How far would you go to be popular and hot?
— Damian
Cady Heron danced with nomads and scaled Kilimanjaro. Now, armed with backpack and nutritional bar, the Kenya-raised teenager prepares to face her greatest challenge yet: suburban American high school.
Welcome to “Mean Girls.” The Tony-nominated musical, based on the beloved film, turns a jubilantly ruthless eye to adolescent hierarchies and social dynamics.
“’Mean Girls’ is about the enormous human desire to belong and the strange ways that we can lose ourselves in that process,” said Brad Frenette, a lecturer in musical theater in WashU Arts & Sciences’ Performing Arts Department, who will direct the show Oct. 22-25 in Edison Theatre.
“Now more than ever, young people are aware of how they present versions of themselves to other people, whether that’s in person or on social media,” Frenette added. “But what happens when the self you’re performing starts to overtake who you actually are?”
From film to stage
Frenette, who joined the PAD this fall, is a veteran stage actor whose credits include national and European tours of “Hello Dolly,” “White Christmas” and “Madagascar: The Musical.” His first book, “Film-to-Stage Musicals: Sweet Charity to Back to the Future,” is set for release in March.
“There’s a funny coincidence in directing a show about entering a new community during my own first semester at WashU,” Frenette said. “Thankfully, my experience has been considerably warmer than Cady’s.”
“Mean Girls” was inspired by Rosalind Wiseman’s “Queen Bees and Wannabees” (2002), which examines how juvenile power plays — cliques and gossip, parties and cafeteria seating — shape what Wiseman dubbed “Girl World.” Tina Fey adapted the book into the 2004 teen comedy, which became a box office hit and an enduring cult classic.
The musical version features an updated script by Fey, with lyrics by Nell Benjamin (“Legally Blonde”) and music by Fey’s husband, the composer Jeff Richmond. It debuted in 2017 at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., and opened on Broadway the following year. A new film version, based on the musical, was released in 2024.
Who is the mean girl?
The story follows Cady, whose biologist parents have relocated from the Kenyan savannah to Chicago’s North Shore. On her first day at fictional North Shore High, Cady befriends Janis and Damian, charming social outcasts who warn her away from the viciously popular trio known as The Plastics. But when Cady falls under the sway of Regina George, the group’s saber-tongued leader, old loyalties get left behind.
“The Plastics are arguably the ‘mean girls’ of the title,” Frenette said. “But the label becomes nebulous. Cady ends up becoming the thing she’s trying to dismantle. And Regina is not simply a monster. At some point, almost every character behaves badly.
“In the end, it doesn’t really matter who the mean girls are,” Frenette added. “You understand that everybody is capable of being good, being bad, being nice, being mean. The interesting thing is the system.
“People quickly learn the rules of any social environment,” Frenette said. “And then they participate in them.”
Cast and crew
The cast is led by Elie Panoff as Cady, with MJ Phelps and Eli Regardie as Janis and Damian. Reeves Wood is Regina. Fiona Guzniczak and Kenna Scherr are fellow Plastics Gretchen and Karen.
Izzy Mbatai is Aaron, Regina’s dreamy ex-boyfriend. Grey Silveira is Kevin, leader of the Mathletes. Zach Nowacek is the bemused Principal Duvall. Sloan Berman plays math teacher Ms. Norbury and moms Mrs. George and Mrs. Heron.
Rounding out the ensemble are: Tyler Canale, Jordan Devlin, Monica Dominguez, Jenna Heslop, Mary Long, Zoe Mahlmeister, Isabelle Posner-Brown, Henry Rosenzweig, Jenna Stobaugh and Ava Wang.
Music director is Colin Healy. Choreographers are Cecil Slaughter and Ashley Gená. Scenic and costume design are by Elma Ademovic and Kayla Lindsay. Lighting and projections are by Xinyuan Yu and Estaban Castenda. Sound design is by Noe Schwartz and Jonah Glass. Emily Frei is props designer and scenic change artist. Intimacy director is Tress Kurzym.
Assistant director is Leo Young. Stage manager is Margaret Fecko, with assistance from Ella Pankonin and Theresa Strebeck. Adam Jehle is technical director. Production manager is Jimmy Bernatowicz.
Tickets
Performances of “Mean Girls” will begin at 7:30 pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 22, 23 and 24; and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25.
Performances take place in WashU’s Edison Theatre, located in the Mallinckrodt Center, 6465 Forsyth Blvd. Tickets are $20, or $15 for seniors, students and WashU faculty and staff, and free for WashU students. Tickets are available through the WashU Box Office. For information, call 314-935-6543 or visit pad.wustl.edu.
