We attended the Mean Girls musical performances on May 4 and 11 at 7 p.m. Based on the 2017 Mean Girls musical by Tina Fey, the performance was lively and entertaining, bringing our favorite on-screen characters to life. Here are our thoughts on the musical, broken down by aspect!
Acting: The actors did a phenomenal job portraying the original characters. The actors for Karen (Lauren Johnson), Gretchen (Lily Bailey) and Mrs. George (Ada Hogue) were especially expressive, nailing their role down to the way each character walked. Karen and Gretchen were very true to the original movie, from their physical appearance to their outfits. They were the most accurate in terms of acting style and character. The supporting characters, like the teachers, were also great performers and matched the original movie well. They were sarcastic and witty and their appearances felt like they had a purpose. Damien (Jerome Ramde) and Janis (Anna Marroquin) had a fun rapport and their friendship was the most relatable and funny.
Background actors: The background actors enlivened each scene by pretending to chat in the hallway and piping up with witty remarks. At times, there were many actors on stage, especially during cafeteria and dance scenes. While this could have distracted audience members from the main characters, the background actors were excellent at controlling their stage presence, freezing during certain times so that they would bring attention to key moments.
Dialogue: There were many witty remarks and sharp comebacks from characters throughout the musical. It felt like slightly exaggerated high school, which is expected from a theater production. It was definitely very engaging and enjoyable. Most, if not all, jokes landed well and received a laugh out of the audience.
Singing: The singing was powerful and strong without any faltering, which was very impressive since the actors were usually dancing while singing. There were slight sound difficulties during closing night, but the actors had such good projection and enunciation that their singing could be heard clearly even without a microphone. Even with technical difficulties, the cast and crew managed to keep the show running smoothly. The main cast had powerful singing voices, particularly Damian (Ramde) and Janis (Marroquin), who sang consistently through the night without any sign of vocal fatigue.
Dancing and Music: The dance scenes were well incorporated and the cast was mostly in sync with each other and the music. It was even more incredible that they were dancing to music being played live by our own orchestra and band students. The music sounded like it was playing from a soundtrack, clear and free of mistakes.
Crowd: During the May 4 evening show, the audience was enthusiastic, clapping and cheering often, usually several times each scene. During the May 11 show, there were some scenes where the audience would boo a character or cheer when a certain character entered. Both nights, there was lots of laughter, keeping energy levels high.
Transitions: The transitions at the beginning of the musical were seamless. While people in the background changed the props and set, the narrators, Janis and Damian, would pull audience attention towards themselves. Later on in the musical, however, transitions were not as unobtrusive; the audience would wait for several seconds, watching as people in the shadows of the stage pulled props in and out. The May 11 show had incredibly quick transitions, though there was a scene or two where an actor took a bit too long to arrive and there were a few stale seconds of the audience staring at the empty stage. But the versatility of the set, along with soft lighting changes, made set transitions easy on the eyes.
Costumes/props: Costumes and props were excellent. The props, such as the background stars, signs and posters, would drop into the scene from the ceiling, which was a nice touch. The wigs were a little awkward to get used to, but some characters, like Gretchen, pulled it off really well and it eventually felt more natural to the audience. The makeup was also very unique to the characters and felt similar to the original movie.
What we loved: We loved the metaphor in the musical that connected stars to personal authenticity. Cady mentions how she used to see many stars back in Africa, and later, towards the end of the musical, the cast sings about how they are all stars. In addition to that, the musical also spotlights side characters such as Gretchen and Karen, giving them songs and scenes of their own to reflect their inner struggles and personalities.
