Bridget Carpenter News

Portland Stage is proud to announce that New England's most prestigious playwriting contest, the Clauder Competition, is moving to a Biennial schedule. Submissions are open now, and will be accepted through March 31, 2020. For submission restrictions and guidelines, see below. The winning play will be announced in March 2021. The Clauder Grand Prize Winner will receive a cash award of $3,000, as well as a full production at Portland Stage with a professional director, designers, and actors.

In the musical "Freaky Friday" the plot's main twist, a mother and a daughter magically switching bodies, is a nightmare for the characters, but a dream come true for the actors! Imagine -- establishing one character then getting to switch with a fellow actor and playing a totally different character.

The Orlando Repertory Theatre (Orlando REP), in partnership with UCF, is proud to announce the 2019 - 2020 Season. Orlando REP is Florida's only professional theatre for families and young audiences. The 2019 - 2020 Season shines the light on the family unit and celebrates that wondrous connection, with all the complications and beauty that come along with it.

Star of the Day Event Productions is honored to bring the Lehigh Valley Community Theatre premiere of Disney's Freaky Friday A New Musical. Performances are at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, June 21 & 22, with a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Sunday, June 23rd.

Freaky Friday is a heartfelt, comedic, and unexpectedly emotional update on an American classic, based on the beloved 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, that was developed by Disney Theatrical Productions expressly for licensing to theatres.   Freaky Friday is currently playing until May 18th at Circle Theatre in Grand Rapids. It features a book by Bridget Carpenter, the co-executive producer and writer of the beloved television 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.  Circle Theatre's cast of performers, combined with an awesome orchestra will have you humming the songs for days after, since they are that catchy.  You will also be laughing at the many comical moments in the show!

ACT (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut is thrilled to announce its upcoming 2019-2020 Season. Featuring a mix of theatre favorites and new and innovative productions, there's something for everyone to enjoy. 

Studio C Performing Arts will present Disney's hit musical FREAKY FRIDAY for a special seven performance limited engagement at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza-Scherr Forum, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., in Thousand Oaks from May 2-19, 2019. Performances are at 7 pm Thursday, 8 pm Friday, and 2 pm on Sunday. Tickets for the family-friendly musical FREAKY FRIDAY are $32-$42 and can be ordered by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at http://www.civicartsplaza.com/shows. Special group rates are available.

Studio C Performing Arts will present Disney's hit musical FREAKY FRIDAY for a special seven performance limited engagement at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza-Scherr Forum, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., in Thousand Oaks from May 2-19, 2019. Performances are at 7 pm Thursday, 8 pm Friday, and 2 pm on Sunday. Tickets for the family-friendly musical FREAKY FRIDAY are $32-$42 and can be ordered by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at http://www.civicartsplaza.com/shows. Special group rates are available.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, announce that their third show of its 2018-2019 season, the world premiere of FRIENDS WITH GUNS, written by Stephanie Alison Walker and directed by Randee Trabitz is EXTENDING through SATURDAY, MAY 11 at the Road Theatre on Magnolia, located in The NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood.

Spanaway Lake High School presents the classic comedy about switching places, Freaky Friday, in a brand new musical form fresh from The Disney Channel. This production is directed by Evan James Hildebrand, with musical direction by Rico Lastrapes, and choreography by Sarah Canton.

Pasadena Playhouse, State Theatre of California, continues their exciting partnerships with Caltech Theatre and the USC School of Dramatic Arts this Spring, with MACH 33: The Caltech|Pasadena Playhouse Festival of New Science Driven Plays, presented by Caltech Theater and Pasadena Playhouse May 9 -11 and the New Works Festival Year 3 May 17-18, presented by USC School of Dramatic Arts and hosted by Pasadena Playhouse. These plays are part of Playhouse community programming. Danny Feldman is the Producing Artistic Director of Pasadena Playhouse.

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce its 25th Anniversary season that includes the 2019 - 2020 Mainstage, Porchlight Revisits and New Faces Sing Broadway productions.. Porchlight's Mainstage and Porchlight Revisits return to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.  

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, present the third show of its 2018-2019 season, the world premiere of FRIENDS WITH GUNS, written by Stephanie Alison Walker and directed by Randee Trabitz. FRIENDS WITH GUNS will preview on Tuesday, March 12 at 8pm; Wednesday, March 13 at 8pm & Thursday, March 14 and will open on Friday, March 15 at 8pm and run through Sunday, May 5 at the Road Theatre on Magnolia, located in The NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood.

Lakeland's 2018-19 season concludes with the first locally produced production of the musical version of Mary Rodgers' classic Young Adult novel Freaky Today. Freaky Today, which opens on February 1, 2019 and runs for three weeks at Lakeland Community College's Rodehorst Performing Arts Center, is directed by Martin Friedman and under the Musical Direction of Matthew Dolan.

Lakeland's 2018-19 season concludes with the first locally produced production of the musical version of Mary Rodgers' classic Young Adult novel Freaky Friday. Freaky Friday, which opens on February 1, 2019 and runs for three weeks at Lakeland Community College's Rodehorst Performing Arts Center, is directed by Martin Friedman and under the Musical Direction of Matthew Dolan.

The world premiere of the Disney Channel Original Movie “Freaky Friday” on Friday, August 10 (8:00-9:45 p.m. EDT/PDT) reached 7.2 million Total Viewers – including 3.1 million Kids 6-14 – across seven telecasts in its first three days. The Friday (8:00 p.m.) telecast alone ranks as the summer's #1 TV telecast among both Kids 6-11 (999,000/4.2 rating) and Tweens 9-14 (782,000/3.2 rating) and is the top cable telecast in six months among both Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14 – since 2/16/18 and 2/19/18, respectively.  Disney Channel's “Freaky Friday” is available now on DisneyNOW and VOD. 

The theatre district got a whole lot freakier when stars of the upcoming Disney Channel movie Freak Friday, Cozi Zuehlsdorff and Heidi Blickenstaff, came to town! The pair visited iconic NYC sights, including Sardi's Restaurant, while promoting the film. Check out photos below!

Mothers, grab your daughters and run to see this production of Freaky Friday before it closes. I never expected such a well-crafted, intimate piece of theater from the people at Disney, but I am so glad I had the opportunity to see this gem.

No matter how large the cast, some shows really rest on the shoulders of just one or maybe two characters and the actors in those roles. They are called upon to carry the show and make it a success, or not, regardless of everything else happening around them. In Lyric Theatre's current production of Freaky Friday, two powerhouse performances are well worth the price of admission, even if the rest of the production is highly uneven and often just average.

Freaky Friday: The Musical, based on the new Disney Channel original movie, will be available for licensing on August 10th. This is the same day that the musical makes its worldwide television premiere. Licensing for Freaky Friday: The Musical, will be available through Music Theatre International.