Mean Girls the Musical (Chicago)
Mean girls can sometimes be popular, but never as much as Mean Girls the Broadway musical, which opened in the August Wilson Theatre in 2018 and has now spun off a touring company featuring a talented new cast and all the hilarious razzle-dazzle of Tony-winning director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw's original production. Comedy queen Tina Fey, who wrote the 2004 hit movie of the same title, won a Drama Desk award for the musical's book, which provides an inside look into the high-stakes world of teenage social strategies. Fey's husband, Jeff Richmond, wrote the songs, which feature lyrics by Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde: The Musical).
Mean Girls the Musical (Chicago) Background
Queen Bees & Wannabes, Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 self-help book about aggressive teenage girls and their cliques, inspired Tina Fey (30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) to write the film Mean Girls, which won a gaggle of Teen Choice and MTV Movie awards upon its release. Mean Girls, the musical, captures the film's caustic wit and soothing moments of recognition while fleshing out its main characters — a newly arrived high school student, her two loyal friends and a wicked trio known collectively as "the Plastics" — with the help of 21 musical numbers that embrace both the Broadway balladry ("What's Wrong With Me?") and the hormonal electricity of the best teenage pop ("Apex Predator," "Fearless").
Mean Girls contains everything fans loved about the film, and more. Of its Broadway debut, New York Magazine observed that "Mean Girls is a fast-paced fancy fun time, but it's a real treat to find that it's still witty, worldly, and wise." Directed by Casey Nicholaw, winner of a Tony for his work on The Book of Mormon, the musical Mean Girls both parodies and honors Broadway's history. Highlights include "Stop," a show-stopping tap sequence, and "Sexy," a Halloween party that combines saucy costumes with feminist sentiments. A smart and sly take on adolescent angst, Mean Girls delivers hard teenage truths with empathy and plenty of pep.