Review by Chris Heide
“So, you agree? You think Mean Girls is really good?’
Photo by Jenny Anderson
Mean Girls from Broadway at the Paramount has hit Seattle with force! Perhaps it has been the paucity of musical theatre, or perhaps it is the fact that this show is just that good, but I thoroughly enjoyed this rousing rendition of the Iconic movie.
Some of the best parts of the stylized rendition come straight from the move. Entire screens of dialogue come straight from the movie, and they are often the most enjoyable portion of the show. It is difficult, however, to not compare the delivery of such iconic lines with the original scenes from the movie. For example, Nadina Hassan, who played Regina George, is a pale comparison to the tour-de-force performance given by Rachel McAdams in the original film. Hassan is fine, but she lacks the necessary gravitas that is inherent to that character. Here, Regina is missing her trademark bitchiness and attempts the humanize the character fall flat.
On the flipside, Mary Kate Morrissey, who plays Janis Sarkisian, is a surprising standout. Not only does she have the most powerful voice out of the cast, but the character is more heavily featured than it was in the movie. Focusing on an underdog character who represents the “weird-kids” gives that storyline more emotional resonance than I would have otherwise expected. It is hyper focused on the impacts of bullying and the inherent value of authenticity and self-worth.
The best moments in the show really are the scenes straight out of the movie. It is fun and mesmerizing to see these iconic moments play out in real time. Mean Girls is a defining film for Millennials, and that feeling of nostalgia helps to elevate the overall quality of the show.
However, the show is long. In attempting to cram so much of the movie into the show, in addition to a bombastic repetition of musical numbers, the show begins to drag late into the second act. A bit of trimming and keeping it more streamline and focused on the iconic moments of the move would have been beneficial.
Nonetheless, Mean Girls is a fun, cute, and enjoyable show. It is likely to please fans of the movie, and I also appreciated that the show is geared towards an older audience. It does not stray away from overly sexual themes, and increases the amount of profanity from the original film.