how to play both characters. Naturally, this character switch started as a bit of a challenge for them. 

“It was very difficult at first, but once I got the hang of it, the whole process became fairly easy,” said Luna. 

Lexi added that it helped to have different tones and movements for each character. 

“I often focused on the tone of the two characters and my body language. For example, when I sit while I’m Katherine I

would cross my legs and sit like a mom, and when I was Ellie I was a lot more jumpy and whiny,” said Lexi. 

After mastering the switch, Lexi and Luna developed a special connection to a particular song in the show, which became their favorite to perform. 

“My favorite song to perform was ‘Somebody Has Got to Take the Blame’ because it was such a simple little song and it was so funny which made it easy to act during the song,” said Lexi. 

“My favorite song from the show was ‘Busted’. It was one of the best songs of the entire performance. Everyone did a very good job with it and it was very humorous,” said Luna. 

Actors often relate to their character, which can add such depth to their performance because they bring a piece of themselves to the stage. 

“I related to this character because the family dynamic is similar to what I have experienced before, as well as the struggling in school and anger towards ‘dads’. I also felt a lot of personal connections to Kathrine as well,” said Lexi. 

“I related a lot to Katherine when she switched personalities with Ellie. I can also be very lazy and irresponsible at times. However, Katherine as herself reminded me a lot of my mom,” said Luna.

As the curtain closes on each show, the characters are left with unforgettable experiences that truly make the musical extraordinary. 

“My most memorable experience was making jokes with my castmates backstage right before I had to go on stage to perform,” said Luna. 

With Lexi being a Senior and this being their last production at MHS, the most memorable part was more emotional than previous shows they have been a part of. 

“My most memorable experience from Freaky Friday was our last show and how emotional the whole cast was afterwards. You can tell this show meant a lot to a great deal of us because of how emotional we were when it was done and it wasn’t like any other year. I’ll never forget my last bow, it means more than words can explain,” said Lexi. 

These two very dedicated actors put on a fantastic show in this adaption of Freaky Friday. Even though this school year is coming to an end, stay tuned to see the productions the MHS Drama Department puts on next school year!