Fans of the band ball “Mean Girls” accept been clamoring for added aback the blur disqualified the box appointment in 2004, and while a much-talked about aftereffect never materialized, the accepted Tina Fey-scripted cine is now headed to Broadway as a new musical, with affluence shouting “Fetch!”
But afore it bows on the Abundant White Way in March, the appearance is accepting its apple premiere at the National Theatre in D.C., with a five-week run, Oct. 31 through Dec. 3.
Directed by Tony champ Casey Nicholaw, with a book by Fey, aboriginal music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin, the agreeable is set in abreast but includes abundant of the aforementioned acid wit and arresting insights from the movie.
The adventure is basically the same: After years of active with her zoologist parents in Africa, Cady Heron moves to Illinois and charge acquisition area she fits in the amusing hierarchy. She bound attracts the absorption of The Plastics, a leash of accepted frenemies led by the abandoned and artful Regina George. Aback Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns that you can’t cantankerous a Queen Bee after accepting stung.
The casting is led by Erika Henningsen as Cady Heron, Taylor Louderman as Regina George, Ashley Park as Gretchen Wieners, Kate Rockwell as Karen Smith, Barrett Wilbert Weed as Janis Sarkisian and Grey Henson as Damian Hubbard.
Broadway adept Kerry Butler additionally stars, tasked with arena three roles—Mrs. Heron, Mrs. George and Ms. Norbury—two of the “mean girls’” moms and the aerial school’s accepted calculus abecedary (played by Fey in the movie).
“Mrs. George is the air-conditioned mom and I get to abrasion these abundant clothes for her,” Butler said. “It’s been fun developing the altered characters and bringing out altered walks and accent patterns. My ambition is for bodies to watch the appearance and not apperceive I played the three altered parts.”
Although Butler has consistently been a big fan of Fey’s comedy, she had never alike apparent the cine until accepting casting in the musical. Once she did though, she accomplished aloof how abounding bodies adulation the film.
“I feel like the bodies who adulation the cine – those who apperceive all the bolt phrases and abundant curve – there’s abundant of them in the appearance that they will be satisfied,” Butler said. “But also, it stands on its own. A lot of the belief are fleshed out and alike those who haven’t apparent the cine will adore it.”
Butler was a Tony-nominee for “Xanadu” and additionally starred on Broadway in “Hairspray,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Les Miserables” and “Disaster.”
With “Hairspray,” Butler already has acquaintance in bringing a accepted cine to the stage, and does feel some similarities amid that and “Mean Girls.”
“I do anticipate ‘Mean Girls’ is abundant added mainstream, but I do feel a lot of the aforementioned action that was about ‘Hairspray’ aback it started. You knew you were accomplishing article absolutely special,” Butler said. “It’s the aforementioned here. Alike aback I’m off stage, I’m consistently singing forth to all the songs. It’s like a blessed biologic and I acquainted that with ‘Hairspray.” Whatever’s aggravation you is aloof gone. I’m accepting such a abundant time adequate the ride of the show.”
The one aberration is that Butler was one of the “kids” aback aback “Hairspray” premiered in 2002 and now she’s the veteran.
“I do act a little bit like the mom occasionally, but I appetite to be the ‘cool’ mom,” she said. “They like to apprehend my stories. The aboriginal day of rehearsals, Erika and Ashley both told me how they listened to me a lot growing up and they accept been so candied to me.”
Thinking aback to aerial school, Butler classified herself as “an aesthetic nerd,” and while her academy had “mean girls,” they mostly abandoned her. Still, she understands the relationships that are on affectation in the agreeable and feels it’s accounting abundantly well.
“The appearance is absolutely funny but additionally has a absolutely big heart,” Butler said. “You absolutely advance in the characters and the actors are all amazing, and I’m aloof beholden that they weren’t about aback I was starting out.”
