Tonight I had the pleasure to review the stage version of the 2002 novel/2004 film Mean Girls at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on opening night.
Opening night is always a flip of the coin... The production could be filled with kinks and mistakes, or it can go on perfectly. Based on tonight's cast of performers, I can say that everything could not have gone better. This performance cast put on a fantastic show and left me wanting to see it again. The video projection screen and seamless set transitions were some of the best I have seen in a Broadway production.
Mean Girls is the story of Cady Heron, a young transfer student from Africa trying hard to fit in with the numerous clique's at Chicago's affluent North Shore. Cady is immediately noticed and adopted by a group of superficial girls known as "The Plastics", three aristocratic rich girls fronted by the cruel Regina George. I can go into further detail about this performance, but I will not be the spoiler here if you have not read the book or have seen the movie.
I will say that this musical isn't just for young adults. Older audience members that are familiar with the film reacted appropriately with the familiar lines in the film, although Actor/author/comedian, Tina Fey reworked and updated the book to bring a more contemporary feel and include grown-up issues with attention to drug abuse, bullying via social media, and body-shaming, things that school-age kids are dealing with today.
The set changes, costumes, and musical numbers are top-notch and enjoyable. Having read the book and seen the film a number of times, I found the delivery of the cast's funny lines came off more funny than the film, thus making it a more enjoyable time. I was also thinking that there would be a few people wearing pink to the performance. I was right... There were more than half of the attendees wearing pink, based on one of the lines in the movie (I won't spoil the line for you).
When a musical production such as this can bring out great performers, Musical numbers, and Flawless set-changes and leave you with a smile on your face, you know that Mean Girls is worth the price of admission.