Review: Mean Girls at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

★★★★★

Coming direct from the West End to Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre, Mean Girls the musical is the hit production that won Best New Musical at the WhatsOnStage Awards.

Created by an award-winning team including: book by Tina Fey, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and music by Jeff Richmond, Mean Girls the musical is based on the hit 2004 film of the same name (which in turn was inspired by Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes.)

In this familiar rom-com story, home-schooled Cady Heron (Emily Lane) joins North Shore High for her first experience of mainstream education. High school proves harder to survive than she first expects, when she meets The Plastics; Regina George (Vivian Panka), Gretchen Wieners (Kiara Dario) and Karen Smith (Sophie Pourret). Alongside new friends Janis Sarkisian (Georgie Buckland) and Damian Hubbard (Max Gill), Cady devises a plan to end Regina's reign, but crossing the queen bee could get her stung too.

The central cast are joined by Ben Oatley as Aaron Samuels, Karim Zeroual as Kevin G, Joshua Elmore as Mr Duvall, and Steps’ Faye Tozer as Ms Heron / Ms Norbury / Mrs George; the latter of whom traverses from one role to the next with seamless quick changes and brilliant characterisation. The production also features a large ensemble cast who fill the stage with lively choreography.

While the entire cast are talented and captivating performers, serving great vocals across the board, it is the duo of Georgie Buckland as Janis and Max Gill as Damian who are particular stand-outs in this production, playing host to proceedings.

The show is full of sharp comedy in both the scripting and score. Tina Fey’s writing allows nostalgia for the original film to play alongside modernising this tale of cliques, power, revenge and friendship. The musical gives it a more feminist edge than the original, even introducing commentary on gender norms and the binary. Many of fans’ favourite scenes and quotable lines remain in this production while its plot is reimagined in a contemporary world of smart phones, TikTok trends, and hashtags.

Similarly, the musical’s score brilliantly blends contemporary pop with traditional show tunes. The songs span from humorous camp numbers like A Cautionary Tale to powerful pop ballads like Someone Gets Hurt and World Burns. While some of the songs are certainly more memorable than others, the show has been revised many times since its first outing on Broadway, resulting in a touring production that offers a great musical balance of emotion and energy.

Packed full of iconic characters, witty lines you’ll be repeating to your friends, catchy fun songs and energetic choreography, Mean Girls: The Musical proves why even two decades later it remains a fetch fan favourite.

Mean Girls runs at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre until Saturday 27th June, so don't miss out on your chance to paint the town pink. The musical also plays at Nottingham Royal Concert Hall and Birmingham Alexandra Theatre (casting may vary).

This review was written following a press invite to the production.

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