‘Mean Girls’ @ Winspear Opera House (ATTPAC)
Production photos by Jeremy Daniel
—Carol M. Rice
Mean Girls is one of those fun musicals that started off as (what else?) a fun film—also called Mean Girls, of course. It reminds me of Legally Blonde (one of my faves, both as a movie and a musical), in that there’s a lot of pink involved, and some good messages that don’t beat you over the head.
Cady Heron is a 16-year-old girl who has been homeschooled in Africa all her life—so it’s not surprising when she experiences the culture shock of her “first encounter” with a typical American high school and its many cliques. Katie Yeomans is perfect as Cady. We get to see her character grow from a shy, unsure little girl to ruling the school to getting knocked back down to earth, and Yeomans manages all of this flawlessly. She also has a powerhouse voice.
Cady is first befriended by misfits Janis Sarkinson and Damian Hubbard, portrayed by Alexys Morera and Joshua Morrisey. They explain the lay of the land (“Where Do You Belong?”) when it comes to the cliques at the school, and encourage Cady to befriend and spy on “the Plastics,” aka the beautiful, popular girls who run the place. (Janis used to be best friends with Regina George, the undisputed leader of the Plastics, and she’s still bitter about it.)
When Cady truly becomes one of the Plastics, things turn ugly with Janis and Damian. As Damian, Morrisey is the comic relief who also gets a big tap number. His chemistry with Morera is excellent, but she is the one to watch! With her goth looks and soaring vocal prowess, Morera is mesmerizing in every scene she’s in, yet she doesn’t steal focus from her castmates.
Maya Petropoulos plays Regina George with the kind of sex appeal that can’t be taught. Her cat-like persona and condescension toward everyone and everything around her is a master class in disdain.
Kristen Amanda Smith is hilarious as Gretchen Wieners, Regina’s most insecure and devoted follower. She provides a fabulous contrast to Petropoulos’ languid character with her hyper, attention-grabbing delivery, and her song “What’s Wrong with Me?” is a highlight of the show.
The third member of the plastics is the incredibly dumb Karen Smith, played brilliantly by Maryrose Brendel. Brendel is completely believable as a beautiful, empty-headed high schooler who only knows how to be pretty. She has excellent comic and physical timing, even as she nearly runs into walls upon exits.
Kristen Seggio portrays the vastly different roles of Mrs. Heron, Ms. Norbury, and Mrs. George. I honestly didn’t realize she played all three of them until I looked at the program later. These are all pivotal roles that she completely nails.
As Cady’s love interest, José Raúl has better chemistry with Petropoulos than Heron. Kabir Gandhi makes the role of Kevin G (math whiz and DJ) a standout, and Tym Brown gets a lot of laughs with his dry delivery as Mr. Duvall.
The ever-moving set by designer Scott Pask is flawless, with everything from a typical high school cafeteria to Regina’s bedroom. The spot-on costume design by Gregg Barnes gives everyone their own flair, and I loved Cady’s transformation via clothes from plain to stunning and back again. Regina’s fake butt was also inspired.
Mean Girls is a musical with a book by Tina Fey, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and music by Jeff Richmond. The 2004 Paramount Pictures film upon which it’s based was also written by Fey, and the musical was subsequently turned BACK into a movie (with screenplay by Fey) in 2024. (It’s Fey all the way.) At the Winspear Opera House, we are treated to the second national tour as part of AT&T Performing Arts Center’s “Broadway at the Center” series.
Mean Girls could come off as just another movie-to-musical cash grab, but it’s obviously been a labor of love for Tina Fey; she’s made sure that in every version, the message of forgiveness and friendship is the point of the story. While we tend to remember the classic lines (“On Wednesdays, we wear pink,” etc.) this is one of those stories that resonates on lots of levels.
The “happy ending”—full of warm fuzzies—isn’t at all trite, and might make you think how good it would feel if more girls supported each other. Stuff to ponder as you walk out of the Winspear and head for the car.
The Mean Girls stop-off in Dallas is a really short one this time around, so don’t miss it!
WHEN: April 17-19, 2025
WHERE: Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St., Dallas
WEB: attpac.org
