Campy Comedy ‘Mean Girls’ Returns to Broadway at the National
On Wednesdays we wear pink, and through Sunday, October 20th, we enjoy MEAN GIRLS — back at The National Theatre where it held its world premiere in 2017!
MEAN GIRLS the Musical is based on the campy comedy movie from 2004. Teenage Cady Heron, educated in Kenya by her scientist parents, moves to suburban Illinois, experiences public school, and gets a personal lesson in “survival.” She joins an elite group of students considered the most popular at her new school but soon realizes they aren’t the friends she imagined.

The leader of these “mean girls” is Regina George (Maya Petropoulos), the character everyone loves to hate. Petropoulos’ Regina actually seems less mean and more vindictive, but she does a strong job of showing that the character’s outward meanness is merely a mask for insecurity. In fact, Mean Girls’ musical tour of all of the cliques at Cady’s (Carly Ameling) new North Shore High School attempts to show that each of the groups (and individuals) is still finding their footing.
This is high school after all.

Highlights of the show include any scene with Damian (Joshua Morrisley), the powerful vocals of Janis (Alexys Morera), and the comedic timing of Karen (MaryRose Brendel). It’s also fun to experience the freewheeling choreography — literally — as everything seems to be set on castors to roll about with ease. But while the actors on stage appear like modern high schoolers, their lines and actions don’t quite line up with the “now” that viewers might expect.
Best enjoyed by the generation who watched this movie as they were growing up and still enjoy reciting its best lines today — most of which are thankfully incorporated into the musical in between lengthy and lyric-heavy musical scenes — Mean Girls still manages to reach audiences of any age to consider the topic of friendships, rivalries, and the power of saying “I’d Rather Be Me.”

So… you can sit with us, but you’d better hurry! Mean Girls is on at the National Theatre only through Sunday, October 20, 2024.
Running time: Two hours, 15 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. Tickets are available online.