The song “Fearless,” from the hit musical comedy Mean Girls, is literally a showstopper. It closes the first act of the national touring production – now playing at Hobby Center through February 9 – and leads to a welcomed intermission, some needed time to absorb everything the audience has just experienced in the fast-paced show. There’s a lot more than laughs and the keen vocal talents of the performers to consider.
A few lines that resonated from that particular song go, “Imagine just dancing like no one was there/
Everyone staring but you do not care/Not hunching your shoulders/To make yourself small/To walk right down/The middle of the hall/Not small…Fearless! We are fearless!” As many who attended opening night already knew, facing down a bully is at the heart of Mean Girls the musical and its source material, a 2004 motion picture penned by Tina Fey that become a pop culture phenomenon, then a Broadway musical in 2018 and a 2024 musical film.
“Fearless” is about being brave. “I’d Rather Be Me” is about self-worth and empowerment. “I See Stars” asks us to witness and embrace the beauty in others around us, no matter our differences. It wasn’t hard to connect these themes, delivered stunningly by a diverse cast of actors portraying Gen Z teens, with Internet news feeds which seem to grow more stories about stripped-away rights, ICE raids and general meanness with each refresh. All of this is to say that perhaps Mean Girls has arrived at precisely the time it’s needed.
Mean Girls practices its politics in the high school hallways and the story concerns Cady Heron, a junior year newcomer from the far reaches of the African savanna (and home-schooling!) to a suburban Illinois high school. We get an introduction to the institute’s usual cliques from Janis Sarkisian, played by Alexys Morera, and Joshua Morrisey as Damian Hubbard, outsider besties who welcome Cady, performed by Katie Yeomans, who is giving Anna Kendrick vibes in all the best ways.
When Cady asks about one particular group dubbed “The Plastics,” Janis and Damian warn her to avoid the trio, whose big boss is the story’s main “mean girl,” Regina George. Maya Petropoulos takes on the role and is featured in songs that call for all the swagger someone like Regina George could muster. She’s shadowed by fellow Plastics Gretchen Wieners, a devout follower, and Karen Smith, who admittedly is no threat to top the honor roll.
The story sees Cady, encouraged by Janis and Damian, befriending The Plastics to help exact revenge upon George for some past tyranny. As she does, some tables are turned, some folks are humbled and by the middle of Act II the school and its cliques are in chaos. Most of that chaos stems from the gossip and pettiness the school’s students practice, which stems from their insecurities and attempts to just fit in.
Kristen Amanda Smith plays Wieners with real depth, bouncing from funny to heartbreaking with ease, especially during the song “What’s Wrong With Me?” which captures all the doubt and crushed confidence some young people experience in their formative years. There’s a neat but painful dot connected between young Wieners and Regina George’s “cool mom” – played by Kristen Seggio – that shows the outcome of that broken confidence never being repaired.
Did we mention this is a comedy? It is and it’s very funny, notably whenever MaryRose Brendel is delivering lines as “not smart” Karen. Her facial expressions, body language and timing are all coordinated as neatly as her attire (important to a Plastic) and Brendel steals some scenes with her comedic acting, no small feat with all there is to see in this production brought to Houston by Theatre Under the Stars. We go from Africa to a high school hallway to a bedroom and a mall seamlessly. There are fluid scenes changes thanks to clever and precise choreography by two-time Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw. The audience even briefly becomes part of the show during the story’s famed talent show scene.
Mean Girls features a book by Tina Fey, the Saturday Night Live star and writer and 30 Rock creator, so of course it’s funny. But the strength of the show is its songs, standouts like “Apex Predator” and “I’d Rather Be Me” written by Emmy Award winner Jeff Richmond with lyrics by Tony Award nominee Nell Benjamin. The songs don’t sound anything like what you’d hear in an actual high school parking lot which is a shame because they touch on all these critical-to-development themes as well as the perpetual notions of love and friendship.
The musical is advertised as “hilarious” and “fun” and it is those things. You could attend any of the remaining performances on this run and fall in love with Mean Girls solely for the jokes and the very accomplished singing and dancing. Its actors are engaging and you like them and understand their characters more by the end of the show. But the musical also offers a playbook on dealing with the coarse, dictatorial people who assume unchallenged power. They’ll grind you down, if you let them. Mean Girls suggests you stand tall and tell them that, just like the word “fetch,” it’s not going to happen.
Mean Girls launches the second half of Theatre Under The Stars’ 2024-2025 season with performances continuing through February 9 at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-558-8887 or visit TUTS.com or thehobbycenter.org. $34.50-$148.50.
