It doesn't matter if you watched Mean Girls in cinemas last January – the original stage adaptation, which the movie was based on, is its own unique experience, and a hilariously entertaining night out in London's West End.
The musical is celebrating both the legacy of 2004's iconic teen movie and updating its story to today's high-school jungle-like experience. It's the same story and characters, but a whole new collection of fun, laughs, show-stopping numbers and catchy original songs.
Mean Girls joins other movie-related musicals now running in London, such as Frozen, Moulin Rouge and Back to the Future, successfully proving that adapting well-known stories can still offer relevant messages for today.
What to Read Next
Buy Mean Girls tickets at TodayTix
You know how the story goes – innocent Cady Heron moves from her isolated life in Kenya to North Shore High in Illinois, discovering that high school is far from what she had anticipated.
Instantly obsessed with the handsome Aaron Samuels, Cady joins forces with outcasts Janis and Damian to dethrone the cruel and utterly divine Queen Bee of the school, Regina George, and claim her place as the Apex Predator (as one of the songs points out) and take control of Regina's sidekicks Gretchen and Karen.
The story doesn't beat much around the bush, moving forward at an impressive speed for two and a half hours. Not much has changed compared to the original movie, with the musical keeping iconic moments like the Christmas dance and Janis' speech during the girls' healing session.
Buy Mean Girls tickets at TodayTix
However, some different characters manage to steal the show in this musical version.
Tom Xander as Damian is an absolute standout, an ever-present delight on stage who commands attention to the point of overshadowing other characters' moments. One could hardly hear Janis and Cady's fighting over the laughter he provoked.
The character's energy is infectious, much like the hysterical appearances of Elèna Gyasi's 'fetch' inventor Gretchen and Grace Mouat's delightfully dumb Karen. Now, the show wouldn't work as brilliantly as it does without Georgina Castle's show-stopping Regina George, who gives Cady a run for her money.
The brilliant cast sell every bit of the show, as the original Mean Girls essence remains intact.
If you wanted to split hairs with the production, perhaps more could have been done with the staging, particularly the screen-based background that helps to move from one location to another.
While the focus is on the terrific performances, it feels there was an opportunity for more creative layouts instead of relying on large LED screens, or perhaps instead they could have been utilised further to dig deeper into the social-media frenzy within the story. In that sense, the movie adaptation did a better job at representing a Mean Girls meets TikTok generation.
Even so, this stage adaptation now running in London is a party from beginning to end. Just don't forget to wear pink, Wednesday or not!
Mean Girls is running now at Savoy Theatre in London until February 16, 2025.
You Might Like...
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
