Mean Girls musical is just as camp and queer as you’d expect – review
We’re sure Mean Girls requires very little in the way of introduction, but for those who have somehow managed to miss this cultural phenomenon, it’s a film written by Tina Fey dating back to 2004 (yes, it really is celebrating its 20th birthday this year).
It tells the story of Cady, who had previously been home schooled, as she attempts to integrate into her new high school. She crosses paths with the titular mean girls – known as The Plastics – and their ringleader, Regina George.
We shan’t say more, but it’s a somewhat cautionary tale. A Broadway musical adaptation of the film – book once again by Tina Fey, with music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin – opened back in 2018; the original plans for a London transfer were significantly delayed by the pandemic.
In the interim, a new version of the movie (based on the Broadway musical, and featuring the same songs) has been released. We weren’t particularly sold on that film – it was fine, but it lacked the bite of the original, and we tend to find that movies based on musical theatre shows are rarely as good as seeing a live performance.
