To See or Not to See: Mean Girls

The now cult-classic Tina Fey-written film, Mean Girls, has landed on Broadway…and it’s just as you’d expect a film-to-stage musical to be: funny, a little campy, high energy, and with all your favorite scenes and lines of dialogue.

If you, for some reason, did not like the film, then this Broadway show is not for you. If you liked the movie, or if you haven’t seen the movie (although if you’re in the minority of people who have not seen Mean Girls the film, stop reading this and watch it immediately!), then you will most likely really, really enjoy this stage adaptation about Kenya-raised, homeschooled Cady Heron (Erika Henningsen) who finally attends public school when her parents move the family to the Chicago suburbs.

We get to re-live the ins-and-outs of high school cliques through Cady’s naïve eyes and see the ridiculous social hierarchies teenagers create in a satirical light particularly focusing on the Mean Girl posse of Regina George (Taylor Louderman), Gretchen Wieners (Ashley Park), and Karen Smith (Kate Rockwell). Love interest Aaron Samuels (Kyle Selig) is actually less of a focus on stage than he is in the movie—which is just fine. The creative team have put in even more moments of female empowerment into the stage show which is invigorating and timely.

Grey Henson (as Damien), Barrett Wilbert Weed (as Janis), and Erika Henningsen (as Cady). Photo Credit: Joan Marcus 

The structure of this version of Mean Girls is a story-within-a-story. Damien (Grey Henson) and Janis (Barrett Wilbert Weed) narrate the tale of Cady’s introductory year at school. Within that, though, we also see the story through Cady’s eyes; this muddies Mean Girls a little bit, but does make for some really fun ensemble numbers, including a scene at the mall where Cady sees each teenager is an animal from Africa. Casey Nicholaw directed and choreographed the production so, generally, every ensemble number involves tongue-in-cheek dances and clever homages to other Broadway shows. The lunchroom scene in which everyone dances with lunch trays is a great example of that; it is very much in the vein of one of his previous shows, Something’s Rotten.

The music in these musical numbers, though, (by Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin) is mostly forgettable. The music sounds the same, and, with the exception of one or two songs, none of them remain in your head for long after the curtain falls.

The performances, on the other hand, are a whole lot of fun. Ashley Park as insecure Gretchen does get one of the best songs in the show (and most memorable musically) with “What’s Wrong With Me?” and brings a lot more vulnerability to her character than her screen counterpart. Grey Henson’s Damien is, dare I say, better than the screen-original. He sings, dances, and cleverly drops amazing one-liners the whole performance; he’s the friend you always wanted. Out of all the adult female characters that Kerry Butler plays, she really excels at playing Mrs. George, the part infamously acted in the film by Amy Poehler. She had big shoes to fill, and she did it. Finally, Taylor Louderman’s over-the-top, vampy performance of Regina George is, in one word, perfection. She struts across the stage, drawing every eye to her in each scene she is in. Her singing is just as attention-grabbing.

In short, Mean Girls is a fun adaptation of a beloved film that is full of fantastic performances. Go see it!

For more information and tickets for Mean Girls, click here.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus