 |
| Courtesy of MEAN GIRLS on Broadway |
Last month my family and I finally got to see Mean Girls. We only waited about four years to make this happen. We got the original cast recording in 2018 and couldn't stop listening to it. So when tickets went on sale this past year, I got on top of that right away!
I'm sorry it took so long to share my thoughts on the musical. Right after we saw it, we had to start preparing for Passover. Then things were just busy around that time, and afterward I wasn't motivated to blog outside of Chick Lit Central. So thanks for your patience!
My first warning to anyone wanting to see Mean Girls: Do NOT listen to the cast recording. I know that sounds hypocritical coming from me, but I learned this the hard way. My kids and I had most of it memorized, so when they changed a bunch of lyrics right away or took lines out of songs, we noticed and it was a bit distracting. This was especially the case during "It Roars." They also took a section out of "Stupid With Love." They completely removed the first reprise of "Someone Gets Hurt." (The one that comes after "Fearless.") They also added a new part to "Fearless" and I couldn't hear the lines all that well. However, that is my main gripe with the show. The other smaller one was that it was sometimes hard to hear lines and I missed a couple of jokes. Otherwise, it was a lot of fun!
The background for the set is the coolest. It's all digital with video footage to establish scene changes and other things going on during songs. I love how it made things more versatile for the performance vs. having to physically change backgrounds between songs all the time. There was a better flow. My husband and I both loved how they transitioned from the high school to the mall so easily with these digital backgrounds.
 |
| The stage before the show. |
The cast did a great job overall. I really liked Gretchen, Karen, Damian, and Janis the most. They all sang really well and added a lot of personality into the show. I enjoyed watching them the entire time. I loved seeing certain songs play out, like "Where Do You Belong?", "Revenge Party," and "Stop." Those are some of the songs I always liked on the cast recording and I'm glad they didn't mess with too many of the lines. "Sexy" (the Halloween song) and "Apex Predator" were done really well too. It was cool to get some context behind the songs that I didn't get just from listening to them.
 |
| Costume display at the Kennedy Center |
I had a great time seeing Mean Girls, but I don't know that I'd go to see it again. Maybe when they make the musical into a movie. While there were a lot of funny moments, I felt like I didn't laugh as much as I did from the movie. One of my favorite funny moments involved the North Shore Lions mascot during "Revenge Party" and I'm just so glad that part went over my daughter's head. As far as movie to musical adaptations go, it's good, especially in terms of the songs and how well they follow the story from the movie. (Although I wish Gretchen had yelled "You can't sit with us!") There was good energy throughout, as well. However, it falls short of the standard that Legally Blonde set for me when it became a musical. (Heathers is one of the few that lives up to this standard.) This is more along the lines of Waitress for me.
It's definitely fun for a family outing, a girls' night, or even a date. However, if you see it on Wednesday, you must wear pink! (I saw it on a Sunday and I was probably one of the few women who didn't wear pink anyway.)
Here are some pictures of my family and me at the show. (My younger son didn't want to be in any of the theater pictures.)
Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following me.
