Interview: Kathryn Jacobson of MEAN GIRLS at QUEENSBURY THEATRE

Kathryn Jacobson is in QUEENSBURY THEATRE’s production of MEAN GIRLS as Regina George, which plays August 6-16. Kathryn is a Dallas-Fort Worth-based actor, but began her professional theatrical career right here in Houston! She was last seen in Queensbury’s production of Unlock’d (Clarissa) in 2018, and  she is thrilled to be back for this production! BROADWAY WORLD writer Brett Cullum got a chance to talk with Kathryn about becoming the absolute meanest of the MEAN GIRLS. 

Brett Cullum: Obviously, you've got one of the choice roles. Tell me a little bit about your character and what MEAN GIRLS is about. 

Kathryn Jacobson: MEAN GIRLS is based on the 2004 movie, I want to say, I might be incorrect there, but based on the movie with Rachel McAdams, who played Regina George, and Lindsay Lohan, who played Cady Heron. It follows Cady's story. She is essentially coming to a high school in the United States. She gets wrapped in with “the Plastics,” who consist of Regina and her two friends, Gretchen and Karen. And yeah, it's a coming-of-age story. It's her story, how she transitions into a mean girl and then finds herself again at the end. It's super fun. The musical came out just a few years ago. So I believe this is the regional premiere of the musical version in Houston. 

Brett Cullum:  And my God, you're playing one of the greatest villains of musical theater. And obviously, you have a lot of experience with this because I was peeping your biography, and you've done Ursula in THE LITTLE MERMAID, you've done the Wicked Witch in THE WIZARD OF OZ, and  Maleficent in SLEEPING BEAUTY. 

Kathryn Jacobson: Well, so I kind of, yeah, it's funny. Actually, I stumbled into the villain career when I lived in Houston, about God, I'm going to age myself. Back in 2016, I booked Heather Chandler in HEATHER'S the musical at Theatre Under the Stars. And so that was my first real main villain. From that moment on, this is what I love to do. It's just so different than my day-to-day. It's definitely like a release for me. So, yeah, I've played a villain or 15 in my time. 

Brett Cullum: What is the biggest challenge about doing Mean Girls? What's, especially when you've got this big juicy part. 

Kathryn Jacobson: Regina is probably one of the hardest vocal tracks that I've been dealt. Just making sure: as an actor/performer, my instrument is part of my body, so preparing physically. I've been really, really diligent with both by this, it's so lame, but my workouts, my supplement regimen, my hydration, just making sure that I can give a consistent performance every night and do that while also in stilettos. That's going to be thrilling and fun. Also, to be very simple about it, it's very easy to be mean. But finding the humor in the meanness and also the humanity can be kind of tricky. So I'm looking forward to getting started in rehearsals and diving into that.

Brett Cullum: Take me back to little Kathryn before you were a big, mean girl and before you were this great stage villain. How did you end up in acting? 

Kathryn Jacobson: I come from a pretty musical family. I always knew from a pretty early age that I could sing. From sixth grade on, I told everyone I was the next Kelly Clarkson. She was like 15 minutes from my hometown. But my freshman year of high school, one of my friends in choir was like, "You need to audition for the musical. You have a good theater voice.” And at the time, I had no idea what that meant. But I showed up and auditioned for THE GOODBYE GIRL, a 1993 musical starring Bernadette Peters and Martin Short. And I ended up getting cast as the Bernadette Peters part, which is like a 35-year-old, which is crazy because I was 14. That's high school theater for you! 30 minutes, an hour of doing it, I was like, this is the coolest thing I've ever done. And I want to do it forever. So that's how I got my start. And I always tell that story. It's tragic now, but I remember going home and listening to the audition material and Bernadette Peters's voice, and, as a pop girly, being like, “I can't stand this woman on the CD!”  Which now as a musical theater girl. I am like, how dare I?!? Bernadette Peters is a legend. She is perfect. Never change. So that's how I got my start, and it's been that way ever since.

Brett Cullum: Now, you started doing a lot of stuff here in Houston, like with TUTS and all of that. But you moved on us. You went to Dallas. 

Kathryn Jacobson: I went to Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. I didn't get utilized much in my program, so I took a ton of internships at Main Street Theater, Stages, and eventually Theatre Under the Stars. I started working professionally regionally right out of school and was there for a few years, where I got a lot of incredible opportunities. And then I did what any musical theater girl in her early 20s does. And I actually moved up to New York City first. Quite frankly, I am so glad I went. I learned so much, but it was not for me. Not only am I like a sunshine kind of gal, but the cold was brutal, and it was just the grind and the everyday of auditioning and nannying and all these things that I don't necessarily love doing.

So I decided my family is from Dallas-Fort Worth. So I figured, you know, I can perform there. And I'm also a mom. So I met my husband up in New York at the time, and we decided we wanted to start a family. So I thought kind of Hannah Montana, “best of both worlds,” I can perform, and I can be a mom. And DFW was definitely the place where I wanted to do that. 

Brett Cullum: What is the theater scene like there as opposed to Houston? Is there a big difference? 

Kathryn Jacobson: I feel like there is like the Fort Worth scene and then there's the Dallas scene, and they're a little different. And I don't know if I'll get in trouble for saying this, but Fort Worth audiences are definitely on the more conservative side of things. In your Dallas audiences, you could get away with a little bit more juicy or risque theater. So that's definitely there. I feel there's a separation. Whereas Houston is one big unit kind of thing. I don't feel like there's a huge separation of any kind within the theater scene. But as far as opportunity goes, I feel like they both have great regional houses, theaters are doing cool works, and I'm super fortunate for that. 

Brett Cullum:  Well, certainly Houston's got a lot of theater. We are so glad to have you coming in to visit, because I think the last time you were at Queensborough was around 2018.

Kathryn Jacobson: Yeah, this was like I was still living in New York. I auditioned for that production called UNLOCK'D. I auditioned for the writers and the creative team up in New York and then came down for it. So yeah, since then I've moved back to Dallas. I got married. I had two kids. So a lot has happened since I moved away, and I last worked in Houston. So it's going to be kind of exciting and fresh to come back and work with some familiar faces, as well as a lot of brand-new people to me. 

Brett Cullum: Well, one of the things I noticed about this Queensbury production, this cast is stacked. So tell me a little bit about the cast and who's in this thing.

Kathryn Jacobson: My connection to learning about MEAN GIRLS came through one of my dear, dear closest, oldest friends, Marco Camacho, who is the artistic director there as well. He reached out and was kind of like, “Would you be interested? Would this be feasible? I know you're a mom! Could you maybe come for a few weeks?”  He and I have done many, many, many shows together. So this is the first time we've worked together in, God, almost, yeah, since maybe 2019. And Holland Vavra's in it, too. She and I did XANADU and some Theatre Under the Stars shows way back in the day. Teresa Zimmerman is playing Janice, and oh my God, talk about a killer stage presence and an incredible voice. And that's just a handful of them. I've seen Sachi; I've never worked with her, but I saw her do THE WIZARD OF OZ at Queensberry, the summer before. And she's fantastic. 

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