Let me start out by saying, "This isn't just any review. This is the cool review!"
My readers know me.
They know I say a lot of the same things regarding the musicals I visit and watch. "Run; don't walk." "Immensely talented cast."
Well. I'm going to start out this review by saying those same two things, but maybe with a twist - "Get in the car and go fast! Don't walk or run - DRIVE!" "Over the top talented cast!"
Y'all. This Southern girl went into The Fox Theatre last night blindly. I have never seen the movie this musical is a take-off on, "Mean Girls." I didn't know one little thing about it - not even who stared in the movie all those years ago.
I didn't understand the significance of the Burn Book souvenir a Fox employee was selling. I just didn't get it. I didn't understand why we had to wear pink. I didn't understand who the Plastics were...
But - good news is - now, I do.
I understand why the crowd last night was predominantly high school- and college-aged young women. I understand the huge audience participation factor. People cat-calling and cheering the actors on. People yelling and clapping wildly for musical acts and numbers. People very familiar with both the movie and the musical. There was so much laughing in the theatre last night. Gosh, it was fun.
...and I can see why. Each character is unique and special. (I think my favorite was KAREN. Brilliant performance by Morgan Ashley Bryant. She nailed it.)
Each one brings a little something to the table that we can all relate to. You end up cheering for the good things and booing for the bad. The story line is (sadly) a little typical of the high school years. Bullies, cheerleaders, math teams, art students, and more. Writer Tina Fey captures the essence of high school perfectly.
You follow along as Cady Heron and her parents move from Africa to Chicago. How Cady transforms from a home-schooled plain Jane to one of the Plastics (the popular, very superficial, and mean girls) and then back again to find her true self.
It's a wonderfully magical, funny, and a good time. Tina Fey keeps to the movie's story line but adds in more character depth and exploration, and her husband's (Jeff Richmond) music and Nell Benjamin's lyrics round out the full circle.
Classic lines like, "We wear pink on Wednesdays!" still remain.
Mean Girls, in my opinion (if you are debating taking younger girls), rates about a PG-13 for slight language and sexual references. There is no nudity in the musical. Since I haven't seen the movie, I can't compare it, but I imagine it runs about the same.
At the premiere in Atlanta last night, I did see several middle-aged girls with parents and Grandparents, and I didn't feel uncomfortable with what was on stage. I think it would be fine for that age group.
Tickets are available at The Fox Theatre box office (660 P'tree Street NE), by visiting foxtheatre.org/meangirls, or by calling 855.285.8499.
Mean girls will play through July 24 with the remaining performance schedule as follows:
- Tuesday - Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, 8:00 p.m.
- Saturday, 2 p.m., 8 p.m.
- Sunday, 1 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
