Buffalo Theatre Guide has joined the Live Podcast world! Managing Editor John Szablewski will host Buffalo Theatre Guide LIVE! a podcast about local theatrical events and news, and opinion pieces! Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to us on Youtube. Our first episode talks about the National Tour Launch of “Mean Girls” which opened in Buffalo. You can read John Szablewski’s review here.
The cast of “Mean Girls.” Photo by Joan Marcus.
I wanted to hate this show. When I saw “Mean Girls” perform at the Tony Awards, I couldn’t even fathom how this was going to last. I didn’t understand the reason for the big Broadway sounding number in the middle of the high school cafeteria. I didn’t understand the song tone changes. I was very indifferent to the next Hollywood film being adapted for the Broadway stage. Boy was I wrong. Sure “Mean Girls” is not the best written musical, but it sure does entertain. It has the Tina Fey quality of jokes that we know and love. I didn’t stop laughing. The score was so interesting, I bought the piano sheet music. Overall, it has developed into a guilty pleasure of mine (don’t tell my girlfriend, she’ll want to go see it again!) When it stops in your town, go see it, or you might make it into the “Burn Book” for being cheap. . .
When it stops in your town, go see it, or you might make it into the “Burn Book” for being cheap. . .
“Mean Girls” is based on the 2004 film written by Tina Fey, who adapts her screenplay for the stage. It tells the story of Cady (Danielle Wade) who has lived her entire life in Africa, and who has been homeschooled. When her family relocates to Illinois, she is brought into a culture shock of public high school. Upon arrival, Cady meets Janice (Mary Kate Morrisey) and Damian (Eric Huffman) who explain the food chain of high school and set her on an adventure to infiltrate Regina George (Mariah Rose Faith) and The Plastics, the most popular girls in school.
Danielle Wade has a voice that is so powerful that you have a hard time believing that a human being can produce that sound. I am happy to see her still going strong after her stint as Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz” which appeared at Shea’s a few seasons ago (I also was able to interview her about the show then!) She knocks this role out of the park.
Mariah Rose Faith plays the mean, nasty, love to hate and hate to love, Regina George. Wow! What a stage presence! What a “de-mean-or.” Her performance in “Rocking Around The Pole” had me laughing so hard that the lady sitting next to me looked at me in disgust three times! (she also had her cell phone out and was texting so I truly think it was a fair trade off).
Mary Kate Morrisey did an awesome job as Janice in this show. Along with Eric Huffman’s Damian, the two tell the story, get the laughs, and keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Their comedic timing is perfect.
Jonalyn Saxer plays Karen, the extremely attractive, and completely airheaded Plastic to a tee. She is very entertaining, very funny, but she brings a great charm to the stage. Yes, Saxer is portraying a dimwit, but she is one of the most “real” characters in the show. Fantastic acting.
Gaelen Gilligand is hilarious as a trio of the adult female characters in this production. She lets her inner Tina Fey out, and if you close your eyes, you’d think that Ms Fey was actually on stage.
Jeff Richmond’s score had me scratching my head at times, wondering what the score was trying to be? Was it a parody of Broadway showtunes? Was it a pop/rock musical? Was it an early Andrew Lloyd Webber style were many different genres would be used? I’m not sure, but it’s loud, it’s powerful, and it fits inside the world that his wife creates.
Scott Pask’s completely digital scenic design works so well in this show. At first I thought that the screens would take away from the theatrical experience, but they only complement them.
Overall, I had a blast, and sure the story is called “Mean Girls” but if the story has one theme, it’s that we need to treat each other better. Except when it comes to getting tickets to this show. Push, kick, toss, slap, do whatever you need to do to get your seats! This show will sell out wherever it goes.
Running Time: 2 Hours 45-minutes with one 15-minute intermission.
“Mean Girls” launched it’s national tour in Buffalo New York, and continues to travel across North America. For more information, click here.
The original Broadway Cast of “Mean Girls.”
Mean Girls, the Tony Award-nominated new musical comedy produced by Lorne Michaels, Stuart Thompson, Sonia Friedman, and Paramount Pictures based on the hilarious hit film, will launch a National Tour in the Fall of 2019 beginning at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre. The show will also tech and rehearse at Shea’s in the weeks preceding public performances. Mean Girls features a book by nine-time Emmy Award winner Tina Fey, based on her screenplay for the film, music by three-time Emmy Award winner Jeff Richmond; and lyrics by two-time Tony Award nominee Nell Benjamin. Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw directs and choreographs.
Performance and on-sale dates, along with casting, additional tour cities, and other information, will be announced at a later date.
President of Shea’s Performing Arts Center Michael G. Murphy was in New York City last week attending the Broadway League Spring Road Conference where Mean Girls writer Tina Fey announced that the show will begin its tour at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre. Murphy said, “The 750 industry members in the room burst into applause and cheers when Tina announced that Buffalo will tech and launch the National Tour. I extend deep thanks to our subscribers, donors, volunteers, sponsors, and the entire Buffalo-Niagara community for their continued support of Shea’s. This support along with the tax credit legislation passed in Albany has resulted in the opportunity to launch major National Tours in Buffalo, which provides substantial economic benefit to Western New York and places a spotlight on our community as a leading presenter of touring Broadway productions.”
Co-Presenter of Broadway productions at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre for over 30 years and ProducerAlbert Nocciolino expressed his excitement for the announcement of the Mean Girls tour opening in Buffalo. “It has been a pleasure working with the producers of Mean Girls to secure the tour launch at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre in the Fall of 2019. The growth of our subscription base and the continued support of Western New York have given Shea’s Buffalo Theatre a reputation of excellence in the touring Broadway community. Thank you to our subscribers for their support over the years. Your dedication enables us to be one of the top one-week subscription markets in the country.”
Mean Girls on Broadway is now nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical; Best Book for Tina Fey; Best Original Score for Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin; Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography for Casey Nicholaw. Fey is this year’s Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the show won the Helen Hayes (Washington D.C.) Award for Outstanding Visiting Production as well as eight Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards including Favorite New Musical. The production is also nominated for 10 Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Musical.
Mean Girls opened on Broadway last month to rave reviews at the August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street), where it has played to sold-out houses since beginning previews in March. The show had its world premiere at the National Theatre in Washington D.C., playing a sold-out run October 31 to December 3, 2017.
New York Magazine calls Mean Girls “HILARIOUS! A smart, splashy new musical that delivers with immense energy, a wicked sense of humor and joyful inside-jokery.” Chicago Tribune said “Tina Fey writes FUNNIER, SMARTER, SHARPER satire than anyone else in the business.” People Magazine calls the show “FRESH, FUN AND INFECTIOUS – Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin’s songs keep the laughs coming!” The New York Daily News said Mean Girls “TICKLES THE EARS, EYES AND FUNNY BONE – the direction by Casey Nicholaw packs style, invention and red bull-force energy.” And, Entertainment Weekly calls it “A MARVEL: DAZZLING & HILARIOUS!”
Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order? By taking on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.
Mean Girls’ creative team includes Scott Pask (Set Design), Gregg Barnes (Costume Design),Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Brian Ronan (Sound Design), Finn Ross & Adam Young(Video Design), Josh Marquette (Hair Design), Milagros Medina-Cerdeira (Make-Up Design),Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Music Director), John Clancy (Orchestrations), Glen Kelly (Dance and Incidental Music Arrangements), Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Jeff Richmond, and Natalie Tenenbaum (Vocal Arrangements), Howard Joines (Music Coordinator), and Telsey + Co / Bethany Knox, CSA (Casting).
Mean Girls is produced by Lorne Michaels, Stuart Thompson, Sonia Friedman, Paramount Pictures, Marisa Sechrest, Ars Nova Entertainment, Berlind Productions, Steve Burke, Scott M. Delman, Roy Furman, Robert Greenblatt, Ruth Hendel, Jam Theatricals, The John GoreOrganization, The Lowy Salpeter Company, James L. Nederlander, Christine Schwarzman,Universal Theatrical Group.
Mean Girls (Original Broadway Cast Recording), produced by Atlantic Records, is now available at digital retailers nationwide. Physical albums will arrive in stores nationwide on Friday, June 8. For a full track listing, cover art, and additional details on the Cast Recording, please visithttp://www.atlanticrecords.com/meangirls.
Mean Girls is presented in Buffalo by Shea’s Performing Arts Center and Albert Nocciolino and is sponsored locally by M&T Bank, The Buffalo News, and WKBW-TV.
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