CROSSBILL
Special 2022 Digital Version
Synopsis
The new musical, Freaky Friday, based on the beloved 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films (and developed by Disney Theatrical Productions expressly for licensing to theatres), features a book by Bridget Carpenter - the co-executive producer and writer on the beloved TV hits, "Friday Night Lights" and "Parenthood" - and music and lyrics by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey - the Pulitzer Prize-winning composers of Next to Normal and If/Then.
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When an overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right again. Freaky Friday, a new musical based on the celebrated novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, is a heartfelt, comedic, and unexpectedly emotional update on an American classic. By spending a day in each other's shoes, Katherine and Ellie come to appreciate one another's struggles, learn self-acceptance, and realize the immeasurable love and mutual respect that bond a mother and daughter.
Cast of Characters
THE FAMILY:
ELLIE BLAKE .........Nina Laverty(A) / Shelagh Laverty (B)
KATHERINE BLAKE.........Katherine Van Tassel (A) / Millie Carlson (B)
FLETCHER BLAKE...........Zara Baden-Eversman
MIKE........... Jahlil Coleman
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THE STUDENTS:
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ADAM...........Noah Brown
KARL ..........Mari Caldwell
MONICA..........Erin Palmer
SAVANNAH..........Javieliz Matos
KITTY..........Jada Parker
THE ADULTS:
TORREY...........Rose Bromage
DANIELLE ...........Juliana Garcia
LOU .................Angelique Raudales
MR. BLUMEN ..............Claude Saunders
MRS. LUCKENBILL ...........Yoselin Perez
SENOR O’BRIEN .............Claude Saunders
MS. MEYERS ...............Shelagh Laverty (A) / Nina Laverty (B)
OFFICER KOWALSKI..................Claude Saunders
MRS. TIME ................Kayla Mc Collough
DR. EHRIN............Dr. Akella (A) / Mr. Lourierro (B)
MINISTER.............Claude Saunders
THE ENSEMBLE:
CATER WAITERS.......Sofia Almieda, Yoselin Perez, Juliana Garcia, Javieliz Matos, Angelique Raudales
WEDDING GUESTS..........Full Cast
Musical Numbers
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ACT I
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Prologue
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Just One Day
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The Hourglass
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I Got This
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Wedding Tango
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Oh, Biology
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I Got This - Reprise
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Watch Your Back
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Parents Lie
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Just One Day (Reprise 1)
ACT II
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I'm Not Myself Today
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Women and Sandwiches
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Go
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Tug of War
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The Other Hourglass
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Today and Ev'ry Day
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Just One Day (Reprise 2)
Notse From the Directors
We are so happy to bring you WCHS Lights Up Drama Club’s first live production since SISTER ACT in March 2019! This has not been an easy road, but we are thrilled to be back!
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Freaky Friday may at first, seem like a strange choice for a musical adaptation. I myself was not convinced when we began discussing possible choices. When I realized however, that the universal theme of the show is “family”, in all it’s messy forms, it actually makes total sense. Freaky Friday follows stories of friendship, parent/child relationships, loss, grief and ultimately acceptance. I believe we can all relate to one or all of those things.
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I have thoroughly enjoyed working with this tremendous cast and creative team! All my love and admiration goes to Sal, Jen and Matt. It has been messy at times, but through those experiences we have also built our own “family”.
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I hope you all enjoy Freaky Friday The Musical!
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Heather Bazinet / Co-Director
Choosing a musical to cast, produce and direct sounds like it would be so much fun … right? With so many amazing choices and what seems like an endless amount of genres and themes available, you would think that making the “right” choice would be something natural, organic.
“It’ll just hit you, and when you hear the right choice, you’ll know.”
This was the romantic notion floating around in my sometimes boyish, and usually overly-optimistic mind just before meeting with my Lights Up creative #dreamteam during the summer months of 2021. After all, we’d tackled this challenge a handful of times before. We’d already taken an edgy, off-broadway trip down memory lane in 2018 with “Is There Life After High School?”, and felt the FABULOUS funk of disco nuns with 2019’s *award-winning performances and acclaimed* production of “Sister Act”, before biting off an enormous slice of musical theater history – and still earning acclaim** – with 2020’s “How to Succeed in Business…without really trying” (which was shut down by the pandemic one day before opening night). We even made our own showcase/cabaret film in 2021, titled “A Light in the Dark,” which helped bring some much needed shine to our shut-in student actors.
It was no surprise then, that I assumed that our next venture into the catalog of Broadway Beauties would be a walk in the park.
I was mistaken. Either that, or this park was an extremely easy place to get lost in.
The ideas brought forth in our team meeting were diverse and wonderful, surprising, yet familiar, and after the minutes had morphed into hours, I found myself looking around the room, at the once-eager, now exhausted expressions of my talented team, realizing ... that we had absolutely no idea what show to choose.
Maybe we should meet again? Think about this a bit more?
And then, it hit us. We realized that what we were looking for was right there in front of us. In our everyday lives. In our relationships with our children, families, significant others. It was right there in the love, and frustration, and freakish nature of living life in a post-2020 America.
And the rest, as they say...well, you probably know where I’m going with this.
As I drove home from that meeting, I remember the simultaneous feelings of fear and excitement that come with the start of each drama season. I imagined what the reaction of our students would be when they heard the announcement of the show. And as I glanced in the rear view, I pictured the colors and magic of the world they could create on stage, bright lights washing over them like a warm blanket of accomplishment. I saw students finding their place in the world through the words of the characters. I saw the bonds of life-long friendships about to begin. I saw actors once again ON STAGE, performing for a LIVE AUDIENCE. I saw our show, or at least a version of it, one that fuels this fire burning in my soul.
I saw...MAGIC.
What I didn't see, not yet at least, was the opportunity to let our departing seniors shine brighter than ever before, through our choice to double cast the lead roles of Ellie and Katherine Blake. I didn't see the parallels from my own life that would play out on stage, the actors somehow channeling my wife and teenage daughter – despite the fact that they’d never been directed to do so. I couldn't possibly see, or even guess, the affinity I’d develop for this seemingly simple, yet elegantly entertaining tale of what it means to wish for more time, to love a child, to appreciate a parent, to lose a father, or to gain a new hope, even after all had seemed to be lost. “Freaky Friday: The Musical” has all of those things, and so much more.
And I am so grateful that we can now share this with the world.
I’d like to share my love, gratitude, and respect with Heather, Matt and Jennifer – my team. Without all of you, this world we envisioned could never exist.
I’d like to thank New Haven Public Schools, Ellen Maust, Edith Johnson and the Wilbur Cross leadership team for their support and guidance.
I’d like to acknowledge my family – Adrienne, my wife, and Sienna and Scarlett, my girls. You three are the best part of me.
I’d like to thank my student actors and crew members – you all inspire me every day. You teach me so much more than I could ever teach you. Trust your process, and I promise, you will all SHINE brighter than you could ever believe.
Finally, I thank you, the audience, for sharing this time in your life with us.
*2019’s “Sister Act” was nominated for 7 HALO Awards, including Best Musical, and winner of Best Actress in a Musical (Brianna Chance 2019) and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical (Melissa Cisija 2019).
** 2020’s “H2$” was nominated for 5 HALO Awards, winning two: Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Manny Gonzales, ‘20), and Best Actor in a Musical (Brandon Oliveras, ‘20).
-- Salvatore DeLucia (Co-Director / Head of Dramatic Arts WCHS)
Meet the Cast of "Freaky Friday: The Musical"!
Meet The Lights Up Team
Salvatore DeLucia
Dramatic Arts educator & Co-Director of Spring Productions.
Heather Bazinet
Co-Director & Co-Producer of Spring Productions.
Matt Durland
Music Direction for all Lights Up Drama Club performances.
Jennifer Kaye
Choreographer/lighting director of Spring Productions.
Production / Creative Team
Producer/ Co-Director......................................................................Salvatore De Lucia
Producer/ Co-Director......................................................................Heather Bazinet
Musical Director....................................................................................Matt Durland
Choreographer......................................................................................Jennifer Kaye
Scenic/Art Direction............................Kaylee Zawadowski ('23) & Mr. De Lucia
Costume Design and Mantience.............................................Heather Bazinet
Costume/prop technician............................................................Lily Bazinet
Sound Director / Technician.........................................................Rich Ives
Lighting Direction & Design/Technician..............................Jennifer Kaye
Lighting Technician...........................................................................Marty Garcia
Set Construction..........................................Mr. DeLucia's Technical Theatre class
Tickets/Marketing...............................................................................Salvatore De Lucia
Videography.............................................................................Salvatore DeLucia / Jaime Bazinet
Stage Managers...............Kayee Zawadowski ('23) & Bryan Calderon Bendergas ('23)
Special Thanks to: Principal Edith Johnson & the Wilbur Cross Leadership Team, Ellen Maust, The WIlbur Cross Art and Music Departments, Adrienne De Lucia, Debbie Bartone, and many more who help make the Lights Up Drama Club work.
"Freaky Friday: The Musical" is presented through special arrangement with Music Theater International (MTI).
THE
Lights Up
ORCHESTRA
Keyboard/Conductor: Matt Durland
Reed: Emily Lombardo
Woodwind: Rachel Popolitzio
Cello: Hunter Zandieh
Trumpet: Dave Parsons
Trombone: Mitch Mangan
Guitar: Zach Fontanez
Bass: Josh Jackson
Drums: Jordan Aaron
Our Lights Up Crew
Co-Stage Managers:
Kaylee Zawadowski ('23)
Bryan Calderon Bendegas ('23)
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Running/Backstage Crew:
Andrew Leavitt Cardone ('24)
Johanna Sampetro ('23)
Stephanie Deleon ('24)
Leny Arias ('25)
Ranya I. Tarabar ('25)
Claire Zenisek ('25)
Gyovony Ellis ('23)
Thomas Kirk ('22)
Amaris Kirk ('22)
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Shining the LIGHTS UP on our sponsors!
Break a leg!
Congratulations to the cast and crew of Freaky Friday!
And shout out to Noah - way to go!
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From Dad, Mom, Bella and Eli
You are awesome, Zara! I'm so proud of you!
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Love, Mom
Congrats to Lights Up!
The Fine Arts Department of Wilbur L. Cross High School is proud to support the Lights Up Drama Club and thier 2022 musical performance of "Freaky Friday: The Musical"!
The Wilbur Cross Music Department and Marching Band proudly support the amazingly talented performers in the Lights Up Drama Club! Break Legs in your 2022 musical performance of "Freaky Friday: The Musical"!
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Welcome back to the live stage!
Congratulations to the student actors and crew members of WCHS's Lights Up Drama Club!
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Break a Leg!
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FHCHC
Congratulations, Rose Bromage!
And the entire cast and crew of "Freaky Friday"! So proud of your accomplishments. Love, Grammy
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(203) 745-4843
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631 Middletown Ave
New Haven, CT 06513