Ottawa's Merivale High School has proven once again that the city's student theatre scene is something worth paying attention to — their recent production of Freaky Friday delivered a heartfelt, polished performance that left the audience genuinely moved.
The show, directed by Natalie Simard, follows mother and daughter Katherine and Ellie Blake as they swap bodies and are forced to walk a mile in each other's shoes. It's a story about empathy, generational gaps, and the messy love between parents and their kids — themes that clearly resonated in the auditorium.
A Cast That Delivers
According to Dwijaa Vyas, a critic from Maplewood Secondary School writing for the Cappies program, the Merivale cast and crew captivated the audience with moving, skillful acting enriched throughout the production. The performances were described as genuinely affecting — no small feat for a high school musical tackling both comedy and emotional depth.
The body-swap premise of Freaky Friday demands comedic timing, physical commitment, and real chemistry between the leads. When it works, it's a joy to watch. By all accounts, Merivale's production made it work.
What Is Cappies?
For the uninitiated: the Cappies (Critics and Awards Program) is a prestigious high school theatre recognition program that trains student journalists to review their peers' productions. Ottawa has a robust Cappies chapter, and each season dozens of local high schools participate — both as performers and as critics. The program has become a beloved institution in the Ottawa school community, celebrating everything from technical design to lead performances.
Having your show reviewed under Cappies is a mark of quality — the student critics are trained to look at the full production, from acting and direction to costumes, lighting, and sound design.
Ottawa's Student Theatre Scene
This production is part of a broader spring season of Ottawa high school theatre that sees students across the city bring ambitious productions to local stages. Freaky Friday — based on the classic Disney film and adapted into a musical with a score by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey — is a demanding show, and Merivale's decision to tackle it speaks to the confidence of their drama program.
Director Natalie Simard guided the cast through a production that balanced the show's comedic highs with its quieter emotional beats, earning recognition from critics trained specifically to spot that kind of craft.
Why It Matters
High school theatre is where a lot of Ottawa's arts community gets its start. Many of the performers, directors, and designers working in the city today got their first stage experience in exactly these kinds of productions. Celebrating and documenting them — as the Cappies program does — helps build a culture of arts appreciation and participation that benefits the whole city.
If you're looking for something genuinely delightful to support this spring, Ottawa's high school theatre season is full of it.
Source: Ottawa Citizen / Cappies. Review by Dwijaa Vyas, Maplewood Secondary School.
