I had the pleasure of seeing the third night of previews for Mean Girls on Broadway at the August Wilson Theater and what a show it was. 13 years after the movie came out, the story is being retold in a different fashion while still keeping fans’ favorite lines and moments within the show.
Leading the cast is Erika Henningsen as Cady Heron who has her first taste of what public school is really like. Barrett Wilbert Weed plays the tough, yet welcoming Janis, and playing Damian, everyone’s favorite “too gay to function” best friend, is Grey Henson. The two take in Cady as their new friend. This trio is perfectly banded and then disrupted by the “Plastics”. Regina George who is Queen Bee of the Plastics is played by the incomparable Taylor Louderman. Her first lines of the show let us know exactly who she is, “I’m Regina George, and I’m a massive deal.” Her followers include Gretchen Wieners, played by Ashley Park, and Karen Smith, played by Kate Rockwell. With the insane belt of our Regina George, the sweet soprano voice of Gretchen, and the clean mezzo-belt of Karen, it makes for a smooth and balanced group of “mean girls”.
The cast hilariously told the story with their characters but a major applause must go to the designers of the set. With extreme detail and color, all scene changes were massive but done quickly and cleanly. The designers also took advantage of LED video technology in the background of many scenes. It took me a while to figure out if projection was being used but with no shadows cast on the screens from actors, I could tell it was video. The LED technology added the perfect essence to an already beautiful set, bringing more color and even motion in each scene. It created a wonderful environment for these high schoolers.
With few changes to the original story, this musical is attracting fans from near and far. Even a few original stars of the movie along with some SNL alums were enjoying the show on the same night. The show has proven to be riveting, entertaining, and hysterical and I would be shocked if it weren’t to succeed greatly. It was so FETCH!
Tickets to Mean Girls on Broadway are available here.