The touring Broadway production of Mean Girls opened yesterday at the Ordway in St. Paul for a six-day run (April 8 – 13). Like me, you may wonder about seeing a show about people being mean, particularly in our current world. Seeing the show, I found that it is indeed like being back in high school. No matter what role you played during your high school years – most popular, most athletic, friendliest, quietest, a math and science nerd – you will be able to relate to this story.
Mean Girls was written by Tina Fey with music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin, based on the 2004 movie. Fey was inspired by Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabees, which explored social cliques and school bullying.
The show tells the story of Cady (Katie Yeomans), who moves from being home-schooled and living in Africa to an American high school. She is caught off-guard by this new environment, but is quickly befriended by outcasts Damian (Joshua Morrisey) and Janis (Alexis Morera), who take Cady under her wing and hatch a plot to bring down Regina (Maya Petropoulos) — leader of the popular clique known as the Plastics — by having Cady infiltrate their circle. Of course, Cady gets swept up in the headiness of being popular and finds out things about herself she does not necessarily like. If you went to high school, you know the plot.
All of the leads convincingly portray their characters. Hubbard and Sarikisian did a great job of making me see the good side of teens – welcoming to a stranger and willing to be authentic – until they discover their own mean selves and want to get back at those who have bullied them. The Plastics come across just as expected: self-centered and judgmental. Kudos to Maryrose Brendel portraying Karen as the stereotypical dumb blonde and nailing it.
The talented ensemble really brings the story to life with untiring work. I was entertained by the music, and the choreography by John MacInnis. The sets are simple, but work well in moving the story along. The sound, Tuesday, was uneven with some vocals that were too loud and other delivery too soft. My granddaughter, who attended with me, agreed and we chalked it up to opening night in a new venue.
The Mean Girls theatrical production opened on Broadway in 2018, and a film adaption of the stage musical was released in 2024. So, from the movies to the stage and back to a movie. Why is a story about high school, with its teenage angst, this durable? Leaving the theater, I asked some people for their reactions. Everyone, not surprisingly, said they enjoyed it (we are Minnesota nice). One person agreed that at times it was too loud.
Going with my granddaughter, who is currently a high schooler, helped. While I was drawn back to my high school years (I was definitely one of the quiet ones), her reaction and her takeaway is much more relevant. She said, “I thought it was a message of being able to accept yourself. You can’t provide what you don’t offer, so because Cady was being fake, she lost friends because she wasn’t being her real self.” Isn’t this the message we all need to hear?
Photo by Jeremy Daniel, courtesy Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
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