‘Mean Girls The Musical’

I had the amazing privilege of seeing the “Mean Girls” Broadway adaptation at the Performing Arts Center — PAC — this week. As a former musical theater kid, the experience was cathartic in a multitude of ways. 

Having not seen the actual movie “Mean Girls” prior to watching the onstage production, this was my first impression of the story, and after watching the movie, I think it’s safe to say that the broadway version is a rather faithful adaptation. 

For those who haven’t seen the movie, “Mean Girls” is a 2004 teen comedy starring Lindsay Lohan as the main character, Cady. In the film, Cady is the daughter of two field zoologists who uproot their life in Africa and move to the United States.  

There, she attends public school for the first time, finding herself entangled in the clique culture that dominates her new high school. After joining a group called the Plastics — a group of popular girls that are at the top of the school’s social hierarchy — Cady slowly begins to morph from a naive, wholesome, and excellent student to a judgemental, manipulative, and shallow popular girl. 

The original film is a laugh riot, and I think one of the strongest points of the musical is the translation of the humor from on-screen to onstage. Many lines of dialogue and one-liners from the movie remain in the musical, and I think some of the campy, 2004 era is preserved rather well, especially when you take into consideration that the musical is set in the present day. 

An aspect of the humor that the musical does not adapt is a lot of the more offensive jokes and comments that the original film is practically overflowing with. I think this is a bit of a safer choice given the current social and political climate, however I think it would have been interesting to see what the tone of the play would have felt like had they decided to keep some of the more offensive jokes in. 

One thing I like about the musical is that it humanizes the titular mean girls much more than the film actually does. Karen’s character has a few moments on stage that give the audience a bit more insight into her social and emotional awareness, allowing her to break out of the “dumb blonde” archetype. 

Gretchen has an entire song that’s dedicated to her obsession with social conformity and how that obsession quite literally weighs on her mental health and tears down her self-esteem. 

And Regina George — while still managing to be as bitchy as ever — even gets a bit of important characterization toward the end of the play. The musical also decided to include a deleted scene from the movie. The scene features Regina and Cady kind of reconciling in a school bathroom, which is the first time that they’ve spoken since Regina gets hit by a bus. Even though they added a lot more dialogue in the stage adaptation, the conversation between Regina and Cady gives a lot more insight into Regina’s views about being popular and how women are still demonized in the eyes of society, even when they appear to be at the top of that social hierarchy. 

Moving on to the actual content of the musical itself, I easily think the show's strongest quality is the choreography and stage direction. With original choreography and direction by Casey Nicholaw, “Mean Girls” makes really good use of the props and set pieces by integrating them into the choreography and dance numbers. 

There are multiple scenes that utilize items like lunch trays and shopping bags to create beats along with the music. I thought it was really creative by comparison to other productions I’ve seen in the past. 

The performers also do an amazing job with the scene transitions. Whether it's moving items around to portray different settings within the school or changing the setting entirely to a completely different place all together, the staging and settings were vibrant and refreshing to watch. 

With the actual music, I think the script, production, and lyrics do a good job at capturing the feeling of being in high school. For the most part, everything has the bright and cheery sound that most people would associate with Broadway, but I think it serves to recreate the superficiality that’s present in public schools. 

An aspect of the music that I really do appreciate is the use of tonnage to portray characterization. Regina often sings in minor scales with a voice that is reminiscent of a siren’s — a testament to her manipulative and predatory tendencies. 

Karen’s standalone parts lack much vocal complexity. She typically sings without vibrato and stays within the same vocal register. I really do like that she starts to develop a little more complexity in her singing after Regina is kicked from the group. 

Gretchen, however, has my whole heart and soul. Her part exists in a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and because of her social butterfly personality, her lyrics are usually fast paced and higher pitched, which makes it one of the more difficult roles to portray. 

While the entire main cast and company did amazing, I’d say one of the show stealers is the actress that plays Gretchen, Kristen Amanda Smith. Smith brings so much life to the character and delivers one of the most powerful vocal performances in the entire show. 

Even if musicals aren’t your usual cup of tea, I would definitely recommend going to see “Mean Girls” during its Anchorage run. It's exciting, hilarious, and energetic all the way up through the end of the show’s runtime. They are up here from Dec. 4 to Dec. 15, and you can find tickets on Centertix, so don’t wait!