Get in losers, we’re going to Broadway. One of the most popular movies of 2004, the high school comedy classic, Mean Girls, has made a comeback on Broadway. After being tested at the National Theater in Washington D.C., Mean Girls has finally arrived to the Broadway stage at the August Wilson Theater.
The musical will still follow the same storyline as the movie, but it’ll take place in modern day with smartphones and social media. Mean Girls also has an extremely talented cast; featuring Erika Henningsen as new-girl Cady Heron, Taylor Louderman as queen bee Regina George, Ashley Park as gossip girl Gretchen Weiners, Kate Rockwell as the dumb blonde Karen Smith, and Barrett Wilbert Weed as the edgy Janis Sarkisian. Together they will all make a show to remember. You will be amazed and laughing in your seats at this new take on Mean Girls.
There are going to be a few changes on the stage, including a little bit more exposition of Cady’s life in Africa. Henningsen said in a USA Today interview, “You see her in her environment so you understand when she gets to high school and is overwhelmed by all these teenage hormones why she acts the way she does.”
Although the transition from movie to musical has its cutbacks (Henningsen let out that Cady will not be puking on Aaron Samuels), don’t be afraid, there will still some of the amazing one liners that had us all in stitches. Regina will be bitchier than ever, Karen will have her ESPN abilities, Gretchen’s hair will be full of secrets, and it will be pink pink pink. However, Mean Girls is adding a empowering solo from Janis, “I’d Rather Be Me.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgK93S4fpqY
After she’s been tormented by Cady and Regina, Janis decides to “raise her right finger” and be her own person. The whole song questions the cliquey relationships girls force each other to be a part of, and Janis makes it clear that she is done with the fakeness of high school girls. Even though it’s not in the original Mean Girls, this solo gives a lot of emotion to the musical. It’s one of the things that makes this performance relatable to a hell-on-earth high school experience.
Comedian Tina Fey, the original screenwriter of the film, wrote Mean Girls into its own book which the musical is based on. The production team also consists of Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon), composer/producer Jeff Richmond (30 Rock), and Lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde). With a team like this, how can Mean Girls not be fetch?
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Mean Girls Comes to Broadway Featured Image Credit: Mean Girls on Broadway Official Facebook
