New musicals drawn from prior sources are a staple of Broadway now. Two of these are represented this season with contrasting results.
The jukebox musical features songs from a popular artist or group and builds a story around them. One of the all-time worst examples of this is Escape to Margaritaville, which offers a lame plot contrived to present Jimmy Buffett songs. The other unoriginal form of new shows is the film-to-stage musical. Luckily a winner in that genre opened at the August Wilson Theatre this month with Mean Girls, a splashy evening of fun based on actor/writer Tina Fey’s screenplay for the 2004 film.
Director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw helms a colorful production in every aspect, from Finn Ross and Adam Young’s video designs that fill nearly every scene with vivid projections, to Scott Pask’s sets, Gregg Barnes’s costumes and Nickolaw’s own lively choreography.
The show’s book, by Fey, follows her screenplay, the story of a formerly home-schooled girl who grew up in Kenya with her scientist parents as she now adjusts to a midwestern high school. Nell Benjamin’s lyrics contribute to the storytelling and Jeff Richmond’s music is exceedingly upbeat, if a bit repetitive. The songs aren’t memorable enough that I came out singing them, but they engage while they are being presented.
What worked best for me and made the show a true delight was the fresh cast, all of whom were new to my awareness except for the always delectable Kerry Butler who brings her wacky comic skills to three roles, including the math teacher, Ms. Norbury, played by Fey in the movie. In what can only be a homage to Fey, Butler looks just like her with her petite frame, brown pixie wig and black nerd/cool glasses.
Heading the cast is Erika Henningsen who plays Cady Heron with shiny wholesomeness and sparkle. She looks as if she is having the time of her life as the new girl navigating the treacherous waters of high school. Actually all the cast members, from the leads to the energetic ensemble, seem to be having a ball. That spirit pours out into the audience and is infectious.
The most dangerous predator in Cady’s new jungle is Regina George, a deliciously vane Queen Bee played by Taylor Louderman who struts her sexy body and glittery clothes through the halls of North Shore High School, her loyal sycophants Gretchen Wieners (Ashley Park) and Karen Smith (Kate Rockwell) trailing behind. They are known as The Plastics, and they revel in their superficiality.
On her first day, Cady is befriended by Janis Sarkisian (Barrett Wilbert Weed) and Damian Hubbard (Grey Henson) who introduce her to the different animals in this kingdom in “Where Do You Belong? They point out the Geeks the Freaks, math lovers who are to be avoided at all costs, even though Cady is a math genius, the Jocks, the Rich Stoners, the Strivers and Survivors, and on through the chain of high school types up to the pinnacle:
“We call them The Plastics/ They’re shiny, fake and hard./They play their little mind games/ all around the school yard.”
This number, set in the cafeteria, has the ensemble dancing up a storm and beating out rhythms with their bright red lunch trays. In only the third number, Mean Girls establishes itself as a musical about high schoolers that even adults can enjoy.
Underneath the happy surface, though, lies the hurt that can result in such clannishness. Park gives a great comic turn portraying Gretchen’s extreme need to be accepted by Regina, but when she allows her mask to slip, she reveals her insecurity and pain in ”What’s Wrong with Me?”
“What’s wrong with me?/ What can I do?/ What’s wrong with me?/ Could it be you?/ It’s prob’ly me/ See that? You see?/ What’s wrong with me?/ Hmmm.”
The lure of that hierarchal world also sucks in Cady when she is befriended by The Plastics. Encouraged by Janis and Damian, she agrees to join their circle as a spy to learn the secrets of the inner ring, but as her popularity rises, with the help of a makeover by Regina, she turns into a mean girl herself. Then claws come out when Cady falls for Regina’s old boyfriend, Aaron Samuels (Kyle Selig).
Since it doesn’t take long in a show like this to establish characters and plot, the first act began to drag for me. It features 11 songs and I started looking forward to intermission.
But I was quite willing to return for the second act, which offers no surprises but it doesn’t need to. You always know where this kind of show is going to end. The pleasure is in getting there.
No comments:
Post a Comment