Mean Girls

Mean Girls on tour is fun, frisky, and fetch. 

Mean Girls on it's Broadway Natural Tour brings the same feeling as the movie, which I take as a good thing. It brought the same spicy, girly attitude that the story is known for. It was simply fun, and frankly, I got exactly what I expected from it going in.

Its weaker moments never brought the entire play down, which is something I can appreciate. I could tell that this play was going to a bit packaged and shallow, but its flaws were manageable. The acting was like many musicals I see lately; not great. Just too many pauses, using pauses to force a punchline, the usual.

The message of the story didn't quite get across, much like the movie. Mean Girls is about the harm of tearing others down, and how our own insecurities are what cause us to lash-out. I think I was supposed to have left with a newfound perspective on how to be kinder to people, but in all honesty, all I could think about was tomorrow's outfit. I think the reasoning for this was that the agenda was forced. They could do with a healthy dose of "show don't tell".

Speaking of outfits, the costumes were a mixed bag for me. Regina George emerged onstage in head-to-toe white, lifting her out of the crowd and effectively establishing her dominance and allure. It was a great choice. The rest of the costumes looked like a Google search for "2010's teen clothes". They were absolutely generic. I would have preferred for them to either fully embrace a 2020's theme, making it fresh and trendy, or go down the early 2000's road. Part of the Mean Girls story includes fashion, so the costumes should have made a bigger impact in the play. I say, pick a real theme and go to town with it.

The biggest strength of Mean Girls was the mighty singing voices.

Mariah Rose Faith as Regina George killed "World Burn" with her suburb voice and enticing presence. The set and lighting design also shined during this song. The computer-screen-set worked really well for this moment, and was used to accentuate the drama of the song.

Overall, I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed my time seeing Mean Girls.

 -Celia Boldizar 

Images: [TOP] Marcus, Joan. "Danielle Wade (Cady Heron), Megan Masako Haley (Gretchen Wieners), Mariah Rose Faith (Regina George), and Jonalyn Saxer (Karen Smith) in the National Tour Company of MEAN GIRLS. Phindie, 2019, http://phindie.com/20646-mean-girls-national-tour-doesnt-quite-clique/. [BOTTOM] "Mariah Rose Faith plays Regina George in the Mean Girls Tour", Broadway.com, https://www.broadway.com/buzz/197124/we-see-stars-get-a-first-look-at-danielle-wade-mariah-rose-faith-mary-kate-morrissey-more-in-the-mean-girls-tour/.