By JOANNE BRIANA-GARTNER for The Enterprise
An exuberant and energized “Mean Girls” opened last Wednesday at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis.
It’s back to high school for this musical, based on the 2004 movie of the same name.
Not every successful movie translates into a successful musical. This one does. The songs are catchy, and rather than being awkwardly stuck in, they move the plot along and help develop both the plot and the characters.
Many members of the sold-out opening-night audience arrived ready to adhere to at least one of the rules set down by the coolest teens in the “Mean Girls” universe: “On Wednesdays we wear pink.”
This Tony-nominated musical opened on Broadway in 2018, closing in March 2020 due to the pandemic. It features a book by Tina Fey and music by Jeff Richmond, with lyrics by Nell Benjamin. For this Cape Playhouse production, direction and choreography are by Al Blackstone.
Like every high school, North Shore High is populated with distinct groups of students. There’s the jocks, the band geeks, the math team nerds, the art freaks and, finally, there’s “The Plastics,” led by queen bee Regina George and her minions: the insecure Gretchen Wieners (Lav Raman) and the stereotypical dumb blonde, Karen Smith (Scarlett Diaz).
The show opens with Janis Sarkisian (Lizzy Tucker) and Damian Hubbard (Dashawn McClinton), who are definitely not among the cool kids set, but rather remain true to themselves, speaking directly to the audience members and welcoming them to watch this “cautionary tale.”
As soon as our heroine, Cady Heron (Victoria Mozitis), arrives, the formerly homeschooled junior is befriended by Janis and Damian and begins questioning where she fits in “Where Do You Belong?”
While passing the Plastics table at lunchtime, Regina stops Cady and begins questioning her about being homeschooled and growing up in Africa. Regina is being condescending, but Cady, naive to the ways of high school, thinks she’s being friendly.
“Queen bees don’t have friends, they have accessories,” Damian warns, but like Dorothy searching Oz for a way home, Cady has to find this out for herself.
The set was reminiscent of every high school everywhere, with bleachers on both sides of the stage, walls made to look like drab concrete cinderblocks painted in cheery colors, the occasional whiteboard and screen projector, and a set of industrial doors.
Plastic chairs, tables and benches are moved about, reconfigured, used as props and worked into the choreography.
Animated projections on the back wall enhanced the set and helped the audience discern the mood of the characters, that is, when Cady meets the handsome Aaron (Ryan Bronston) in math class, heart emojis are projected behind them; when Regina, Gretchen and Karen first appear, the word “Plastics” is projected behind them written in the style of a hand-scribbled note with arrows pointing down toward the trio. These projections were such a large part of the set that they warranted their own dedicated designer; credit to Michael Salvatore Commendatore, who served as projections designer.
The dancing by the ensemble is original and captivating and also adds to moving the plot of this fast-paced show forward, especially in scenes such as “Apex Predator” in Act I.
Every performance was top-notch. I especially enjoyed Raman as Gretchen, whose desire to stay with the “in” crowd overpowers everything else in her life and yet she seems aware that this way of life isn’t exactly sustainable—or healthy. Her song, “What’s Wrong With Me?” translates to something of a cry for help.
Danielle Kelsey expertly played practically every adult in the cast: math teacher Ms. Norbury; Regina’s mother, Mrs. George; and Kady’s mother, Mrs. Heron. I doubt I was the only audience member who didn’t realize they were watching the same actor in multiple roles until Kelsey did a quick change on stage from Mrs. George to Mrs. Heron.
Tickets to “Mean Girls,” which runs through Saturday, August 29, are available at capeplayhouse.com.
For those who can’t get enough teenage angst, Cape Playhouse will wind down its summer season with “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” opening on Wednesday, September 2, and running through Saturday, September 19.
The final curtain on September 19 isn’t the end for Cape Playhouse in 2026; a Halloween-themed event and a Christmas concert are in the works in the newly updated and now fully insulated theater.
