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PORTSMOUTH— Prescott Park Arts Festival, an independent non-profit arts organization, will return to its picturesque waterfront setting in downtown Portsmouth next summer with Disney's Freaky Friday as its signature musical theatre production, presented by Service Credit Union. The new musical adaptation of the classic 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, was announced as the Festival’s highly anticipated 2025 Summer Musical Production during its annual Reveal Event held last night at The 801 in Portsmouth. The Arts Festival will mount the heartfelt, comedic and poignant musical based on the adored movies, premiering on the Wilcox Main Stage on Friday, June 20, and running each week, most Thursdays through Sundays until August 10. Audition submissions will be accepted starting in December through the end of January.
The new musical, Freaky Friday, 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.
When an overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right again.
The Festival is excited to bring this touching story about self-acceptance, and the immeasurable love and mutual respect a mother and daughter can find by coming to appreciate one another's struggles.
“We knew we wanted to bring another fun, high-energy show to the main stage in 2025. Freaky Friday is the perfect pick because it ticks all of the boxes. It’s great for families, has a lot of heart and humor, it’s in the Disney musical family, and shares a powerful message of the empathy we can extend to one another. We don’t often know what others are carrying around on a day-to-day basis, and this musical shows this in a beautiful way through a mother-daughter story. This comedic take on what it means to literally walk in someone else’s shoes serves plenty of laughs too! We are also excited to bring a show that has never graced the mainstage before. Our production of Freaky Friday will focus on love and self-acceptance through empathy and understanding. As always, audiences can look forward to incredibly catchy, well-written music and the energetic dance numbers they’ve grown to expect at the Festival. And, once again as with last year’s production of Legally Blonde, this is a show with so many strong roles for women, elevating women’s voices and stories generationally. We are so proud to be able to showcase the Seacoast’s incredible talent with this production in 2025. We know families will especially love this one, as it focuses on the importance of those sometimes-challenging, but critically important relationships,” shared Courtney Perkins, Executive Director of Prescott Park Arts Festival, “We always look forward to being back in our beautiful home in Prescott Park and after celebrating 50 years with the community in 2024, it will be wonderful to start the next chapter for the Festival with everyone.”
This music-driven production will fill the summer air with the show's new and high-energy tunes, serving everything you’d expect from this body-swap comedy! This production is perfectly timed as Freakier Friday, the Disney film sequel starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, is set to come out on August 8, 2025. Prescott Park Arts Festival remains committed to bringing a diverse and dynamic cast of theatre professionals for what the New York Times called a "delightfully entertaining show" with "catchy tunes" and a "heartwarming story".
The Festival’s production of Disney's Freaky Friday will be directed by Tom Alsip, Director of the Musical Theatre Program for the University of New Hampshire Theatre Department. This will be Alsip’s fourth summer in the park and he will be joined by long-time Festival favorite, choreographer Mary Beth Marino. The Festival will bring back Music Director, Breanne Battey, who worked on Legally Blonde The Musical, in the park last summer.
“While I was aware of the original book and Disney films, I didn't know the stage musical adaptation of Freaky Friday well but came to love it when we were researching options for the summer musical at Prescott Park Arts Festival,” said Director, Tom Alsip, “The reason it jumped out to us as an ideal pick was the show's fantastic music, fun book, and the classic story it tells which will appeal to families, young and old. A great vehicle for strong singer-actors and high-energy dance numbers, this is a family-friendly musical with great songs that people of all ages will enjoy. I can’t wait to get started with it!
Audition submissions will be accepted starting in December. More information and the casting breakdown will be released soon, so please check back to the Arts Festival’s website. www.PrescottPark.org/about/auditions
The Festival is grateful to welcome back Service Credit Union as the title sponsor of the musical this summer, continuing a wonderful partnership.
“We are grateful and proud to welcome Service Credit Union back as title sponsor of the Arts Festival's Signature Summer Musical for the 4th consecutive year,” said Lee Frank, the Arts Festival’s Director of Development,“ Service CU’s financial support is generous, to be sure, and is essential to the Festival's ability to remain accessible to everyone in our community. Equally meaningful, though, is the genuine partnership and team effort that comes along with their sponsorship. We are excited to once again partner with the great team at Service Credit Union, and we can’t wait to get them involved with our production of Freaky Friday."
Service Credit Union’s support of the Arts Festival goes back more than a decade. In past seasons they have served as the Movie Night sponsor, Platinum Road Race sponsors, Popcorn season sponsors, and have also sponsored the Festival’s Community Showcase and Camp ENCORE! programs. In 2020 Service CU stepped up as lead sponsor of the Arts Festival’s virtual winter show. In 2021 they held the Best Seat in the House sponsorship and took over the title sponsorship for the signature main stage musical in 2022.
"The Prescott Park Arts Festival is a wonderful asset to the Seacoast and NH community at large, with a wealth of shows for people of all ages," said Jaime Yates, AVP of Community Development at Service CU. "We are excited to continue our support of their amazing work, and look forward to another incredible season in the park."
In addition to the Signature Musical, Prescott Park Arts Festival offers the River House Restaurant Concert Series, and the Wentworth-Douglass Hospital Movie Night Series. Tables in The Kane Company VIP Seating Area can be reserved for all Festival performances, in addition to limited blanket reservations, in front of the Wilcox Main Stage. The Best Seat in the House, sponsored by Key Auto Group, is a special seating area at the front of the VIP section that is available for reservation as well. Reservations for Disney's Freaky Friday will open in the Spring.
2025 Season Passes are on sale now and available at 2024 prices through December 31. All Season Passholders gain early access to reservations for all of the Arts Festival’s series, including the musical, and additional perks like 10% off all food and drink orders at The Prop, free t-shirt(s), and other great benefits depending on the level of the pass.
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