The celebrated musical, Freaky Friday, adapted from a novel by Mary Rodgers, hit Dunlap Stage 323! The musical featured two main leads: a stressed mother (played by Sofia Cordes) and her rebellious teenage daughter (played by Ruby Hall). They lead two drastically different lives and certainly don’t agree on everything, until one day they swap bodies. Having only one day to make things right, they learn lessons in empathy and understanding. The musical is one of heartache, laughter, and overall fun! From scenes of laughter and creative choreography to those of insight and understanding, the musical leads the audience together on a trip. In the past, Stage 323 has featured musicals and plays such as Once Upon a Mattress, The War of The Worlds, The Miracle Worker, Anastasia, and more.
What did the cast members have to say about it?
A Dunlap senior, Faith Korger, noted how Freaky Friday was an amazing opportunity for her and that she had a blast working with others in this production. She played the bold, mean girl Savannah in the musical, whose sassy attitude she found fun to act out on stage. Faith has been involved in Stage 323 for a total of 4 years, in which she was a featured dancer for both Anastasia and Cinderella. She also notably played Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker and so much more. Faith will be heading to the University of Iowa for nursing, but she remarks that she will miss the amazing people from Stage 323 and the memories she made along the way.
Another Dunlap senior who has made a great impact on Stage 323 is Ruby Hall, who played the rebellious and snarky teenager, Ellie Baker, in Freaky Friday. She found her character to be fun but challenging, as she had to play both the teenager and the mother, seeing how they switch bodies in the musical. She has been doing theater for 10 years now and has been with Stage 323 for 2 of those years. When asked what makes Stage 323 special, she believes it’s the fact that “Everyone comes from very different backgrounds. Some people have never sung or danced in their lives, but we all come here and get to just do what we love. It’s really special.” She plans on majoring in English education and double-majoring in Spanish and music performance.
Sharing his talent between playing both Louis – The Wedding Magazine Photographer and Senior O’Brien – The Spanish Teacher, John Dominic Whitmore loved his time in Freaky Friday. He notes how he has been involved in theatre since he was 7 years old, as he grew an appreciation for theatre from his close family and friends. J.D. first got started with Stage 323 in their production of A Murder is Announced, notably being one of the only freshmen to get cast. When asked about his favorite memory of Stage 323, he is reminded of his freshman year musical involvement, as he felt, “It was completely different from the fall play. More people were involved, we were dancing, and singing. It was overall one of the best times in my high school life!”
(All interviewed cast members want to give a special thanks to the entire cast, stage crew, lights crew, sound crew, costumes, choreographers, director Willis Barber, Nicole, Maggie, Sofia, and the entire audience for supporting their productions!)
Want to get involved?
Check out Stage 323 on Instagram and look out for auditions in the announcements!
Eagle's Eye Newspaper 