Make Way for 'Mean Girls' on Broadway
The 2004 classic film, "Mean Girls" is back with a twist. The high school comedy movie will have a present day Broadway Musical adaptation - which means the Plastics will have social media influences that will take the plot to a whole new level. "Mean Girls" on Broadway will start next spring at the August Wilson Theater with beginning previews on March 12 and opening on April 8 followed by a run at Washington's National Theater from October 31 to December 3.
"Mean Girls" on Broadway will have the same characters and plot as the film. Tina Fey, one of the original casts and the screenplay writer of the film, has written the musical's book. Her husband, Jeff Richmond, composed the music while Nell Benjamin from the "Legally Blonde" wrote the lyrics. Casey Nicholaw from "The Book of Mormon" is the choreographer and the director of the show.
Lorne Michaels, the creator and the executive producer of "Saturday Night Live" is the lead producer for Mean Girls on Broadway. Michaels told the New York Times that there are lots of things you can do better in a musical and further stated that the characters are fuller. Michaels has a little experience on Broadway and he said that to understand the commercial theatre better, he has been meeting with the Broadway veterans.
Michaels said he is confident with the material of the show though he is concerned about "Mean Girls" competition on Broadway with the runs of shows like "Frozen" and "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" at the start of the season. He further said that despite that, people have been kind and helpful and want to make it work.
Lorne Michaels is co-producing the musical with Paramount Pictures and Stuart Thompson, who died last month. Michaels claimed that Thompson was a huge part of "Mean Girls" on Broadway and a mentor for him.
Erika Henningsen, Taylor Louderman, Ashley Park and Kate Rockwell were part of the cast as Cady Heron, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith respectively. Tina Fey has talked about the show and the cast in an interview with Jimmy Fallon saying that the cast is already rehearsing and are so talented.
