Mean Girls

You Can't Sit With Us!

    It's time to analyze the Broadway adaptation of the hit movie Mean Girls. In true Mean Girls fashion, and in the words of Gretchen Wieners, I would certainly comment on how totally "fetch" the musical was, but I will not be making dog puns on my cat site! I will, however, give great props to Mean Girls. I've watched the movie version with Grace many many times, and we are very large fans, so I had high expectations when I went to see this musical. I knew there was a paw-sibility it would not be what I was expecting , but I was certainly not disappointed. Let's get right into it!

(Joan Marcus, playbill.com)

(Courtesy of National Theatre)

With my playbill!

History

    The Mean Girls musical is based off of a 2004 movie of the same name. Both the movie and the musical were written by Tina Fey. Mean Girls debuted on Broadway in April of 2018, at the August Wilson Theatre, and is still performing today (COVID-19 shutdown aside). Mean Girls blew up in popularity, and a national tour was launched in September 2019. The plot of the musical remains the same as that of the movie, with all of the characters we know and love (or hate). 

Who's in the Cast?

    The OBC starred Erika Henningsen as leading lady Cady Heron. Taylor Louderman, known also for her work in the musical adaptation of Bring It On! originated the role of queen bee Regina George. Ashely Park and Kate Rockwell played fellow Plastics Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith, respectively. The major role of Janis Sarkisian was filled by Barrett Wilbert Weed, best known for originating the role of Veronica Sawyer in the Off-Broadway adaptation of Heathers. Grey Henson played the role of Damian Hubbard, and earned himself a Tony award nomination at the 2018 Tony Awards for his performance. Kerry Butler guest starred for 7 months in the show before leaving to pursue Beetlejuice: The Musical, and played 3 roles: Mrs. Heron, Ms. Norbury, and Mrs. George.

Overview

    Although the musical does stick closely to the original movie, one difference is how the opening number of Act I, A Cautionary Tale, is a song sung by Janis and Damian, informing the audience about how the events they are about to watch should be a lesson in rejecting those mean urges one may feel. This song launches us into Africa, where Cady is singing about her lonely life, surrounded by only animals. Her parents inform her they've lost funding for their zoology studies, and they must move back to the United States. Cady is thrilled, and attends her first day of classes (It Roars). During class, Cady meets Janis and Damian, who proclaim themselves to be her guides. They show her around the lunchroom, describing each clique and helping her decide where to sit, and advising her to stay away from the Mathletes, deeming it "social suicide" to sit with them, despite Cady's extreme interest in math. Cady is convinced to eat lunch with Janis and Damian, until a new clique comes into play: The Plastics (Where Do You Belong?) Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith introduce themselves to Cady, and subtlety pressure her to eat lunch with them for the rest of the week, to which Cady reluctantly agrees (Meet the Plastics). Janis, who despises Regina for some event in the past, asks Cady to hang out with the Plastics and tell Janis everything they say, thinking it will be stupid and funny. Cady is unsure, but she doesn't want to lose her new friendship with Janis and Damian, so she agrees. 

    After lunch, Cady heads to Calculus, a class she is confident she'll do well in, with her immense understanding and love of math. However, she wasn't anticipating school hottie Aaron Samuels to be in her class, and is soon head over heels, however, she laments that while she has skills in math, she has no skills when it comes to dating (Stupid With Love). At lunch the next day, Cady is approached by Kevin Gnapoor, who tries to convince her to join the Mathletes, however, Regina sends him away. Cady is in awe of how easily Regina is able to control the student population, while Janis tries to explain how dangerous and vicious Regina truly is (Apex Predator). The Plastics and Cady go to the mall after school, where Regina buys Cady new heels, and Gretchen informs Cady that Aaron Samuels is off-limits, because he's Regina's ex-boyfriend. Cady and The Plastics go to Regina's house, where Mrs. George reveals she found The Burn Book in Regina's closet, a book bashing every girl in school. Regina recalls how she used to be friends with Janis, but claimed Janis went "mental" after not getting invited to a party. Cady sees a picture in the Burn Book with Damian, and comments about him being "too gay to function," a joke she heard Janis say earlier. The Plastics love it and write it in the book, but Cady is nervous, realizing they're using it to bully. When Regina and Karen leave Gretchen and Cady alone, Gretchen despairs about feeling left out, and wonders what she's done wrong (What's Wrong With Me?). 

    The next day, Cady tells Janis and Damian about the Burn Book. Weeks pass, and Cady continues to eat lunch with The Plastics, pretending to like them, the whole time falling more in love with Aaron Samuels, who claims he's sworn off of dating (Stupid With Love (Reprise)). Aaron invites Cady to a Halloween costume party and she agrees to go. At the party, Karen sings about how much she loves Halloween, because on Halloween you can pretend to be anyone or anything you want, while dressing sexy (Sexy). Cady shows up to the party, and Regina berates Gretchen for inviting Cady to the party, ignoring Gretchen's attempts to explain that she didn't. In rage, Gretchen tells Regina about Cady's crush on Aaron. Meanwhile, Cady lies to Aaron about getting low math scores, and accepts his offer to tutor her, despite her being much better at math. Regina "kindly" tells Cady she'll talk to Aaron for her, but makes out with him instead, crushing Cady's heart (Someone Gets Hurt). Cady runs to Janis and Damian in despair over Regina, and Janis finally convinces Cady to help her take down Regina. Their plan involves Cady still pretending to be friends with The Plastics, giving Regina health bars to gain weight, and cutting Gretchen off from the group, who reveals to Cady that Regina is cheating on Aaron with Shane Oman (Revenge Party). Cady tells Aaron about Regina's cheating, and Mrs. Norbury confronts Cady about her low scores in class. Cady rants to The Plastics about Mrs. Norbury, but Regina is in a rage over her immense weight gain and shouts at all three girls before storming out. 

Cady and The Plastics perform "Rockin' Around the Pole" at the talent show, where Regina has a major wardrobe malfunction and Cady is thrust into the school spotlight. At lunch the next day, Regina breaks one of the table's rules, and Gretchen, Karen, and Cady kick her out of the table, finally feeling free from Regina's rule (Fearless). 

    Act II introduces us to Cady's transformation as the new leader of the Plastics, having tossed Regina to the side, which Janis and Damian strongly disapprove. Cady tells Janis she can't go to her art show because she is travelling out of town with her parents, which disappoints Janis. Damian attempts to show Cady how dramatically she has changed and how bizarre her new behavior is, but she lets his words slide off (Stop). Gretchen and Karen convince Cady to stay home from her trip with her parents in order to have a "small" get-together with Aaron and some friends. Cady lies to her parents and claims she wants to go to Janis's art show, and they agree to let her stay home alone. Meanwhile, Regina, who has gained a lot of weight thanks to Cady's health bars, is working out on a treadmill when Mrs. George informs her that Cady is having a party and Regina wasn't invited. Regina, in a rage, storms out on her mom, prompting the What's Wrong With Me? (Reprise), as a duet with Gretchen. Cady has prepared her house to host 5-6 people, and is shocked when a bunch of her classmates show up (Whose House Is This?). She takes shots and becomes intoxicated, and admits to Aaron that she pretended to be dumb to get him to talk to her. Aaron is upset because he liked when Cady was smart and not Plastic, and he leaves, with Cady chasing after him (More Is Better). Outside, Janis and Damian have arrived. Janis is furious with Cady for lying about not being able to attend her art show, and angrily gives Cady her award winning piece: a drawing of Janis, Damian, and Cady as friends. Cady tries to argue that Janis forced her to Plastic , but Janis is enraged, telling Cady that she is more Plastic than Regina ever was (Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise)). 

    Regina, still mad that she wasn't invited to the party, decides to frame Cady for the Burn Book. She adds a demeaning message of herself to the book, prints out copies of all of the pages, and disperses them throughout the school, before telling Principal Duvall that Cady, Gretchen, and Karen are the creators of the Burn Book (World Burn). Fights break out throughout the school, and Principal Duvall orders all girls in the junior class to assemble in the gymnasium, where he asks the creator of the Burn Book. When no one comes forward, Ms. Norbury steps up and has every girl write an apology to someone they've hurt in the past and announce it to the others. When it is Janis's turn, she apologizes to herself, but in such a way that calls out Cady for her terrible actions and fake friendship, claiming that she would rather spend her time alone than with fake friends (I'd Rather Be Me). Regina, mad again after hearing all of the lies and tricks Cady pulled, storms outside. Cady chases after her, trying to apologize, but Regina doesn't wanna hear it. While distracted and yelling, she is hit by a bus and severely injured. 

    The accident blows up, with some sources claiming Cady pushed Regina in front of the bus. Cady tries to reevaluate her life the past few months, and decides to come clean and claim the Burn Book as entirely her own. She is suspended and banned from attending the Spring Fling school dance. As a way to make up for her failing grade in math, she joins the Mathletes, Cady helps lead the team to victory, which improves her outlook on herself (Do This Thing). Aaron is happy that Cady has reverted back to her usual self, and they share a kiss, before he helps her sneak into the Spring Fling. Regina is there, wearing a neck brace, and they apologize to each other and begin to make up. Later, Cady is voted as the Spring Fling Queen, despite being banned from the dance. She accepts the crown, but breaks it into pieces, giving little chunks of it to other students, admitting that it shouldn't just be one person above the rest, but how everyone is unique and should be celebrated individually. She apologizes to Janis and Damian, as well as the rest of the student body, and brings everyone together, overcoming their differences and celebrating the moment together as one (I See Stars). 

Thoughts

    Like I said, being such a huge fan of the original movie, I was a little nervous to see if things would pan out, and how a stage adaptation might differ from the original. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed. If you haven't seen the original movie (which, if you haven't, what are you doing here? GO WATCH IT.), you'll be perfectly fine following along with the plot. The songs were absolutely stellar, and the choreography was just as incredible. The way that Grey Henson was able to sing with incredible vibrato while performing an entire tap dance number was insane! 

    One of the most vocally challenging songs would have to be World Burn, as about 50% of the solo is belting in the female higher register. Taylor Louderman displayed astounding vocal control while delivering an incredible performance as teen royalty Regina George. Another one of my personal favorite actors was Kate Rockwell as Karen Smith. Her portrayal of the ditsy, clueless Plastic was both original and hilarious. She had me meowing out loud! But perhaps the most incredible actor of all was Erika Henningsen. I feel as though she was perfectly cast in her role. She simply IS Cady. I don't have enough good things to say, other than that she made me want to come back the next night to watch her do it all over again. She portrayed Cady's journey and character development with so much passion and emotion, and I was truly blown away. 

    Although the OBC is mostly no longer performing in the show, I would definitely recommend this show to anyone in the mood for drama, sass, and self-love. Fans of the movie will definitely not be disappointed. Although a few newer cast members had only a few days of performance before the Broadway shutdown, I have heard wonderful things from both critics and fellow performers. I highly encourage people from all backgrounds to check out this hit musical, but especially teenagers. I think the messages that come from this show are truly ones to be embraced and learned from.

    I'm giving this show 3 stars for the cat rating. After the introduction, it was great to see lions prowling the stage, and Cady even calling them her friends! I LOVE representation. Overall, could definitely use more cats, but the appearance of lions was pretty paw-some!

Ratings

Find the rating scale here.

Soundtrack          ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lighting               ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Set                        ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall                 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cat rating             ⭐⭐⭐

Best song: World Burn

Best actor: Erika Henningsen

Best set: The lunch room

Fun Facts!

• A movie adaptation of the Mean Girls musical is currently in the works! 
• Notable cast replacements include Reneé Rapp as Regina George, Krystina Alabado as Gretchen Wieners, Laura Leigh Turner as Karen Smith, and Sabrina Carpenter as Cady Heron
• Cameron Dallas (from Vine fame) had a brief run as Aaron Samuels in January 2020 while Kyle Selig, the original Aaron, took a leave of abscence. 
• Mean Girls launched a national tour in September 2019, featuring Danielle Wade as Cady Heron and Mariah Rose Faith as Regina George. 
• "It Roars" is sung by Cady as an self-introductory song. However, after criticism of the lyrics, complaining of a failure to understand her situation without having seen the movie, the national tour changed the lyrics (while keeping the melody the same) in order to clear up any confusion. A few minor changes were made elsewhere throughout the show while preparing for the national tour, and these changes were implemented to the Broadway version shortly before the Broadway shutdown.
• Erika Henningsen and Kyle Selig, the OBC Cady and Aaron, are together as a couple outside of the stage performace!