Mean Girls @ Fair Park/Broadway Dallas
—Chris Sanders
Right out of the gate, if you are looking for some good fun, great laughs, and an easy excuse to wear pink on a Wednesday, the national tour of Mean Girls from Broadway Dallas is the show for you.
Choreographed and directed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw, and with Tina Fey’s own adaptation of her hit movie, it’s something to see…literally.
Just be warned this isn’t necessarily “good, clean family fun”—there may or may not be a hint of sexual activity related to a high school mascot. If you were planning on bringing the tikes, and find such acts horrendous rather than oddly hilarious, you’ve been warned to leave the kids at home.
I have actually watched the film Mean Girls several times; however, I still found the musical version to be new and refreshing. In fact, the message of honesty and self-acceptance rang clearer in the musical than it did in the film. Perhaps I needed the message in the form of a song (and several reprises) to drive it home.
Going against my format, I am actually going to start with the show’s design elements, just so I can gush about the projections. In modern productions, they can be hit or miss—can either add to the story or be immensely self-indulgent and distracting. The video projections for Mean Girls, designed by Finn Ross and Adam Young (with scenic design by Scott Pask), were all of the former and none of the latter, in my humble opinion.
From an efficiency standpoint alone, projections are a genius addition to a touring show. Instead of worrying about how to build and move several large sets or dozens of furniture pieces, most of the scenes were established by the LED screen in the upstage area. We moved from Kenya to Illinois at the flick of a seamless switch and it was always a delight to behold.
When there were physical set pieces (desks, lockers, lunch tables), the shifts were included in the choreography of the performers. One of my favorite examples of this was during the “Where Do You Belong?” number, where students switched classes and teachers by changing the formation of their desks.
The ensemble in general is outstanding: from their dancing to the occasional one-liner, and in harmonies that still ring wonderfully in my ears, they are an utter delight.
April Josephine is a marvelous chameleon in her portrayals of Mrs. Heron, Ms. Norbury, and Mrs. George. I even appreciated some of her vocal affectations, sounding similar to Tina Fey while speaking as Norbury, and to Amy Poehler while speaking as Mother George.
English Bernhardt never misses a note as new-to-the-school Cady Heron. Her voice stayed beautiful and clear throughout the performance.
Olivia Renteria played Gretchen Wieners on this particular pink-wearing Wednesday. Ms. Renteria makes you laugh while breaking your heart in her performance of “What’s Wrong with Me?” You see and feel her desperation to be accepted by “queen bee” Regina George, and by the world at large.
Mary Kate Morrissey was a powerhouse, particularly in Janis Sarkisian’s number “I’d Rather Be Me.” My only issue was that some consonants, and therefore words, got lost in the sung dialogue. However, it was unclear if that was due to the performance or a problem with the mics. Still, whenever Morrissey sang, her voice beautifully blasted into the rafters.
Both Adante Carter and Lawrence E. Street do fantastic work as Aaron Samuels and Mr. Duvall. I wish there could have been more stage time and song opportunities for both, but the plot didn’t leave much room for such. Nadina Hassan’s rendition of Regina George is a force to be reckoned with, especially during moments of spoken dialogue. In Regina’s more menacing lower tones, Hassan’s voice shines through. At the performance attended, some of the higher notes seemed to evade Miss George, at least for those who have the ear to hear the difference.
Eric Huffman is an utter show stealer as Damian Hubbard, and I hope he never apologizes for it. A literal triple threat, singing, acting, dancing, Huffman does it all in the role, and he does it splendidly.
An equally delightful cast member is Morgan Ashley Bryant. She was completely charming as Karen Smith. She brought true sweetness to a character who comes off as vapid in the film. I fail to remember the amount of trauma Karen actually voices going through as a young woman, and yet the character still seems to bring a sense of light and freshness whenever present.
Returning to my thoughts on the entire ensemble, it is so refreshing to see a show that features many different ethnicities and body types. Nadina Hassan’s portrayal of Regina George is a joy. There is no reason why a beautiful multi-ethnic woman cannot be the most powerful figure in a room.* Hassan’s stage presence fits the role perfectly. Across the cast there is a wonderful mix of heights, skin tones, and dress sizes. In retrospect, I realize that I may have connected with the message of Mean Girls better because, as a plus-sized Black person, I finally saw representations of myself in the story.
Again, if you are looking for a show with great fun, amazing performances, refreshing inclusivity, and the occasional life lesson woven in, go see Mean Girls while it’s playing at Fair Park.
*A previous version of this review referring to Ms. Hassan as Asian American was an error on the writer’s part. Ms. Hassan is of Colombian and Egyptian heritage. Onstage NTX regrets the error.
WHEN: Through May 15
WHERE: Music Hall at Fair Park, Dallas
WEB: broadwaydallas.org
