JHS Drama Club Presents “Freaky Friday” Feb. 28, March 1 & 2

Core group of seniors ready to grace the Johnstown stage one last time with their Drama Club family

student actors act out a scene on stage — Seniors Lindsay Sweet (“Katherine”) and Natalie Williams (“Ellie”) play a mother/daughter duo who swap bodies in this weekend’s production of “Freaky Friday.” Credit: Erica Miller/Capital Region BOCES Photographer

Senior members of JHS’ Drama Club have been sharing the GJSD spotlight with each other their entire lives. In fact, some of their earliest and most fond memories are from when they were just five years old. Johnstown seniors Natalie Williams and Molly Young recalled their very first time on stage together. They were in kindergarten at Warren Street Elementary School in Mrs. Ackerbauer’s class for a performance of “The Little Red Hen.” Natalie was the narrator, and Molly played the part of a spider.

This weekend, Natalie and Molly, along with fellow seniors Emily Anderson, Peyton Harrington, Lindsay Sweet, and Oscar Amador Jr. will share the Johnstown stage one last time for three performances of “Freaky Friday,” taking place at the Johnstown Performing Arts Center (JPAC) at Johnstown High School.

Shows will take place at 7:00 p.m. on both Friday, February 28 and Saturday, March 1, and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 2. General admission tickets can be purchased in advance online (https://cur8.com/projects/JHS) up to two hours prior to each performance. Tickets can also be purchased at the door (cash only).

a girl wears a tshirt and jeans as she sings a song on stage

For Williams, who plays Ellie in “Freaky Friday,” the last curtain call after Sunday’s performance will be an emotional one. “I’m going to cry,” she said. “This stage has been my entire life for the last four years. No matter what happens during the day, when I walk into the auditorium, I’m not me anymore. I’m my character,” she added.

“Over the years, I’ve grown such great connections with the theater alumni. They were the people that I looked up to when I was one of the younger ones in Drama Club — and now as a senior, I’m that person to other people. It’s surreal,” Williams said.

After graduating from Johnstown this June, Williams plans to attend college to study psychology, with the possibility of a minor in theater. She said she is “ready for opening day,” this weekend, but admits she is feeling a bit melancholy over the fact that “the sooner it happens, the sooner it ends.”

Senior Molly Young, who will study acting at SUNY Fredonia next year, plays the part of Savannah in this weekend’s performances of “Freaky Friday.” Young said she’s feeling ready for this weekend’s performances — but added, “I’m not ready for it to end.”

She too has had a memorable and positive experience with her theater family at Johnstown over the years. A lot of her love for all-things Drama Club are the result of the group’s advisor and the director of “Freaky Friday,” Ashley Polidore.

two girls wearing tan tops and pony tails sing a song together on the stage

Polidore is a Johnstown alumna (2012) who stepped in as director for the school’s production of “Seussical” in 2022 after the District’s longtime director stepped away from the position. Polidore is joined by Assistant Director Jeanine LoDestro, who works for the District as an administrative assistant in the Curriculum and IT departments and is also an alumna of GJSD (1995).

“Ashley is a really loving and nurturing leader,” Young said. “She has a way of keeping us on track, without being mean or harsh.” Williams agreed, referring to Polidore as the “older sister that you look up to.”

Since taking over as the Drama Club, Polidore has directed a fall play and a spring musical each year. Following her inaugural musical production of “Seussical,” spring musicals from the past three seasons have included “Beauty and the Beast” (2022), “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (2023), and “Tarzan” (2024).

student actors sit around a table on a theatrical stage as they perform a song

In addition to being part of a nurturing theater family at Johnstown, both Williams and Young were quick to point out that regionally, Drama Club students from other local schools all attend each other’s performances. “There’s a lot of theater pride in this region,” Williams said. “We all go to each other’s shows to support each other.”

While the senior members of Johnstown’s Drama Club are preparing for their final performance on the school’s stage, they are leaving behind a strong legacy for their younger theater colleagues.

Sophomore Claudio Montano (Karl in “Freaky Friday”) said that for him, being on stage “feels like his home away from home.” “There’s one thing about theater – you’re a part of a family,” he added.

GJSD sophomore Carly Smrtic (Kitty in “Freaky Friday) said Drama Club “creates a space where you can be yourself and not worry about what other people think about you,” adding “you can have the worst day on the planet, but you can leave here smiling.”

“Next year, I’ll be scared to do theater without these seniors, but I’m glad to have learned from them,” Smrtic added.