Here come the “Plastics.”
Mean Girls opened at Workshop Theatre this past Friday, transporting audiences back to the early 2000s high school experience when “Fetch” is never going to happen, and on Wednesdays we wear pink!
The original Mean Girls was an iconic 2004 American teen comedy film written by Tina Fey, which has remained a part of the millennial and Gen Z cultural zeitgeist by capturing the essence of what it felt like to be in what some see as one of the most defining periods of a person’s life … high school. The film went on to have several parodies and spinoffs in different forms of media, but none captured the heart and essence of Mean Girls until 2018, when Tina Fey adapted and debuted the musical production of Mean Girls on Broadway. An instant success, this musical doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it cleverly uses the medium of the stage to dazzle audiences with a variety of music genres and styles from classic golden age numbers to contemporary pop ballads.
In the Workshop production, we follow Cady Heron (Rye Winecoff), the new girl in school. Cady has been homeschooled and lived in Africa for the majority of her life, so when she enters this new world of Northshore High, she has some social skills to catch up on. Damian Hubbard (Tres Taylor) and Janice Sarkisian (Grace Renda) take Cady under their wing and show her the school’s hierarchy in their natural habitat. You have the jocks, the mathletes, the band geeks, and the plastics—the popular girls. The titular “Mean Girls” are Gretchen Wieners (Zoey Land), whose “hair is so big because it's full of secrets;” Karen Smith (Sara Slaughter), the “dumbest girl you’ll ever meet;” and Regina George (Erin Niland), the recognized queen bee of the school. When Regina takes notice of the new girl, Cady is stuck between the power and social status of the plastics and the authenticity of her first friends at school.
As a whole, this cast brings life to the world of mean girls through outstanding vocal performances and creative dance numbers. The clever use of everyday school items such as notebooks and lunch trays offers wonderfully choreographed numbers that connect to the world around the characters.
Winecoff brings a wonderful naivety to the role and consistently made the audience laugh with Cady’s homeschooled, uncharacteristically animalistic pickup lines. Renda finds a beautiful arc in her role as Janice, one that is filled with pain and shame, eventually triumphed by the idea that she would “Rather be Me”. Thomas Bozard (Aaron Samuels) plays the love interest and finds poignant moments to deliver powerful messages in a few words. Is more always better? Not if there is “less of you than there was before.”
Niland demands the audience's attention every time she enters the space, showing the audience how the whole school “humps her leg, like a chihuahua.” Sara Slaughter’s witty timing provides comic relief in tense situations, and Land plays her character with a frantic disposition that perfectly complements the other two plastics.
Tres Taylor was a standout for this reviewer. Truly a triple threat of a role, Taylor taps, triple pirouettes, belts out big, showy numbers, and still finds time to connect to each person in the audience. Taylor certainly steals the show.
The adult characters in this production were wonderfully grounded, which contrasted with the all-or-nothing environment that high schoolers seem to think they are in. Evan Cook as Mr. Duvall did everything he could to keep the kids in line at school. Brittnie Cooper (Ms. Norbury) was a kind, caring teacher caught in the crossfire of the nasty cycle of high school drama and it was heartwarming to see her efforts in breaking the cycle, in spite of the very real threat to her livelihood. Perhaps not as grounded as the others, Jessica Roth plays Mrs. George, Regina’s mom. She may not be the best mother, but she’s cool with the kids, and you’ll find her dancing her own tune dressed as “Sexy Corn.”
The ensemble not only filled in the world but also gave us endearing recurring characters in the story. Shout out to the mathletes headed by Alex Cato as Kevin Gnapoor. They made math cool again with rap verses and slant rhymes. The other teachers offered fine performances from Jack Bingham and Tyler Zangla, with a little healthy stereotype; they brought to life the teachers that we still talk about today from our own high school experiences. Lovely work from all the ensemble: Liam Amil, Aajay Pinder, Abby Gamble, Blythe Long, Carrissa Ferro, Christian Banks, Ethan Wilson, Jack Bingham, James Nolan, Jane Cato, Jordan Robinson, Katie Rooney, Kayla Welch, Kyran Burkett, Lily Stricklin, Meagan Hodges, Paxton Hartenstine, Phoebe Ferro, and Tyler Zangla!
Grace Renda, Rye Winecoff, Trey Taylor
Congratulations to the creative team on a fine production. Music director Taylor Diveley prepared an ensemble for success, and through their powerful harmonies, it shows. Christy Shealy Mills, as choreographer, had a new trick up her sleeve with every new musical number. Andie Nicks had fun with costuming and brought life to each of the characters with their many costumes. Patrick Faulds, as the set and lighting designer, brought us into Northshore High and captured the feeling of this world very well. And director Marybeth Berry put together an experience that is truly magical.
Thank you to the stage manager Hannah McCloy, the backstage crew Logan Jones and Karyssa Burkett, and the light and sound board operators Patrick Faulds and Dean McCaughan for being the foundation on which this show stands.
This reviewer’s only real critique of the show is that I wanted more of it. The sound system that was used in this show did not do justice to the cast that performed it. Sometimes the more boisterous bass beats in dance numbers were not loud enough to fill the space and bring the audience into the moment. This is not a comment on the cast or creative team; however, it is a critiqué of the arts funding in our state.
Mean Girls is a show worth seeing. Framed as a cautionary tale, this show tells its audience that it is bad to put others down for your own popularity and that other people do not define self-worth, but that each person is worthy of love, respect, and being seen.
Mean Girls at Workshop Theatre is being shown at Cottingham Theatre on the campus of Columbia College from September 18th until October 3rd. There is the use of the d-slur and frequent provocative dancing and themes, so take that under advisement if you’re planning on going with kids. Ticketing information can be found at Workshop Theatre of South Carolina
