Freaky Friday

Saint Thomas Aquinas recently put on the hilarious musical Freak Friday!

Suzanne Loomis, Reporter

Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Theater Department recently put on the musical production Freaky Friday. Each year, the Aquinas students anxiously wait for the opening night of the fall musical. This year it has surpassed everyone’s expectations because of the cast’s outstanding vocals, hilarious acting, and solidarity with one another. This heartfelt and upbeat musical had the audience packed each night.

The musical follows teenager Ellie Blake and her mother Katherine, through the freakiest day of their whole lives. The mother and daughter duo don’t get along very well and can’t seem to understand each other. The day before Katherine’s wedding, Ellie and her got into a huge fight, when something magical happens and they swap bodies with one another! They have to spend a day in each other’s shoes, trying to understand each other and the struggles they face, forcing their mother-daughter relationship in this energetic and hilarious musical comedy. 

In Saint Thomas Aquinas’s rendition of Freaky Friday, the entire cast worked perfectly together. Their dancing and singing were incredible and the whole production flowed wonderfully. The audience could see how fun the cast was having up on stage.

Michele Gress

Julia and Janiel Balino gave a wonderful performance of their portrayal of Ellie and Katherine Blake. The twins were perfect for the job and often had the audience’s jaws dropped due to their breathtaking vocals. Julia’s character, Katherine, was an uptight and decisive mother that controlled her daughter, Janiel’s character, Ellie, was funny, messy and wanted total freedom. The Balino’s perfectly embodied each character and made the whole performance hysterical and enjoyable.

Michael Stapleton had everyone cracking up with his incredible performance as Fletcher. Fletcher was Ellie’s ten-year-old brother and to Ellie, he was annoying and always in the way with his puppet. Fletcher was loud and eccentric and by the end of the musical everyone was smitten with him and his puppet.

Michele Gress

Adam, played by Cooper Hall, was the classic teenage heartthrob. Every time he would appear on stage the cast would sing his name in a dreamy way that always made the audience laugh. Although others tried to win him over, he had his eye on Ellie since the beginning. They grew their relationship throughout the musical, and by the end, they finally admitted their feelings and the whole audience was rooting for them.

Nathan Hummel performed as Mike Riley, Katherine Blake’s soon-to-be husband. His day gets flipped around when his fiancé starts acting strange, he feels uncertain about the upcoming wedding. Nathan’s acting was incredible and showed true emotion that had the audience hooked. 

Freaky Friday was one of the best musicals at Saint Thomas Aquinas and will be hard to beat for years to come.