Mean Girls

(seen at the afternoon preview performance on 13th June 2024)

In the same territory as other American 80s onward teen musicals like “Heathers,” “Carrie” and “Cruel Intentions,” this is about the perils of fitting in during those difficult senior high school years. In fact, “cruel intentions” is what this show is mostly about.

Having said that, it is less dark and delicious than “Cruel Intentions,” less demented than “Heathers” or “Carrie.” We see Cady Heron (Charlie Burn) become popular, even more popular, crash and rise again via inexplicable adolescent politics.

With literally a language of its own, for those who grew up loving the movies it is an opportunity to use it again. For the rest of us, not a bad way at all to learn.

The music careens around like a teenage girl’s emotions. Sometimes inspiring - “I’d Rather Be Me” burns like hair-straighteners left on a quilt - other times purely functional to get through the day, with a sprinkling of inertia. 

Lyric and book are likewise, matching the fun pre-show and post-show projections (Finn Ross and Adam Young on usual form) for vicious wit and satire for the most part. Sometimes there elongating unnecessarily; sequences like “Someone Gets Hurt” and “Revenge Party” accommodate the demands of a musical for a dance-break, when really all we want is to find out what happens next.

The smoothly flowing (Scott Pask) set provides lunchrooms and classrooms and bedrooms and (soon-to-be-wrecked living rooms) against a moving video wall. In particular, a fun escalator cheers up a shopping mall sequence where the pun on store names is less than intelligible to a UK audience unfamiliar with the brands. 

For some reason, director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw sometimes kills momentum set by the scenery. It takes far longer than needed to establish back-story and history. A single song is usually sufficient, whereas this takes over 20 minutes to really begin and, even then, the monkey didn’t pick up on the Kenyan origins of Cady right from the start. 

What it did pick up on is the quality of the cast. Only a week or so into previews, they are clearly a tightly bonded team, and an outstanding credit to Natalie Gallacher’s casting skills.

Charlie Burn is adorably forthright and confused, skilfully navigating the audience as it swings for and against her - she never loses us for a moment.

Nemesis Regina George, the to-be-deposed Queen of the School has Georgina Castle on her best form yet. Oozing cruelty like honey, but with actual honey beneath, the monkey loved particularly her “Disney” line from her wheelchair.

Acolytes Karen Smith and Gretchen Wieners (Grace Mouat and Elena Gyasi) orbit dangerously, their tenuous grasp on reality thrown even more off-kilter by their leader’s outrageousness.

Mouat stops the show whenever her single brain-cell kicks in, her big moment comedically timed to perfection. Gyasi is blessed with an extra cell, watching her use it to try and figure out what is happening never fails to amuse.

For the anti-plastic, less shiny in appearance but stronger by far in integrity, friends Damian Hubbard and Janis Sarkisian (Tom Xander and Elena Skye) are outstanding. Xander’s determination to fight for the truth, Skye’s bravery in always speaking it are compelling, touching and often hilarious in every scene they play together.

In smaller roles, Daniel Bravo as heartthrob Aaron Samuels straddles all social groups like a human Venn Diagram intersection – something both himself and mathlete Kevin Ganatra (Lucca Chadwick-Patel, strongly drawn) know much about.

The two adults, teachers Mr Duvall (Ako Mitchell) and Ms Norbury (Zoe Rainey) cannot win against their unruly charges, but both have an assurance which leaves us wanting more – Rainey’s final moment is a hoot. She also manages to play both Ms Heron and Mrs George, vastly contrasting parents of our leads, with awesomely flexible character skills.

With intermittent energy, events bump along in predictable fashion as new girl integrates, ingratiates and eventually just grates on the student body. Fortunately, the gear-change in the second half is redemptive, the final message heartening and well-delivered with sincerity. 

Not a musical for those who enjoy a classic old-time tuner, a jukebox show or a deep intellectual dive. Fans of the film should be satisfied that their favourite characters and lines are intact.

Regular theatregoers like the monkey will chuckle fairly often and admire the performances. Almost certain to find a following, a good birthday treat for the sophisticated teen lady in your life at the very least.