We all know “Mean Girls” as the iconic 2004 film starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, but the lesser-known musical rendition is just as captivating. The songs, choreography, and costumes dive deeper into characters and themes that remained fairly surface-level in the original movie.
Despite the release of an underwhelming film adaptation last year, I was thrilled to finally see the malicious girls in action at Hancher Auditorium.
At the theater, the audience buzzed with excitement, nearly everyone wearing their best, “fetch,” pink outfits, channeling the “On Wednesdays we wear pink” motto The Plastics live by.
The show began with Janis Sarkisian, played by Alexys Morera, and Damien Hubbard, played by Joshua Morrisey, warning the audience of the gravity of the story through the song “A Cautionary Tale,” introducing the idea that being mean is inherent in most characters in the story.
Both characters had such attention to detail in their costumes. Janis wore patterned tights, knee-high socks, and a jacket filled with patches and pins, while Damien showed off skinny jeans and a shirt displaying drag queen RuPaul.
Morrisey stole the show, playing up Damien’s personality with sassy humor, quick-witted, snarky remarks, and an impressive singing voice that helped the audience understand his character.
We were then introduced to Cady Heron, played by Katie Yeomans. Cady tries to find her place at North Shore High School after moving to the U.S. from Africa. She meets Damien and Janis just before being recruited to join The Plastics, a trio consisting of Gretchen Weiners and Karen Smith, played by Kristen Amanda Smith and Maryrose Brendel, respectively, and led by the notorious Regina George, played by Maya Petropoulos.
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Cady’s nervousness translated very well on the stage through the choreography of the ensemble around her while she tries to find a group to sit with during “Where Do You Belong?” For the next few numbers, the energy stayed high with lots of lighting, set changes, and animalistic choreography that compared Cady’s life in Africa to her life in the U.S.
We saw a switch in energy during the song “Stupid with Love” when Cady meets Aaron Samuels, played by José Raúl, in her calculus class and immediately falls in love. During this scene, the lighting dimmed, and the ensemble behind Cady stopped moving, as the spotlight focused on Cady and Aaron, establishing their relationship.
My favorite moment of the show was when Karen performed “Sexy,” a song about her love of Halloween. This song is catchy and upbeat and will stay stuck in your head for days all while embracing femininity and mocking the idea women have to look perfect all the time.
Another character who caught my attention was Ms. Norbury, Cady’s calculus teacher. Portrayed by Kristen Seggio, Ms. Norbury had a number of sarcastic one-liners that got the audience laughing with her perfect comedic timing.
“World Burn,” the most powerful song of the show, marks a turning point where Regina anonymously plants pages of “The Burn Book” written by The Plastics around the school, antagonizing all of the junior girls and causing fights between many of the students. Regina had an important costume change during the song, from wearing black when throwing the paper around to wearing white when claiming to be innocent, showing her manipulative nature.
I was delighted to finally see a stage performance of “Mean Girls” after being a fan of the music and the movie for so long, and this production certainly lived up to my expectations.