Mean Girls (musical)

It is based on the 2004 film by Mark Waters, which was also written by Fey and was in turn inspired by Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes.

The musical focuses on Cady Heron, a teenage girl who transfers to a public high school after being homeschooled her whole life in Africa.

At school, she befriends outsiders Janis Sarkasian and Damian Hubbard who persuade her to infiltrate the "Plastics", a clique consisting of wealthy but insecure Gretchen Wieners, sweet but dimwitted Karen Smith, and "queen bee" Regina George.

[1] The U.S. national tour began in Buffalo, New York, at Shea's Performing Arts Center, on September 21, 2019,[11] with Mary Kate Morrissey as Janis Sarkasian, Danielle Wade as Cady Heron, Mariah Rose Faith as Regina George, Megan Masako Haley as Gretchen Wieners, Jonalyn Saxer as Karen Smith, Eric Huffman as Damian Hubbard, Adante Carter as Aaron Samuels, and Kabir Bery as Kevin Gnapoor.

[14] The cast is led by Natalie Shaw as Cady, Maya Petropoulos as Regina George, Kristen Amanda Smith as Gretchen, MaryRose Brendel as Karen, Alexys Morera as Janis, Ethan Jih-Cook as Damian, Joseph Torres as Aaron and Shawn Mathews as Kevin.

[18][19] The cast includes Charlie Burn as Cady, Georgina Castle as Regina, Elèna Gyasi as Gretchen, Grace Mouat as Karen, Elena Skye as Janis, Tom Xander as Damian, Daniel Bravo as Aaron, Lucca Chadwick-Patel as Kevin, Ako Mitchell as Mr Duvall, and Zoë Rainey as Ms Norbury, Mrs George and Ms Heron.

[20] Janis Sarkasian and Damian Hubbard introduce the audience to Cady Heron, breaking the fourth wall and inviting them on their journey ("A Cautionary Tale").

Regina claims Janis freaked out when she was unable to invite her to her thirteenth birthday party and ended up in art therapy.

This leads Gretchen to reveal Regina's secret hook-ups with football player Shane Oman, among other vengeful acts ("Revenge Party").

After the Plastics' disastrous "Rockin' Around the Pole" dance at the school talent show, people start noticing Regina's weight gain.

Following the winter break, Cady has undergone a complete makeover befitting her new "Queen Bee" status leading Karen and Gretchen ("A Cautionary Tale" (reprise)), though Damian and Janis disapprove of this.

After Cady tells Janis that she cannot attend her art show because of a trip with her parents, Damian and the other girls of North Shore High School try to hamper Cady's ever-growing social obsessions and make her stop acting dumb for Aaron by telling her about their own negative past experiences with obsessive behavior ("Stop").

When Cady returns to school, Ms. Norbury offers her a way to earn extra credit and save her grade: joining the Mathletes at the state championships.

Cady is elected Spring Fling Queen, but after noticing how fragile and cheap the plastic crown is, she breaks it into several pieces and gives them to each girl in attendance – telling them they are all "real, and rare."

[39] Marilyn Stasio, in her review for Variety wrote: "Fey has front-loaded the show with great gags...Nell Benjamin's lyrics aren't half as clever as Fey's off-the-cuff wisecracks, but they get the job done and are quirky enough to make you listen hard for the good stuff, providing enough payoff lyrics to reward your attention...

"[40] David Rooney, in his review for The Hollywood Reporter, wrote: "If the songs composed by Fey's husband Jeff Richmond with lyrics by Nell Benjamin more often fall into workmanlike pastiche than inspired musical storytelling, too seldom developing robust melodic hooks, the score at least wins points for democratization.

Every one of the principals gets a musical moment that tells us who they are, both the protective outer shell developed to survive the savage jungle of high school, and the tender human core, yearning to connect...

While the show's book outshines the score, the songs pack in their share of wit, both in Benjamin's nimble lyrics (recalling her work on the Legally Blonde musical) and Richmond's buoyant tunes, which borrow with a wink from a variety of styles.

The first act is so strong, with such a well-built, fast-paced arc, that the second half feels like it takes a few tugs on the starter cord before the lawnmower fires up again.

Some of the movie's best jokes don't fully land in their delivery...It's not shocking that 'Mean Girls' is a fast-paced fancy fun time, but it's a real treat to find that it's still witty, worldly, and wise.

"[42] The New York Times's reviewer Ben Brantley wrote "The trouble lies in the less assured translation of Ms. Fey's sly take on adolescent social angst into crowd-pleasing song and dance.

Mr. Richmond and Ms. Benjamin's many (many) musical numbers are passable by middle-of-the-road Broadway standards, yet they rarely capture either the tone or the time of being a certain age in a certain era... the show weighs in at two and a half hours, as opposed to the movie's zippy 97 minutes."

"[43] Entertainment Weekly's Kristen Baldwin gave the musical a B+, writing: "An ode to self-respect and the benefits of a STEM-based education, Broadway's Mean Girls is a lively, frequently hilarious adaptation of Tina Fey's 2004 high school comedy.

[46][47] It features Angourie Rice as Cady, Auliʻi Cravalho as Janis, Christopher Briney as Aaron, Jaquel Spivey as Damian, Bebe Wood as Gretchen, and Avantika Vandanapu as Karen.