Mean Girls is a musical with music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and a book by Tina Fey. It is based on the 2004 film of the same name written by Fey, which in turn is based on the 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. The musical premiered at the National Theatre, Washington, D.C., in October 2017 and opened on Broadway in April 2018 at the August Wilson Theatre. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show played its final performance on Broadway on March 11, 2020.
A film adaptation of the musical is set to be theatrically released on January 12, 2024.
Background
A musical adaptation of the 2004 film Mean Girls was in the works by 2013. News emerged on October 3, 2016—dubbed "Mean Girls Day" by fans, referencing a line in the movie "On October 3rd he asked me what day it was"—that the musical would have its world premiere in Washington, D.C., in the fall of 2017. On December 30, 2016, producers confirmed that the musical would make its premiere at the National Theatre in October 2017.
Productions
Broadway (2018-2020) The musical made its world premiere at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., on October 31, 2017, and ran through December 3, 2017. Mean Girls began previews on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre on March 12, 2018, before opening officially on April 8, 2018. Casey Nicholaw was the director of the show and its choreographer, and the musical is produced by Lorne Michaels and Stuart Thompson. The musical has costumes by Gregg Barnes, scenic design by Scott Pask, video design by Finn Ross and Adam Young, lighting by Kenneth Posner and sound by Brian Ronan.<ref>[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/mean-girls-515822#opennightcredit Mean Girls – Broadway Musical – Original "Mean Girls' Credits"] ibdb.com, Retrieved May 12, 2018,</ref> It was announced on January 23, 2020, that the Broadway production has recouped its capitalization. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced theatres across the nation to close, the show halted performances on March 11, 2020, when Broadway shut down; it was later announced on January 7, 2021, that Mean Girls had closed permanently after 833 performances.
U.S. National Tour (2019-present) The U.S. national tour began in Buffalo, New York, at Shea's Performing Arts Center, on September 21, 2019. Mary Kate Morrissey plays Janis Sarkisian, with Danielle Wade as Cady Heron, Mariah Rose Faith as Regina George, Megan Masako Haley as Gretchen Wieners, Jonalyn Saxer as Karen Smith, Eric Huffman as Damian Hubbard, Adante Carter as Aaron Samuels, and Kabir Bery as Kevin Gnapoor. The national tour concluded in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in May 2023.
A non-equity second national tour began on September 26, 2023, at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, New York and is scheduled to continue touring through May 2024. The cast is led by Natalie Shaw as Cady Heron, Maya Petropoulos as Regina George, Kristen Amanda Smith as Gretchen Wieners, MaryRose Brendel as Karen Smith, Alexys Morera as Janis Ian, Ethan Jih-Cook as Damian Hubbard, Joseph Torres as Aaron Samuels and Shawn Mathews as Kevin Gnapoor.
West End (2024) As of early January 2020, producers were in final talks of a West End production, and the show was expected to open in the late spring of 2021. Production was later brought to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in January 2021 producer Lorne Michaels said "We remain excited to bring this musical to the big screen, relaunch the tour and prepare for a London production." On October 3, 2023, it was announced that Mean Girls would play in the West End at the Savoy Theatre in June 2024.
Film adaptation
On January 23, 2020, Fey announced that a film adaptation of the musical was being produced.
In December 2022, Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Aulii Cravalho, and Jaquel Spivey were cast in the roles of Cady, Regina, Janis, and Damian, respectively. The film will be produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger. Arturo Perez and Samantha Jayne will direct with Fey writing the film. Paramount Pictures will release the film on Paramount+. In February 2023, it was announced that the roles of Karen, Aaron, and Gretchen would be played by Avantika, Christopher Briney, and Bebe Wood, respectively. Fey and Tim Meadows will reprise their roles as Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall from the 2004 film, while Jenna Fischer and Busy Philipps are set to play Mrs. Heron and Mrs. George. Ashley Park, who played Gretchen in the original Broadway production, is set to make a cameo in the film. Reneé Rapp, who replaced Louderman in the original Broadway production, is set to play Regina George in the film.