Mean Girls

Cady Heron has spent her childhood being homeschooled in Africa by her zoologist parents, so starting junior year at a suburban Illinois high school is her first real encounter with American teenage social life. She quickly falls in with the Plastics, a trio led by the magnetic and controlling Regina George, and is drawn into their world of status, gossip, and unwritten rules. Two outsider friends nudge her to use her new position among the Plastics to undercut them from within. As Cady studies the school's social order like one of her mother's field projects, she starts changing to fit in, drifting from her old friends and her own sense of self, even as she falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend.

Mean Girls the musical has a book by Tina Fey, who also wrote the original 2004 film, with music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin. It opened on Broadway in 2018 after a tryout in Washington, D.C., and was nominated for twelve Tony Awards.

"Where Do You Belong?" opens the show as Cady's guide to the school's cliques. "Meet the Plastics" introduces Regina and her crew with sharp, catty energy. "Sour Cherry Cola" and Regina's other numbers show off her over-the-top confidence. The pop-rock score, written for the stage rather than borrowed from radio hits, leans on driving beats and big group vocals that echo the film's quotable lines. The first-act finale ramps up the school's rivalries before intermission, and the show closes on a warmer, more reflective note about growing past cliques. It suits teenagers, fans of the movie, and anyone who remembers the social minefield of high school.