She's the Apex Predator: My Experience at Mean Girls on Broadway

Happy New Year, readers! It's a whole new decade full of new characters, new star-striking ballads, and most importantly, new stories for us to fall in love with in 2020. I was lucky enough to start my new year off right: a weekend in Chicago and tickets to the most fetch show in the universe: Mean Girls! The iconic movie was finally turned into a brand-new musical written by Tina Fey herself, so I'll walk you through my entire experience and hopefully inspire you to see it while it's still in Chicago!

The Nederlander marquee and the Mean Girls sign I took right before we entered the theater!

My family and I went to dinner before the show and walked into James M. Nederlander Theatre by 7:15. Luckily, I had already been to this theatre to see The Book of Mormon last year. The theatre was as stunning as ever, and it also was as packed as ever. We got there right as the doors were opening for seating, so it was impossible to get a picture in front of the Mean Girls sign (but we did it!). As soon as we walked in from the bitter cold, we were in awe of the beautiful beams and carvings inside. The Nederlander is one of the most gorgeous theatres in the Chicago area, and a big regret I have now was not taking a picture of it. Even if you aren't interested in Mean Girls, I highly HIGHLY recommend seeing a show there in the future and prepare to be starstruck!

In case you are not familiar with the plot of Mean Girls, it's time to dive into the world of Cady Heron as she goes from the African savanna to the real-world jungle of high school. I was extremely excited for this show since the movie version is my favorite chick flick to watch with my friends. Regina George is the true Apex Predator, and the actress who played her was incredibly talented and ruthless. One of my favorite memories from this show was my mom's reaction to the song "World Burn". This is the turning point in the movie and musical where Regina finds out that Cady was purposely trying to ruin her A+ physique and popularity. It was a super powerful belt ballad, and I normally don't like listening to the soundtrack before seeing a show, but that song truly blew me away. My mom's reaction had the same energy. With the stage literally on fire, her grinning smile looked almost evil when she whispered, "This one's my favorite." A priceless reaction that I'll remember for the rest of my life.

The iconic 2004 movie was finally turned into a musical with help from none other than Tina Fey!

Speaking of the stage, since this is a modern contemporary show, Tina Fey used a lot more technology than other shows I've seen. The entire stage was turned into a giant screen, and everything was like walking on TVs. A really cool thing they did was display pictures of people from Regina's "Burn Book" before the show started. I also loved the technology because the scenes changed super fast, which made the show go even faster. My favorite time they used it was during my favorite song called "Sexy". This is Karen's ballad, and she is the perfect dumb blonde character. Her entire dream is to have Halloween every day, and the sexy corn dance number had me dying in my seat. The iconic line, "I expect to rule the world in shoes I cannot walk in" totally fit the whole vibe of this show. Rock that sexy mouse, Karen!

Overall, this show went by faster than I wanted it to. Usually, if a show is going slowly, I check the program to see how long it is until intermission, but Mean Girls was over before I knew it. I give this show a 10/10, and even my non-theatre parents gave it that as well. They loved how it stayed true to the movie (which sadly some shows don't follow that rule) and how they portrayed each of the character's thoughts differently. This show, unfortunately, is leaving on its national tour soon, BUT you can buy tickets here if you want a last-minute day in Chicago next weekend!

The Cast of Mean Girls on Broadway

QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT! If you love Mean Girls and supporting local theatre, Dunlap High School’s “Stage 323” Presents Legally Blonde: The Musical! Show dates are Friday, January 24th & Saturday, January 25th at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, January 26th at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students/seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance through the high school office. This year’s production of Legally Blonde follows college sweetheart and homecoming queen, Elle Woods, who doesn’t take no for an answer. So when Elle’s boyfriend, Warner, dumps her for someone serious, Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and heads for Harvard Law School. Based on the hit movie of the same name, Legally Blonde is the fun and fabulous feel-good musical comedy that reminds us being true to yourself never goes out of style! Go buy your tickets today!