After a 40 minute delay, attributed to unspecified “technical difficulties”, Mean Girls premiered at the Hershey Theatre on Tuesday night. Based on the 2004 Lindsay Lohan film of the same name, Mean Girls deals with themes of bullying, social politics, obsession with beauty, and female empowerment. It shares its Broadway DNA with two other movies-turned musicals that also explore these issues, Heathers and Legally Blonde. As Yogi Berra would say, "it's deja vu all over again".
Natalie Shaw stars as Cady Heron, the high school newbie who doesn’t fit in, but learns the rules of the pack when she gets invited to hang out with the “Plastics”, the most popular, and ruthless girls in the school. Shaw does a nice job of showing her naivete, her evolution into a “mean girl” was natural and authentic.
Maya Petropoulos plays Regina George, the leader of the Plastics, and Cady’s new best frenemy. Petropoulos has a confident swagger on stage,and appears quite confident in words and movement. Along for the ride are Regina’s friends, Gretchen and Karen played by newcomers Kristen Amanda Smith and Maryrose Brendel. Brendel is a lot of fun playing a gal dumb as a box of rocks. While I found the score mostly unremarkable, Brendel’s ode to Halloween (and world peace), Sexy was very enjoyable.
The show has some funny jokes sprinkled throughout and a funny sight gag involving the consequences of eating too many “diet bars”. Overall, it was OK. I recognize that I am not the target audience for the show. Many adolescents in attendance were enjoying themselves, and probably saw a little of themself in one or more of the characters.
According to the program, this is the first professional show for several cast members. I wish them well, and look forward to what their future holds. Catch Mean Girls through Sunday October 15th.
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