Skip to main content Skip to footer site map
Review: MEAN GIRLS at BroadwaySF

Review: MEAN GIRLS at BroadwaySF

Mean Girls continues through February 26th, 2023.

When her mother gets a new job in Chicago, Cady must leave the wilds of Kenya for High School in yet another type of jungle, where the power cliques prey on the weaker links. Its Social Darwinism dished out by a group called 'The Plastics', the Mean Girls of writer Tina Fey's musical based on her 2004 film of the same name. It's a familiar story of bullying, acceptance and social groupings with an OK score and clever wise-cracking dialogue.

The first act zips along nicely with all the main characters getting numbers that clearly explain their places in the pecking order. Damian (Eric Huffman) is the clichéd flamboyant gay, Janis (Lindsay Heather Pearce) the goth outsider, singing "Where Do You Belong?" to newcomer Cady (English Bernhardt). The Plastics are Regina George (Nadina Hassan), the Queen Bee, Gretchen (Jasmine Rogers) the nervous, eager-to-please second in command, and Karen (Morgan Ashley Bryant), an African-American stereotypical 'dumb blonde'.

Review: MEAN GIRLS at BroadwaySF

Janis and Damian have Cady infiltrate the Mean Girls and before the first act is through, Regina is humiliated and defeated and freedom reigns ("Fearless"). Tight, concise act that for me, would've been enough. There's clever staging utilizing sliding school desks and chairs, and a fantastic musical number using red lunch trays as props. Scenic designer Scott Pask interestingly projects 3-D graphics on the back walls to create a variety of landscapes from Africa to school prom.

Review: MEAN GIRLS at BroadwaySF Mean Girls second act stretches the concept a little thin with a few throwaway numbers. Of course Cady becomes a plastic, replacing Regina and losing her real friends and boyfriend as well before all is resolved in a happy ending. The leads are all one-dimensional, but Fey's writing lifts the material with some really funny lines. The female vocals all tended to reach screech levels so sharp that dogs in the vicinity started barking.

Mean Girls added to the group of teenage angst films both serious and comic like Breakfast Club, School Ties, Clueless and Easy A. Fey has the ability to highlight the absurdity of these social conventions while making us want to revel in it. Maybe its absolution for our participation?

Mean Girls continues through February 26th, 2023. Tickets available at broadwaysf.com.

Photo credit: Jenny Anderson



Review: FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Photo
What did our critic think of FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley?

Front Porch to Present A Showcase Of Local Musical Talent Photo
Town Hall Theatre will kick off a quarterly performance series featuring local musicians performing well-known as well as original songs in an entertaining evening for the whole family. Entitled Front Porch Presents, the first show will happen on Friday, April 7th at 7:00pm on the stage at Town Hall Theatre and will feature special guest, Lafayette's Stevie Coyle of The Quitters, along with eight other musical acts. 

Bay Area Cabaret to Welcome FUNNY GIRLs Julie Benko with Jason Yeager in April Photo
Bay Area Cabaret will present the highly anticipated cabaret debut of Julie Benko, Broadway's sensational Funny Girl standby-to-breakout star as Fanny Brice, and Jason Yeager, the highly praised jazz pianist-composer, in their new hit show, Hand in Hand, on Sunday, April 16 at 5 p.m., at the elegant Venetian Room.

Diablo Regional Arts Association Names Paige Hernandez as First-Ever Artist in Residence Photo
Diablo Regional Arts Association has named acclaimed performer, director, choreographer, and playwright Paige Hernandez as its first-ever Artist in Residence.


From This Author - Steve Murray

Steve Murray is a writer for Cabaret Scenes magazine, contributor to ForAllEvents and now BroadwayWorld. He started writing rock reviews for his college newspaper in the 1970’s, produced a va... (read more about this author)


Review: FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon ValleyReview: FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
March 19, 2023

What did our critic think of FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley?

Review: CLUE at SF PlayhouseReview: CLUE at SF Playhouse
March 17, 2023

What did our critic think of CLUE at SF Playhouse?

Review: SIX at Orpheum TheatreReview: SIX at Orpheum Theatre
February 23, 2023

What did our critic think of SIX at Orpheum Theatre? Six wives, six women, six individual stories all bonded by marriage to Henry VIII. Playwrights Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss explore each woman from their perspectives through a boisterous musical score mirroring easily recognizable contemporary pop and R&B vocalists. Not so much a history lesson as a bonding sisterhood tome, SIX is a high-powered, crowd-pleasing rock musical worthy of its many awards including Tony Award. for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics).

Review: THE HEADLANDS at American Conservatory TheatreReview: THE HEADLANDS at American Conservatory Theatre
February 16, 2023

What did our critic think of THE HEADLANDS at American Conservatory Theatre?

Review: MEAN GIRLS at BroadwaySFReview: MEAN GIRLS at BroadwaySF
February 7, 2023

What did our critic think of MEAN GIRLS at Golden Gate Theatre? When her mother gets a new job in Chicago, Cady must leave the wilds of Kenya for High School in yet another type of jungle, where the power cliques prey on the weaker links. Its Social Darwinism dished out by a group called 'The Plastics', the Mean Girls of writer Tina Fey's musical based on her 2004 film of the same name. It's a familiar story of bullying, acceptance and social groupings with an OK score and clever wise-cracking dialogue.