By Joanne Von Furstenburg | Posted on March 15, 2018 9:10 AM
Mean Girls: The Musical Has Begun Previews On Broadway And Stars Erika Henningsen And Taylor Lourdeman, With Book By Tina Fey, Lyrics By Nell Benjamin, And Music By Jeff Richmond.
Mean Girls Broadway Adaptation with Music by Jeff Richmond and Lyrics by Nell Benjamin
On March 12, 2018, Mean Girls began previews at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre, ahead of an opening night scheduled for April 8, 2018. This musical adaptation of the highly successful 2004 film has a book by Tina Fey, who also penned the screenplay. Fey is best known as the creator and star of 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, as the creator of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and for films such as Sisters, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and This Is Where I Leave.
For her core creative team, she partnered with her husband, Jeff Richmond, who wrote the music for Mean Girls, and who also composed music for 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The lyricist for Mean Girls is Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde). They went with the unparalleled choreographer/director Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Aladdin, Elf).
A Powerhouse Broadway Team with Excellent Source Material
The film version grossed $24.4 million in opening weekend alone. By the time it closed theatrically, it had grossed $86.1 million in the United States, and $43 million internationally, in addition to ongoing revenue from VOD, DVD, and online distribution. It also received excellent reviews, with Rolling Stone Magazine calling it “comic gold,” and the lead actress Lindsay Lohan cementing her position as teen idol.
The movie was nominated for 13 Teen Choice Awards, winning for Actress: Comedy for Lohan, Breakout Actress for Lohan, and Blush for Lindsay Lohan. The film won three MTV Movie Awards for Best Female Performance for Lindsay Lohan, Breakthrough Female Performance for Rachel McAdams, and Best On-Screen Team for Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried.
Erika Henningsen and Taylor Louderman Star in the Stage Musical
The film certainly made the names for the leading ladies, including Tina Fey who also appeared in the film, and the stage musical has its own excellent cast to bring this story to a musical theatre audience. In the role of Cady Heron, the part originated in the film by Lindsay Lohan, is Erika Henningsen. Henningsen has been on Broadway once before, as Fantine in Les Miséables in the spring and summer of 2015.
In the part of the villain Regina George, originated in the film by Rachel McAdams, is Taylor Lourdeman, whose previous Broadway credits are Lauren in Kinky Boots from January to August 2017, and Campbell in Bring it On the Musical.
The Rest Of The Plastics In Mean Girls
In addition, rounding out Regina’s clique of Plastics, the part of Gretchen Wieners is played by Ashley Park (Sunday in the Park with George, The King and I, Mamma Mia!), and the part of Karen Smith is played by Kate Rockwell (Bring it On the Musical, Rock of Ages, Hair, Legally Blonde).
Furthermore, all the main adult female parts, including Ms. Norbury, Mrs. Heron, and Mrs. George, are played by Kerry Butler (Disaster!, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, Catch Me If You Can, Rock of Ages, Xanadu, Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray, Beauty and the Beast, Blood Brothers, Les Misérables).
