Northwest School of the Arts, 1415 Beatties Ford Road, is presenting its spring musical, “Freaky Friday–A New Musical,” on Friday, April 5th, 2019, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, April 6th, 2019, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Tickets range from $12 to $15 for adults, and are $5 to $10 for students.
Based on the celebrated novel by Mary Rodgers which spawned two hit Disney films, Freaky Friday tells the story of a mother and daughter who magically swap bodies for 24 chaotic hours. The contemporary update of this American classic includes a hilarious new book by Bridget Carpenter (Parenthood, Friday Night Lights), and a pop-rock score by Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize winners Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal, If/Then). Directed by Tony Award® winning educator Corey Mitchell, music direction by Matthew Hinson, and choreography by Emily Hunter. Freaky Friday has been hailed as “a polished, peppy, modern fairy tale” by The Washington Post and since becoming available for licensing, it has been steadily rising in popularity among regional, community and high school theatres.
Director Corey Mitchell states: “It is tremendously exciting to premiere a work that hasn’t been performed in this area before. The themes of parental expectations, independence, love, loss, moving on, and empowerment in this musical are timely and universal for both parents and teens. We are all looking forward to sharing this new spin on an old story written by one of Broadway’s most prolific contemporary writing teams.”
Please note that Freaky Friday contains some teen themes.
Northwest School of the Arts is recognized internationally and is the only public arts magnet school serving Mecklenburg County students in grades 6 through 12.
Northwest School of the Arts’ musicals often achieve a performance level unexpected from high schools. Director Corey Mitchell won the first Tony Aware for Excellence in Theatre Education in 2015, and Northwest’s production of The Color Purple was showcased in the documentary Purple Dreams.
Read on to learn about the “Purple Dreams” documentary, as well as some of Northwest School of the Arts’ notable graduates, who lucky local audiences were able to see in Northwest’s musicals when they were students:
Eva Noblezada:
On July 1, 2013, Noblezada became one of five finalists for the 2013 National High School Musical Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards Her performance of the song “With You” from Ghost during the awards ceremony at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City was noted by casting director Tara Rubin, who arranged an audition for Noblezada, then 17, before producer Cameron Mackintosh for the forthcoming West End revival of Miss Saigon. Noblezada was cast in the lead role of Kim.
In the spring of 2014, Noblezada left the Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte to star in Miss Saigon in London. For her performance as Kim, Noblezada won the 2015 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actress in a Musical.She performed “I’d Give My Life for You” at the 2015 Laurence Olivier Awards ceremony.
Following the limited run of Miss Saigon in London, Noblezada assumed the role of Éponine in the West End production of Les Misérables in April 2016.
On May 2, 2016, Noblezada made her Carnegie Hall debut, celebrating Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, performing “The Movie in My Mind” with Lea Salonga and the New York Pops.
Noblezada reprised her performance as Kim in the first Broadway revival of Miss Saigon, which opened at the Broadway Theatre on March 23, 2017 for a limited run through January 14, 2018. For her performance, Noblezada was nominated for the 2017 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
In November 2018 Noblezada opened in the lead role of Eurydice in the Royal National Theatre’s production of the musical, Hadestown. She continued in the role of Eurydice when the production transferred to Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre in April 2019.
Phillip Johnson-Richardson
Now in the Chicago cast of “Hamilton,” Johnson-Richardson graduated from Charlotte’s Northwest School of the Arts and was in the school’s 2012 production of “The Color Purple,” which became key to the inspirational “Purple Dreams” documentary.
Abby Corrigan
Helen Heyes Award
Best Actor in a Visiting Production, FUN HOME
Washington D.C. 2018
5th Avenue Theater 2016-17 Subscriber Choice Award
Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Seattle WA 2017
Documentary Film: Purple Dreams
Northwest School of the Arts, a public magnet school in Charlotte, N.C., is chosen to be the first high school permitted to perform The Color Purple—the Broadway musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. Under the leadership of theater arts teacher and director Corey Mitchell, students and faculty members are called on to work hard to bring the production to life, doing justice to the adult themes of the material but also dealing with issues in their own lives that mirror what they portray onstage. From auditions to opening night and beyond, the filmmakers follow these students and their teachers as they pursue their dreams. Watching these amazing students grapple with presenting the story of Celie, Mister, and Shug, we are inspired by the journeys of Mekhai, Britany, Keston, Phillip, Danielle, and Javontre—who not only find fulfillment in acting, singing, and dancing but also create paths forward in their lives after high school.
Charlotte on the Cheap is a member of 
