Before the curtain opens to reveal the ensemble onstage at the Concert Hall, Janis Sarkisian (Alexys Morera) and Damian Hubbard (Ethan Jih-Cook) enter downstage to begin telling the story of “Mean Girls.” The two hilarious characters, who act as the show’s narrators, prepare the audience for what is to come with the song “A Cautionary Tale.”
“This is a cautionary tale about corruption and betrayal and getting hit by a bus,” they tell the audience.
“Mean Girls” began its North American tour in Sept., and this week, the show made its debut in Birmingham at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC).
This Broadway musical, based on the pop-culture classic film, opened in 2018, and it currently has an 83% on show-score, the Rotten Tomatoes of theatre. Written by the film’s screenwriter, Tina Fey, and directed by Tony award winner Casey Nicholaw, “Mean Girls” was a massive success on Broadway.
The show follows Cady Heron (Natalie Shaw), who is experiencing high school for the first time after years of homeschooling in Africa. After arriving at school, she realizes that making friends and finding her place in the social hierarchy will be harder than she thought.
In Cady’s high school, a trio of girls called “The Plastics” rule the school. Their leader, Regina George (Maya Petropoulos), is simultaneously an idol and a living nightmare for the other students. Unexpectedly, the group takes Cady under their wing, and the audience watches as Cady goes from a naïve nerd to the new queen bee.
The cast for the Broadway tour was fantastic. Every character was full of life and filled the massive stage of the BJCC Concert Hall. The energy brought by the leads and ensemble kept the audience wanting more at the end of every scene. They balanced comedy and sentiment on a razor wire, but it was done perfectly.
Although the entire cast was phenomenal, Petropoulos stole the show as Regina George. Portraying an iconic character onstage is incredibly difficult; the audience already has its expectations of your character. Petropoulos stayed true to the character initially played by Rachel McAdams, but she also made the character her own. Her stage presence made it impossible to look anywhere else when she was onstage. She was hilarious, menacing and charming all at once.
Vocally, Petropoulos was unmatched. The show’s cast was full of incredible musical talent, but Regina George’s songs were unrivaled. “World Burn,” George’s revenge number, left the audience speechless.
Overall, “Mean Girls” was incredibly fun and engaging. No moment felt dull or too long. The changes made in the script to match current events didn’t feel overdone or out of place. The stage show is worth a watch, and it was exciting to learn that the musical will be adapted into its own film in 2024.
Arts & Life Editor
