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Review: 'Mean Girls' celebrates the wicked queen in all of us

Like the film, the stage show is meant to be light viewing.

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Mean Girls
By
Kathy Hanrahan, Out
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DURHAM, N.C. — The movie "Mean Girls" was released 20 years ago — meaning the children who were born the year it came out and have already graduated high school. Let that thought sink in for a second...

The film managed to satire high school life in such a sharp and funny way, while hitting on topics of bullying, self-esteem, relationships and sexuality. To me, it never screamed "make me into a musical," but in 2017 "Mean Girls" writer Tina Fey and husband Jeff Richmond (he wrote the music), helped bring the film to the stage.

The "Mean Girls" musical premiered on Broadway in April 2018. Its first U.S. national tour kicked off in September 2019. The show plays Durham Performing Arts Center through Sunday.

Like the film, the stage show is meant to be light viewing.

The show revolves around Cady Heron (Danielle Wade taking on the role made famous by Lindsay Lohan), who moves with her family from Africa to Chicago. After being homeschooled her entire life, Cady goes through culture shock when she encounters high school life. Lucky for Cady, outcasts Janis and Damian (played brilliantly by English Bernhardt and Eric Huffman) take her under their wing.

Mean Girls (Giphy)

Huffman brings Damian to life during "Where do you belong?" where he identifies each high school clique. Unlike the film, Janis and Damian are elevated to the narrators of the musical. The two have such great chemistry and light up the screen, especially during the second act when Damian borrows his grandmother's motorized scooter. And Bernhardt rocks the quirky role of Janis and can flat out sing.

Janis and Damian convince Cady to befriend The Plastics, the mean girl clique at school lead by Regina George. Cady's goal is to destroy Regina, but oddly enough (spoiler alert!!) she ends up becoming just like her.

Mean Girls (Giphy)

Regina (Mariah Rose Faith in the role Rachel McAdams played in the film) is cold, calculating and at the same time you can see why everyone follows her around. She commands attention. Faith really leans into Regina's pure rage when she belts "World Burn" in the second act, while making copies of the infamous Burn Book the group keeps with awful notes about classmates and teachers.

Mean Girls (Giphy)

The musical is a little long. While I enjoyed getting to know the other Plastics, a few of their songs could have been cut for time. Olivia Renteria absolutely captured Karen's bubbly blank slate personality. Megan Masaka Haley's Gretchen (who is still trying to make Fetch happen) spirals into anxiety in "What's wrong with me?" While I loved seeing Gretchen get more of a backstory, that arc, as well as the one with Regina's mom, felt a little forced.

Mean Girls (Giphy)

The musical updates the film with the use of social media, which helps Cady become popular, and throws in a few political references to bring it into 2020. The framework remains the same, as well as the famous quotes (She doesn't even go here!).

Mean Girls (Giphy)

Overall, "Mean Girls" gives you a pink, glittery and satirical look at high school, except the musical makes being mean look like a lot more fun than the film. The Plastics own the stage and Regina gets to be their wicked queen with little to no consequences.

If you are a "Mean Girls" fan, you will love this musical. If I had to pick between the two, I'm always going to pick the movie because it is a classic.

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