The musical, Mean Girls, is based on the 2004 film of the same name. Tina Fey wrote the movie’s screenplay and adapted it for the stage. The music is by Jeff Richmond; the lyrics are by Nell Benjamin.
The central character is Cady Heron. She and her parents have returned from Kenya to a Chicago suburb. Cady was home schooled in Kenya and finds it difficult to adjust to life in her new school. The plot follows Cady’s steps and missteps as she tries to find her place in the school’s social hierarchy.
Fey’s book is filled with the sort of snappy sketch comedy that made her famous on Saturday Night Live. Richmond and Benjamin’s bracing score complements the spirited action. The show’s emphasis on fast-paced fun leaves little room for touching deeper feelings.
Director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw fills the stage with energy in the touring production currently playing at the Fox. The singing and dancing were uniformly excellent on opening night, and the cast members were fully at home in their roles. Danielle Wade was Cady. The Plastics—the school’s leading clique—were played by Nadina Hassan as Regina George, Olivia Renteria (substituting for Megan Masako Haley) as Gretchen Wieners, and Jonalyn Saxer as Karen Smith.
Adante Carter was Aaron Samuels, the boy Cady falls for. Mary Kate Morrissey as Janis Sarkisian and Eric Huffman as Damian Hubbard were the students who present the show to the audience and try to guide Cady on her journey. April Josephine displayed her versatility as three adult characters: Mrs. Heron, Ms. Norbury, and Mrs. George.
The use of video in Mean Girls is the most spectacular and effective I have ever seen. Instead of using painted scenery or drops, the production takes place in front of a side-to-side, floor-to-ceiling background on which anything can be projected.
Scene changes are instantaneous and sometimes breathtaking. The video design by Finn Ross and Adam Young can be static or animated. Either way, it enriches the production in continually impressive ways.
Also contributing the show’s distinctive atmosphere are Scott Pask’s set design, Gregg Barnes’s costumes, Kenneth Posner’s lighting, Brian Ronan’s sound, Josh Marquette’s hair, Milagros Medina-Cerdeira’s make-up, and the orchestra, conducted by Chris Kong.
Mean Girls continues at the Fox through February 27.
—Gerry Kowarsky
Photo by Jenny Anderson
