Hey y’all-hope it’s been a good week! Thanks so much for all your kind words and encouragement on my post about National Eating Disorders Awareness Week the other day. It’s feedback like this that reminds me of the most rewarding reason I blog. Today I’m back and switching gears to something a little more lighthearted. A couple weeks ago I got to see “Mean Girls” the musical at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC). So, I wanted to share my recap of the show with y’all! Spoiler alert-it was amazing!
Of course, I had to wear pink! I paired a solid cotton pink Lilly Pulitzer Elsa top I’ve had for years with the printed Lilly Pulitzer headband I got from the most recent After Party Sale.
Favorite Movie Turned Musical
“Mean Girls” is one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s one of those where I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen it, and I’ve seen it so many times I know when the funny parts happen and start laughing ahead of time. So when my parents offered me their tickets for “Mean Girls” the musical at the DPAC, I was so excited. I had been wanting to see this show every since I first heard “Mean Girls” was made into a musical. One of my friends from church went with me for a fun girls’ night out.
Overall Review of “Mean Girls” the Musical
“Mean Girls” the musical gets an A+ overall! I really loved how they incorporated many of the catch phrases from the movie into the musical. For instance, Gretchen Wieners’ hair is still full of secrets, and The Plastics still wear pink on Wednesdays. And Regina George’s mom is still “not a regular mom” but “a cool mom.” They still say “You go, Glenn Coco” when he gets four candy canes. And they still “make fetch happen.” But the producers also updated the story by weaving current pop culture references into the musical. It’s crazy to think that social media was nonexistent back when “Mean Girls” the movie came out in 2004. And the iPhone was a thing of the future. So the musical includes mentions of Instagram likes, Snapchat, and smartphones.
The main characters and plot are the same in the musical as they were in the movie. Cady Heron is still the formerly homeschool new girl at school who just moved from Africa. Regina George is still the “queen bee” who gets hit by a bus. Janis Ian and Damien are still Cady’s quirky but loyal sidekicks who befriend her from the get-go. Kevin G is still the captain of the Mathletes who attempts to get Cady to join. And it’s still considered “social suicide” to join the Mathletes. Cady still sends herself a candy cane pretending it’s from Regina in order to “crack” Gretchen Wieners as part of her plan to get revenge on Regina for stealing Aaron Samuels back. The infamous “Burn Book” also still exists. However, one character from the movie who is not in the musical is Regina George’s kid sister. She’s a very minor character, but I still thought she added a comic touch to the movie when she’s dancing to “Milkshake” and watching “Girls Gone Wild.”
“Mean Girls” Musical Numbers
It’s definitely fun to watch a beloved movie in musical form and see what the songwriters come up with. You can listen to their entire soundtrack of the original Broadway recording on Apple Music or Spotify. My favorite songs from “Mean Girls” the Musical are the following:
“Stupid with Love“- This plays when Cady first meets Aaron in calculus class. There’s a reference to “The Bachelor” in the lyrics too. Another example of how the musical incorporates current pop culture. “The Bachelor was only a couple seasons old when “Mean Girls” the movie premiered.
“Revenge Party“- This plays right after Cady is betrayed by Regina at the Halloween party. She begins to plot her revenge with Janis and Damien. The tune is very upbeat, and the lyrics are catchy.
“Fearless“- This is another catchy and upbeat song that concludes Act 1 of the musical.
“Stop“- This is the first musical number of Act 2. Damien is the lead singer in this one, and he is warning Cady to “stop” and think things through before she goes too far in her “Plastic Sabatoge” scheme. These lyrics have references to YouTube and Snapchat to add to the current cultural references. There’s a warming to “think before posting.” A lot of us could heed this advice. In addition, there’s some really cool tap dancing in this number!
“Do This Thing“- This is the second to last song in the musical, and it occurs as the Northshore High School Mathletes are competing for the state championship. There’s some hilarious lines from Kevin G in it. Plus, all the math references make me wonder how in the world I made a 5 on my AP Calculus exam years ago, because I would definitely fail if I attempted it today-ha! I have no idea how to find an asymptote or a limit or a tangent line, or even what they are or what the point is. It blows my mind that I once knew how to do calculus. Aside from a basic derivative I know nothing! Calculus is definitely a “use it or lose it” skill.
So Fetch
I loved “Mean Girls” the Musical, and definitely give it five out of five stars! However, “Legally Blonde” is still my favorite musical. “Mean Girls” comes in a close second though. Clearly, I love it when one of my favorite movies becomes a musical. I highly recommend seeing “Mean Girls” the musical if you have a chance. You can check out the official Broadway site here and find tickets to see it on Broadway or on tour.
Have you ever seen “Mean Girls” the Musical? If so, what was your favorite song? And if you haven’t seen the musical yet, what’s one of your favorite parts of “Mean Girls” the movie?
PS. I titled this post “You Can Sit with Us” as a play on the famous “you can’t sit with us” line from “Mean Girls.” As much as I love “Mean Girls,” I definitely want to promote a message of being inclusive!
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-xoxo Liz
