From the mind of Tina Fey, MEAN GIRLS is a ferociously funny musical about the wild dangers of high school. From an award-winning creative team, including book-writer Fey, director Casey Nicholaw, composer Jeff Richmond, lyricist Nell Benjamin, experience the iconic humor in a new, unimaginable way.
Cady Heron may have grown up in African, but nothing prepared her for the vicious predators of her high school hallways. By taking on Regina George, the queen bee of the terrifying clique known as The Plastics, Cady learns that being popular is not the same as being loved.
MEAN GIRLS gets to the hilarious heart of what it means to be a true friend, a worthy nemesis, and above all, a human being.
'Mean Girls,' on the other hand, proves to be a wishy-washy, pointless adaptation of the smart and sassy 2004 film, which was written by Tina Fey and contains performances by Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lizzy Caplan and Fey. The primary problem is that the songs (music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin) are underwhelming and awkwardly inserted into the dialogue. As if trying to compensate, the production (staged by Casey Nicholaw, 'The Book of Mormon') pulsates with high energy and hyperkinetic movement, as seen in everything from the broad-style performances to the shifting digital projections and all-out dance choreography.
And yes, for sure, 'Mean Girls' is a chronicle on the superficial side: Some lip service is paid to the evils of bullying, but the evening is pure sendup. That it's a showcase for so many gifted young comic actresses is no minor blessing; and the guys, like Kyle Selig, as the requisite dreamboat, and Cheech Manohar, as the geeky showboat, are strong assets, too. Visual panache is supplied by Gregg Barnes's drop-dead costumes and the graphics-driven backdrops by Finn Ross and Adam Young. Best of all, in a marketplace filled with mindless work about teens, here's one that doesn't insult their intelligence - or yours.
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