REVIEW: Paul Smith Reviews Mean Girls at Workshop Theatre for the Jasper Project

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

REVIEW: Workshop Theatre's CATS

CATS … finds success with a cast that exhibits unflinching commitment to the task at hand (and they seem to be having a rather good time while they’re doing it).

Workshop Theatre of South Carolina opened their production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS last weekend, starting a three-week run of this show which ran for 18 years on Broadway. As the resident community theatre troupe at Columbia College’s Cottingham Theatre, the Workshop presentation is a special collaboration between Workshop and the Columbia College Dance Education and Dance Studies program - creating a unique opportunity for community actors and dance students to work together. 

Based on T.S. Eliots Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Webber’s CATS has been performed for over 40 years and had a feature film adaptation in 2019. For those reasons, we’ll spare you a synopsis and move right along.  

CATS, under the direction of Julian Deleon, finds success with a cast that exhibits unflinching commitment to the task at hand (and they seem to be having a rather good time while they’re doing it). This ensemble, which consists of over 35 performers, hits their marks, are constantly engaged in catlike activities, and ultimately offers an energetic performance that feels dutifully rehearsed.  

Actors Bobby L. Rogers (Munkustrap), Katherine Brown (Bombalurina), Carly Siegel (Demeter) and Blythe Long (Jellylorum) hold the audiences’ hands (read: paws) throughout the production as their characters are charged with introducing us to many of the characters or informing the viewers about the history and traditions of the Jellicle Cats. All four performers have truly lovely voices that are fitting for Webber’s vocal score, and they all lead the proceedings with poise and control that makes the audience feel welcome to their secret society.  

Lisa Baker, as Grizabella, does an admirable job in this production. Baker’s performance of “Memory” satisfies fans of the song due to her powerful vocals and purr-fect tone (sorry, we had to) that throws comforting nods to the Betty Buckley performance we’ve heard countless times over the last four decades.  

The performances of Nathan Jackson (Mungojerrie) and Jessica Roth (Rum Tum Tugger) are also winning moments for this production. Jackson’s Mungojerrie feels incredibly familiar to folks who have experienced the original production of this piece. He’s fun, mischievous, and quite comfortable with his dance duties. Roth’s Rum Tum Tugger deviates from the usual characterization that mixes Tom Jones with glam rockers of the 80s and provides audiences with a Janis Joplin-esque rock-n-roller that is delightful when she takes the show over.  

Without a doubt, Choreographer Erin Bailey was responsible for a larger part of the production than is usual with most musical theatre works. Bailey has created a lot of movement for the cast that allows the trained dancers to wow us when they take the spotlight, and for the “movers” in the cast to look their best throughout most of the production. While some moments aren’t as successful as others, there is a lot of varied movement throughout the production and your eyes don’t get tired seeing a large cast execute it.  

To that end, Emily Jordan (Victoria on March 9th), Katherine Brown (Bombalurina) and Jack Thompson (Mistoffilees) gave us professional performances in regard to dance in the production. They lend Bailey’s work the talent that it desires, and they give longtime CATS fans a glimpse into the choreographic focus with which the show originated.  

Music Director Taylor Dively, in his first time navigating the music for a full-length musical, shows promise in that the vocals of CATS are rather good - especially when regarding the soloists. However, the sound design makes the proceedings uncomfortable at times as the sopranos are too high in the mix - which can make certain moments feel like a caterwaul rather than the good blend coming from stage. On March 9, the band was unfortunately not meeting the cast’s performance level, as the show began with wrong notes on the keyboards, destroying the iconic opening melody. These sorts of accidents occurred often throughout the evening, leaving us hoping that the musicians will realize that they are being paid to be there, and should therefore be just as prepared as the cast who is donating their talent. 

Ultimately, despite the efforts of the cast, this production suffers from a design concept that simply does not work. The show has been promoted as “not your mother’s CATS” - and this is truthful advertising. Our mother’s CATS had humans in fully committed feline-wear, and the illusion worked rather well to make such a bizarre concept a Broadway and West End hit. Workshop’s cats have painted noses with headbands or hats that have “cat ears” attached. Our mother’s CATS had fun set pieces that allowed the cast to create a train out of oversized junk pieces laying around the set along with other moments of inventive whimsy. Workshop’s cats had bare bones structures with some castored scaffolding that left us thinking we were watching CATS on a scaled down set of RENT. The show asks for many moments of reveal, surprise, inventiveness and magic that, in this production, were simply absent. We were not tricked into thinking Macavity was in disguise as Old Deuteronomy. We did not believe we had witnessed magic when Mistoffelees motioned for the cast to wheel Old Deuteronomy back on stage when he’s supposed to be miraculously summoned. The same lack-of-illusion applies when Grizabella is wheeled off stage left as she finally ascends to the Heaviside Layer. Where’s the thrilling sleight of hand? The possibility of that felt lost in the first 30 seconds when a crew member, portraying a human in the wrong alley, walked across the stage making it clear the felines were the same scale as he.  

Cast member Harrison Ayer’s bio briefly and aptly reads that Ayer “is a human, acting like a cat dressed like a human.” That’s pretty much what you get with this directorial concept. If it was a big idea that didn’t come to fruition due to the immensity of the project, then it can be forgiven. However, if this production meets the vision of those who created it - then perhaps this CATS shouldn't have been let out of the bag. Doing “different” is welcome, but only when there’s a relatable or inventive perspective that exposes something newly relevant or unexpected about a cherished work.

We always invite patrons to challenge our reactions by taking the time to see the work themselves. Art is entirely subjective, and you may have a very different experience. If you want to see a fully committed cast giving you undeniable energy in tandem with some rather talented dancers that are performing one of the theatre industry’s most successful works, then you should book your tickets to see Workshops’s production of CATS. The show runs through March 23rd at Cottingham Theatre on the campus of Columbia College. You may buy tickets at www.workshoptheatreofsc.com. Also, don’t forget that the theatre is taking donations for animal shelters, so be sure to bring some treats, litter, or toys with you.