Recreating iconography is hard. And there might not be a more culturally recognizable mid-oughts artifact than that of 2004’s “Mean Girls,” directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey.
But, the difficulty of recreating mythos has never stopped anyone from trying. The musical version of “Mean Girls” hit Broadway in 2018, updating the movie for a new generation of teenagers. And now, City Springs Theatre Company’s recent production of the musical, which opened on May 1, is pulling a Gretchen Wieners and trying to make fetch happen all over again – to pretty stellar effect.
singing “Apex Predator” in the City Springs Theatre Company production of Mean Girls The Musical, May
1-17 at the Byers Theatre in Sandy Springs, GA (Photo courtesy of City Springs Theatre Company).
City Springs’ production of “Mean Girls: The Musical” stars Adagia Rueda as Cady Heron, a teenage girl who has spent her formative years living in Kenya with her scientist mother. When her mom takes a job at Northwestern University, Cady will have to navigate a far more wild place than the Savanna – public high school in suburban Illinois. Once there, she and her new friends Janis (Terica Marie) and Damian (Cole Fletcher) infiltrate and plot revenge against the most popular girls in school – the Plastics, led by Queen Bee Regina George (Landry Champlin).
Without a doubt, the most impressive thing about this City Springs’ production is the vocal prowess of its cast. “Mean Girls” is not the most dance heavy show in the world (although, there are some formidable acrobatics), so the athleticism of the singers becomes the main event. From the moment Marie and Fletcher step out onstage as Janis and Damian to sing “A Cautionary Tale,” the show’s opening number, you’re held rapt by strong voices. In addition to their vocals, Marie and Fletcher’s comedic chemistry holds the structure of the show together.
As Cady, Rueda follows them and ups the ante. Her voice is clear as a bell and precise as a dart, and her performance is filled with the delightful gawkiness and earnest excitement that characterize this version of Cady. She deftly changes her performance as Cady becomes more Regina George-esque, taking on Champlin’s more unaffected, slightly aggressive allure.
The talented cast (many of whom are making their City Springs debut) and the tightness of the production – an early scene where different members of the ensemble seamlessly move into different classrooms as both teachers and students shows how well-oiled this machine is – cover up a few nitpicks with the show itself.
As time progresses, the musical has had to contend with changing cultural norms, and each iteration has changed things here and there (for example, the movie version of the musical, which came out in 2024, removed the term “social suicide” as applied to Cady’s desire to join the Mathletes). Some of those changes work, and some don’t. But as a whole, this musical has always felt slightly too sanitized for its source material.
Janis’ big song, “I’d Rather Be Me,” is one of the standout moments in the show, and one of the songs that is able to capture the positivity of this updated version of “Mean Girls” while still holding onto the edge of the original. But the friendliness on display at the end of the show rings a little less true than the original film’s respect at a distance. Still, while you might walk out of “Mean Girls” the musical feeling a little less bite, you’ll also come out awed at the talent on the stage.
“Mean Girls: The Musical” is playing at the Byers Theatre in Sandy Springs through May 17.
