Freaky Friday


Freaky Friday is a comedic children's novel written by Mary Rodgers, first published by Harper & Row in 1972. It has been adapted for the screen, as well as the stage.
The story features one day that 13-year-old Annabel Andrews and her mother spend in each other's bodies. Thus it may be considered a modern retelling of , the 1882 novel by F. Anstey in which the protagonists are a father and son, though in the Mary Rodgers version the lesson is to daughters and mothers.

Plot

A willful, disorganized teenage girl, Annabel Andrews, awakens one Friday morning to find herself in the body of her mother, with whom she had argued the previous night.
Suddenly in charge of taking care of the New York family's affairs and her younger brother Ben, and growing increasingly worried about the disappearance of "Annabel", who appeared to be herself in the morning but has gone missing after leaving the Andrews' home, she enlists the help of her neighbor and childhood friend, Boris, though without telling him about her identity crisis.
As the day wears on and Annabel has a series of increasingly bizarre and frustrating adventures, she becomes gradually more appreciative of how difficult her mother's life is, and learns, to her surprise, that Ben idolizes her, and Boris is actually named Morris, but has a problem with chronic congestion leading him to nasally pronounce ms and ns as bs and ds. The novel races towards its climax and Ben also disappears, apparently having gone off with a pretty girl whom Boris did not recognize, but Ben appeared to trust without hesitation.
In the climax and dénouement, Annabel becomes overwhelmed by the difficulties of her situation, apparent disappearance of her mother, loss of the children, and the question of how her odd situation came about and when/whether it will be resolved. Finally, it is revealed that Annabel's mother herself caused them to switch bodies through some unspecified means, and the mysterious teen beauty who took Ben was Mrs. Andrews in Annabel's body made much more attractive by a makeover Mrs. Andrews gave the body while using it, including the removal of Annabel's braces, an appointment Annabel had forgotten about.

Characters

;Annabel Andrews
;Ben Andrews, a.k.a. Ape Face
;Morris/Boris
;Ellen Jean Benjamin Andrews

Sequels

Mary Rodgers wrote two sequels featuring the Andrews family. In A Billion for Boris, Annabel and her friend Morris/Boris discover a TV set that tunes into future broadcasts and begin betting on horse races. In Summer Switch, Annabel's little brother Ben and their father Bill inadvertently switch bodies as both are leaving for the summer, leaving the boy to negotiate Hollywood and Dad to attend summer camp. Thus Summer Switch, too, may be considered a modern retelling of Vice Versa.
All three Andrews family novels were soon published in Harper Trophy trade paperback editions. In later HarperTrophy editions, the second story has been titled ESP TV and A Billion for Boris: Also known as ESP TV, .
A thematic sequel by Rodgers and Heather Hach was published by The Bowen Press, HarperCollins, in May 2009: Freaky Monday, in which 13-year-old schoolgirl Hadley and a teacher she dislikes "switch bodies".

Film adaptations

Freaky Friday has been adapted four times by The Walt Disney Company into films with similar plots.
Additionally, a television film of the sequel novel Summer Switch, starring Robert Klein and Scott Schwartz, was made in 1984 as part of the ABC Afterschool Special series. A film of the first sequel called Billions for Boris starring Mary Tanner as Annabel, Scott Tiler as Boris, and Seth Green as Ape Face was released in 1984.
A major difference between the novel and the films is the presence of an outside influence switching the often-bickering mother and daughter against both their wills. Because of this, both serve as protagonists, and the films start shortly before the switch, illustrating the conflict between the two, then follow the trouble both have adjusting to their new circumstances, and the new respect and understanding they both come to have for each other before switching back. Mary Rodgers also added a hobby for Annabel to the story, with an important competition, for which her mother lacks the skill, serving to bring the action to a climax. This addition was kept in subsequent versions, although the original hobby of waterskiing changed to other events, and an important simultaneous event for the mother was added to the 2003 film. The latter two also drastically change the character of Morris/Boris. In both films, his name is changed, and he is already Annabel's love interest, rather than being an enemy of hers. Like the 1976 film, both of the updated versions of the characters fall in love with Annabel's mother. Marc McClure, who played Boris in the 1976 film, also has a cameo as a delivery man in the 2003 film.

Stage and television musical

A stage musical has been developed by Disney Theatrical Productions only for licensing, with the music written by Tom Kitt and lyrics written by Brian Yorkey and the book by Bridget Carpenter. The musical began performances at the Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia on October 4, 2016. Directed by Christopher Ashley, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo, the cast features Emma Hunton, Jason Gotay and Heidi Blickenstaff. Ashley explained that the musical is based on the original Rodgers book as well as the films. The musical is set in the present time in Chicago.
The musical began performances at the La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, on January 31, 2017, and ran to March 12. The cast features Emma Hunton and Heidi Blickenstaff. This was followed by runs at Cleveland Play House in April and the Alley Theatre in June 2017.
A Disney Channel film adaptation of the stage musical was announced on September 29, 2017. Blickenstaff reprised her role as the mother, Katherine, while Cozi Zuehlsdorff starred as the daughter, Ellie. Carpenter returned to adapt the musical as a teleplay, while Kitt and Yorkey returned to oversee the music and lyrics. The TV adaptation was produced by Susan Cartsonis and Thomas Schumacher. The film premiered in summer 2018.