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If, like me, your introduction to Mean Girls involved wearing out a well-loved DVD in the mid-2000s, then seeing it brought to life on stage (as a musical, no less) feels like stepping straight back into your teenage bedroom. This week, I headed to the Regent Theatre to catch Mean Girls: The Musical on its UK tour, and it’s just as nostalgic, hilarious and as sharp as I would hope for it to be.
Written by Tina Fey – who, of course, wrote the film and starred in the OG role of Ms Norbury on screen – the musical keeps everything that made the original so quotable, while giving it a modern refresh with a hint of gen-z energy. The story still follows Cady Heron, a previously home-schooled teen navigating the social jungle of North Shore High, where Regina George is the apex predator, with fellow ‘Plastics’ Gretchen and Karen never too far behind her.
Emily Lane is a brilliantly likeable Cady, bringing just the right balance of social naivety and gradual moral unravelling as she gets swept up in Regina’s orbit. Speaking of Regina, Vivian Panka is every inch the queen bee – commanding, cutting and completely watchable. Her gravitational pull is astounding and you can feel the audience leaning in whenever she’s on stage.
One of the biggest crowd-pleasers of the night is Faye Tozer of Steps fame, who juggles multiple roles including Ms Norbury, Ms Heron and the hilariously chaotic Cool Mom Mrs George. She clearly relishes every moment, and it shows – her scenes are some of the most fun in the entire production.
A special mention has to go to Sadie Levett, who stepped in as Janis Sarkisian and delivered a biting performance full of attitude. Alongside her, Max Gill’s Damien delivers big laughs and even bigger vocals, making him an instant audience favourite.
The supporting cast – including Sophie Pourret as a perfectly dumb Karen, Kiara Dario as perpetually stressed Gretchen, Ben Oatley as Aaron Samuels and Karim Zeroual as Kevin G – keep the energy high throughout and all get their time to shine a light on their character. (Although I’ll admit, I did miss Kevin G’s full rap moment.)
What really stands out is how well the musical translates the film’s iconic humour to the stage. The script is packed with the one-liners we all know and love, but it never feels like a lazy copy-and-paste. It’s familiar enough to satisfy longtime fans *cough* millennials *cough*, but fresh enough to reel in new audiences, too.
The score is another highlight. It’s full of genuinely catchy songs like the uptempo I’d Rather Be Me and Revenge Party, as well as the more dramatic World Burn. Across the board, the vocals are seriously impressive with big, confident performances delivered with power and personality, which gives the songs an extra punch live.
And beyond the pink outfits, savage burns and laugh-out-loud moments, Mean Girls has always been about more than popularity and high school drama – it’s about remembering that tearing other people down doesn’t build you up, which feels just as relevant today as it did over 20 years ago.
For those of us who grew up with Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried defining these roles on screen, this stage version feels like a love letter to a movie that’s found itself embedded in girlhood legacy, while standing as confidently on its own two feet as Regina George on a cafeteria table.
Funny, fast-paced and totally ‘fetch’, Mean Girls: The Musical is on at The Regent Theatre until Saturday, April 4.
