As a Broadway aficionado, I was hyped to see the world premiere of the greatest film of my generation turned into a musical: “Mean Girls” at the National Theatre. I am from the New York City area, so Broadway shows are what I miss the most when away from home (except for maybe my dog). I soon learned that many Broadway shows have their “out of town” premiere for around 5 weeks in D.C. (Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton also graced Pennsylvania Ave before heading north – no big deal, right?).
Going into the show, I hoped it would be a brilliant success, but also recognised that it could be a complete fail. I, fortunately, was not disappointed. Tina Fey was directly involved in the production, and her hard work shines from the stage. Although the movie is very frivolous and only covers the surface level of the characters’ emotions, the songs written for the musical bring them to life and introduce you to a side of them you didn’t know existed. For example, Regina George’s mom has a short song where she shares how the disconnect between her and Regina upsets her (sounds quite different from the “cool mom”).
More attention was also given to Regina’s “real” side towards the end of the second act, as she gives Cady some valuable advice about how she gained her power by genuinely not caring what other people thought of her. She then continues to explain how she wanted to share some advice with the President, but he “blocked her on Twitter” – a great way for Fey to bring the movie from the world of 2004 into today. I enjoyed how they modernised the show, but they took hashtags way too far. No teenager today would use hashtags while talking or invite people to a party using “#soiree” – they just don’t.
Overall, I was blown away by the level of talent and the highly accomplished cast. Over the next few months, before they open on Broadway in March, they will be tweaking and revising every last detail of the show. I can’t wait to see what their finished “product” will look like and I highly recommend every Mean Girls fan to splurge to see the fresh take on the film we all grew up watching.