NSMT Brings A Summer Surprise with Freaky Friday!

Mary Rodgers’ best-selling 1972 children’s book “Freaky Friday” spawned two Disney movies, the most recent a 2003 hit starring Jamie Lee Curtis and a pre-meltdown Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter who mysteriously swap bodies to learn hard-earned life lessons.

Now the story has become the latest Disney stage musical, which opened at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly and it will run now through July 21st, 2019. The NSMT production, has the advantage of having a theatre in the round so it can produce show-stopping performances by theatre pros

A cast of largely teenage actors with impressive vocal chops brings a youthful lightness to a show that hits on some surprisingly heavy themes. Among them loss, grief, blended families, tattoos, smoking and teenage hormones.

While the entire cast and crew is solid, it is Lindsay Joan & Laurie Wells who anchor the production. The two females not only have incredible vocals, they are both exceptional actors who maneuver between prim and proper adults and moody teenage girls with ease, though it seems that when their characters bodies are switched they are both at their best.

The NSMT set design was spot on and this show had a great soundtrack that will keep you upbeat and tapping your toes to the music. Many people would think thtat this show would just be for kids, however it’s a show for the whole family because we have all had experiences in our lives where things go wrong and we wish we could be someone else for the day.

Overall everyone in the audience will enjoy this summer children’s show that the NSMT has created and it will be a show that I think will be the surprise of the season. Don’t underestimate Bill Hanney as he keeps coming up with these amazing productions that keep the crowds happy on the North Shore.

Tickets for Disney's FREAKY FRIDAY are priced starting from $61 - $88. Kids 18 and under save 50%. Performances are July 9 – July 21, Tue - Thurs at 7:30 pm, Fri & Sat at 8 pm, matinees Wed, Sat and Sun at 2 pm. For tickets and information call (978) 232-7200, visit nsmt.org, or visit the box office at 62 Dunham Rd., Beverly, MA.

Additional Free Audience Enrichment events: Meet the Theatre: post-show audience discussion with the artists on July 16 after the 7:30 pm performance and July 20 after the 2 pm performance; OUT at the North Shore, an evening for the LGBTQ+ Community with a post-show reception on July 18 after the 7:30 pm performance. OUT at the North Shore is sponsored by North Shore Pride.