A student-written “Phineas and Ferb” parody musical titled “Gitchy Goosical: The Phineas and Ferbsical” came to life Friday night. Actors depicted college-aged versions of the original cartoon friend group, navigating fraternity recruitment, breakups, hookup culture, college parties, murder, the death of their mother and the death of their adventurous pet, Perry the Platypus.
About 20 sophomores majoring in the performing arts gathered in Room 217 of Fisk Hall to perform their original piece for an active audience.
Communication sophomore and “Gitchy Goosical” director Nastia Goddard said her top priority was making all members of the sophomore theater class feel included.
“I wanted it to feel like the Class of 2026 had this one baby that we were all working on together,” Goddard said.
According to Goddard, the script was written over the course of one hour during Fall Quarter. The writers aimed to explore the expectations and realities of the college experience through characters that were young children in the original cartoon, Goddard said.
Only one rehearsal occurred before “Gitchy Goosical,” and it took place only a few hours before the show, Goddard said.
Haley Bart, the Communication sophomore playing Isabella, said it was refreshing to take part in a production without the typical formalities and strenuous rehearsal schedule.
“It was honestly very experimental and fun to do something that didn’t have to be this really put together thing,” Bart said. “It was just for fun, and that was very abundantly clear in the rehearsal room.”
Goddard said she wanted to create a show that kept the audience laughing and relieved their stress, she said. She said the sound of the audience’s laughter was “fueling.”
“Any time someone laughed, a little alarm bell went off in my head saying, ‘It’s working! It’s working!,’” Goddard said.
The show even implemented artificial intelligence. During the performance, the audience watched a projection of Goddard’s mirrored laptop screen as ChatGPT generated a monologue for Ferb confessing his love for Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.
Communication sophomore Georgia Mann, who plays Vanessa, said unexpected moments like the ChatGPT monologue made it difficult to stay in character.
“The guy playing Ferb and I just started laughing,” Mann said. “What else are we going to do but smile and hope everyone else thinks it’s as funny as we do?”
Projections, LED floodlights and a flashlight acting as a spotlight created the technical landscape, according to lighting designer and Communication sophomore Sam Bessler.
Bessler said he embraced the homemade feeling of the production.
“Doing it with my friends only made it better to design for,” Bessler said. “You can’t really go wrong when you’re just trying to do something stupid with a group of friends.”
Although the show was originally created as a joke between members of the sophomore theater class, Mann said she hoped audiences felt part of the joke.
“I hope people walked away a little bit confused, a little bit uncomfortable and a lot a bit entertained,” Mann said.
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Twitter: @madelineking_18
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