Saw it last night- loved it! While I thought the entire cast was fantastic, my standouts were Janis, Damien and Karen. I was shocked about the American accents- as an American I totally thought they were too!!! It was engaging and fun, so much so that my dad, who has never made it through a single play, musical or opera, was able to not only stay awake but was laughing and referencing the production afterwards.
Was just on the TodayTix app and saw that there's no show on Wednesday October 3rd 2024??!!! Surely they will do a show that day, it's the perfect mean girls day!!
I saw the show in previews, the casting was fantastic but the removal of the song ‘Stop’ was upsetting! Damien as a character was developed at the beginning but the removal of that song meant his character arch fell a bit flat in the middle. I also wasn’t too sure on the new adaptation of the first song, but on the whole it was great fun. Would recommend!
We saw it last night and we were blown away by the cast! I already adored Tom Xander but the rest of the cast wowed me equally, with a special mention for Elena Skye "Janis"'s vocals✨ and Grace Mouat "Karen" who had me in stitches! We will go back!
I want a west end cast recording of this show. More specifically because I was obsessed w/ the cut number Bossed Up from OG DC previews and is now reworked for this production
I saw the show on saturday and was rather taken aback with the amount of changes. Wasnt a massive fan of reginas halloween costume and felt they did janis dirty in the costuming department. However that aside, the changes to revenge party makes it flow loads better, loved im blowing up and everyone was spot on with the casting and massive shout out to freddie clements who made his damien debut that day and was absolutely incredible as damien. Grace as karen was absolutely perfect. Also i loved cadys quick change in revenge party but the quick changes that zoe rainey had in the second half as the female adults was insane.
I'm very interested in seeing the West End version. The OBC was just TOO DAMN GOOD. Erika, Taylor, Ashley, Kate, Barret, Grey, Kyle, and Kerry are simply unmatched, in my opinion.
Really enjoyed, though having listened to the OBC recording so much I missed the cut songs! I felt the actress playing Janice was giving serious Kristen Stewart vibes which, while not inappropriate for the character, didn't produce enough energy to match the rest of the cast. Might have been more exciting to have her move around more, especially during the sung parts. Incredible vocals all round though.
haha I thought the exact same! Kristen Stewart just for whatever reason gives me the ick so it kinda ruined Janis for me which sucked. I was all in all not a fan of the costume changes from the Broadway ones. I don't know, overall I was a bit underwhelmed but I'm not sure why, it just didn't hit I guess.
The voiceover was in the Broadway version as well as the Janis and Damian parts, but they cut it out of west end version, and instrumental is more like film version and they cut like 30 mins out of Broadway verison
I'd quite like to go back in a few months time after seeing a preview, as my one criticism was other than Karen all the other characters were lacking comedic timing in the delivery of their lines which meant a lot of the key jokes were rushed and didn't land well. Interested to see if they work on this.
I agree with your review and Damian stole the show for me. Can we talk programmes?? I love a big shiny one and the mean girls one was not for me, I appreciate it's better for the planet, it's an adjustment but the mean girls one was a bit bland - compared to frozen/ spirited away
I saw it opening week and ir was soooo fun, it is extremely well cast the stand out moment was Cady forgot it was the October 3rd pointing out out the audience knows it was so funny. I sat next to an old lady she left in the interview i suppose it wasn't her thing😅
On Broadway, with Erika Hennings, Cady did have a few short recitativo like sung-internal-dialogues, here and there, in moments where Janis and Damian didn’t narrate. If they kept this in every version, we would kind of have redeemed the inner dialogues from the movie. Maybe they overthought “It’s a musical, not an opera!!” Why do musical theatre fans hate opera? It’s the same thing 😅
I saw this show last night with brother, with kinda medium expectations, but we had such a fantastic time! I love that they went so hard on the comedy, we were laughing out loud throughout. I agree with you on the casting, it was pitch perfect, not a weak link in the whole set
The US version(s) had short parts where Cady sang some of her inner dialogue "to the audience" on the melody of the verses of "Fearless". This covered some of the voiceover mechanism. Were these cut?
I took my 13 y/o niece to see this on Broadway in 2019; it was really a gift to her, I didn't think it would be necessarily be my cup of tea. (That cast included Taylor Louderman, Grey Henson & the inimitable Jennifer Simard.) So I was surprised & delighted at how much I enjoyed it. It's a really fun show & not just for teenage girls!
Love the review as always! Something that always “bugged” me as someone who doesn’t live close to NYC or London, was when I heard that the song’s lyrics were written and then put to music. That stuck with me and made the music feel off from the tone they may be trying to achieve and more like the show was almost translated to be a musical vs a deliberate and artistic interpretation. Keep in mind this was an interview from the NYC preview era so I would love to hear a recording of this one and see how they have been adapted and changed!
I saw it in one of the early previews. I've never felt so outnumbered in an audience before. I was both male and older than the early 20s demo that filled the space. And while I loved the original movie, and had seen several of the songs on UA-cam, I was not super impressed. I was most surprised by how few laughs the show got. Maybe it was because everyone already knew gags ported over from the film, but even the new funnies weren't. Funny, I mean. If the Legally Blonde musical built on and improved upon its source material, Mean Girls did neither. Aside from Sexy and My Name is Regina George, which I already knew, most of the other tracks were just there. On Thursdays we say meh.
I'm not usually one to say oh the OG production was better but... Sadly it was. They cut some really funny and clever scenes, like the pink T shirt quick change on stage and the big tap number. The set feels basic, almost like it was made to tour? Not sure about the changes they made, I reckon they felt like they had to make improvements cos they didn't get any Tonys 🤷 The cast is stellar and they did the best they could, quite a few stand our performances in the show.
Charitable of you to describe Karen as “less knowledgeable” 😆 Even though I live in Australia and definitely won’t be seeing this, I’m sad to hear “Fearless” isn’t in the show. In the cast album, that’s the only track that makes me choke up a little 😅
I don't think Janis and Damien work...when they went up to kady, I was so happy for her because the coolest people at school wanted to be her friend. 😂😂😂
We've had 'The Savoy Operas' from Gilbert and Sullivan. More recently we're getting 'The Savoy Musicals' which are film adapatations which are big, bright, colourful, loud and, as you say, "cartoonish".
Excellent review so is it still set in the early 00s or has it been completely updated like the movie musical? I know you mentioned Fearless was removed but what were the other song changes? I've heard Stop has been cut?
One thing I was thinking. This year I've seen many shows including Cruel Intentions and Standing at the Sky's edge, both of which have paper falling from the ceiling in parts of the show. So the whole world burn paper throw felt a little underwhelming compared to those
Saw it october 1st, thought they were all american. They were all british! Was ao good. Completely think Gretchen was the best of the ahow. Really embodied her. Bring on Clueless!!
I've seen Mean Girls, the original movie, and twice on tour in the USA. I think they did an excellent job with the adaption to the stage (except for excluding the coach's chlamydia line...that line's hilarious). It's too bad they cut Fearless for the UK production since it's a good final song, I like Revenge Party and Who's House is this as my favorites. Cadie's mom being single is a change as well, she doesn't have much of a role in the shoe, or really not much personality, I don't think it changes much of the story overall.
In my opinion I think the mean girls musical is similar to legally blonde the musical any early 00's woud transfer musicals are massive than you can imagine
Just came back from the theater and honestly it was too different from the original for me. Second act was way better than the first.. but what is their problem with Roar.. first the movie musical now this… it’s just awful. They tried really hard to incorporate the new film in the production. I was very disappointed. I wanted to love it so badly. I liked a few changes but really missed important parts that were either changed or simply cut. Cutting Damien second act opener was just non-sense. It really thought I was going to see the same show and I left the theater feeling so sad, honestly. I was supposed to go again next week, guess I’ll go to Next to Normal again, that is a smart version of a show. 😢
I think Janis very much internalising her emotions on the plastics is entirely a safety thing. Like I feel like Janis is at the stage where she has refused to acknowledge any of what has happened at all which is a unique take I enjoy :))
Now that you have seen the musical, does this change your opinion about the new movie? I believe a lot of your negative points on the movie actually came from the theatre version…
Despite all the writing talent involved and my love for the source material, I couldn't get past the terrible music. Incredibly nauseating. I literally felt like the music was composed specifically to annoy me.
Honestly need a proshot of this production. After seeing this new cast in clips and audio bits, I really think the show is starting to flourish.
well get one in 2048
"Starting"? The musical OBC was brilliant. I'm just glad it's getting more support.
we probably will but we only got a SIX proshot filmed after 3 years and it hasn't released yet so it will deffo take some time!
Has anyone seen the Bonnie and Clyde pro shot?
@@emhu2594 not yet no i really want to get it probs will
Saw it last night- loved it! While I thought the entire cast was fantastic, my standouts were Janis, Damien and Karen. I was shocked about the American accents- as an American I totally thought they were too!!! It was engaging and fun, so much so that my dad, who has never made it through a single play, musical or opera, was able to not only stay awake but was laughing and referencing the production afterwards.
Also had to add that the George Michael bit made me laugh every time 😂😂
Was just on the TodayTix app and saw that there's no show on Wednesday October 3rd 2024??!!! Surely they will do a show that day, it's the perfect mean girls day!!
Maybe they’re doing something special, so no normal show
@@londongirl2768 i really hope there’s something, would be a shame to let the day go past and with nothing at all
maybe aaron will ask for the date over the PA system
It’s a press night
Sorry, but 3rd October lands on a Thursday this year
26:05 the crown has magnets in it so they use the same for all shows 😊
I saw the show in previews, the casting was fantastic but the removal of the song ‘Stop’ was upsetting! Damien as a character was developed at the beginning but the removal of that song meant his character arch fell a bit flat in the middle. I also wasn’t too sure on the new adaptation of the first song, but on the whole it was great fun. Would recommend!
I just wish they did more with Janis’ outfit, something similar to broadway like her jackets which showed her creative side
I’ve seen people commenting that the new looks for Janis in west looks better then broadway
Absolutely agree, I feel like the Broadway costumes were designed for the show and the UK ones came from shops on the high street
We saw it last night and we were blown away by the cast! I already adored Tom Xander but the rest of the cast wowed me equally, with a special mention for Elena Skye "Janis"'s vocals✨ and Grace Mouat "Karen" who had me in stitches! We will go back!
Probably the best thing I’ll see all year. Such an incredible cast 💅🏻
I want a west end cast recording of this show. More specifically because I was obsessed w/ the cut number Bossed Up from OG DC previews and is now reworked for this production
I saw the show on saturday and was rather taken aback with the amount of changes. Wasnt a massive fan of reginas halloween costume and felt they did janis dirty in the costuming department. However that aside, the changes to revenge party makes it flow loads better, loved im blowing up and everyone was spot on with the casting and massive shout out to freddie clements who made his damien debut that day and was absolutely incredible as damien. Grace as karen was absolutely perfect. Also i loved cadys quick change in revenge party but the quick changes that zoe rainey had in the second half as the female adults was insane.
I'm very interested in seeing the West End version. The OBC was just TOO DAMN GOOD. Erika, Taylor, Ashley, Kate, Barret, Grey, Kyle, and Kerry are simply unmatched, in my opinion.
Really enjoyed, though having listened to the OBC recording so much I missed the cut songs! I felt the actress playing Janice was giving serious Kristen Stewart vibes which, while not inappropriate for the character, didn't produce enough energy to match the rest of the cast. Might have been more exciting to have her move around more, especially during the sung parts. Incredible vocals all round though.
Omg I thought exactly the same thing about her being like Kristen stewart. I really liked her performance tho.
haha I thought the exact same! Kristen Stewart just for whatever reason gives me the ick so it kinda ruined Janis for me which sucked. I was all in all not a fan of the costume changes from the Broadway ones. I don't know, overall I was a bit underwhelmed but I'm not sure why, it just didn't hit I guess.
This along with Next to Normal in London is the theatre version of Barbenheimer!
🩷🩷FETCH TO NORMAL!💜💜
Dylan, stop trying to make fetch to normal happen. It's not going to happen.
😂
@@beltingtokra 😂😂😂
The voiceover was in the Broadway version as well as the Janis and Damian parts, but they cut it out of west end version, and instrumental is more like film version and they cut like 30 mins out of Broadway verison
Not the movie orchestrations 🥲
I'd quite like to go back in a few months time after seeing a preview, as my one criticism was other than Karen all the other characters were lacking comedic timing in the delivery of their lines which meant a lot of the key jokes were rushed and didn't land well. Interested to see if they work on this.
I agree with your review and Damian stole the show for me. Can we talk programmes?? I love a big shiny one and the mean girls one was not for me, I appreciate it's better for the planet, it's an adjustment but the mean girls one was a bit bland - compared to frozen/ spirited away
That’s first line was delivered so well ❤❤❤
I saw it opening week and ir was soooo fun, it is extremely well cast the stand out moment was Cady forgot it was the October 3rd pointing out out the audience knows it was so funny.
I sat next to an old lady she left in the interview i suppose it wasn't her thing😅
On Broadway, with Erika Hennings, Cady did have a few short recitativo like sung-internal-dialogues, here and there, in moments where Janis and Damian didn’t narrate. If they kept this in every version, we would kind of have redeemed the inner dialogues from the movie. Maybe they overthought “It’s a musical, not an opera!!” Why do musical theatre fans hate opera? It’s the same thing 😅
Went to see this during the previews on June 11th and I thought they absolutely ROCKED IT!
I saw this show last night with brother, with kinda medium expectations, but we had such a fantastic time! I love that they went so hard on the comedy, we were laughing out loud throughout. I agree with you on the casting, it was pitch perfect, not a weak link in the whole set
Proshot of the Original Broadway Mean Girls Musical Broadway Cast. You should do the critics comparrsion between west end and broadway.
The US version(s) had short parts where Cady sang some of her inner dialogue "to the audience" on the melody of the verses of "Fearless". This covered some of the voiceover mechanism. Were these cut?
I saw it last week and LOVED it. Very funny, loved the set design and Damian stole the show but everyone was fantastic!
i didn’t anticipate to get here this early but i am not complaining
I took my 13 y/o niece to see this on Broadway in 2019; it was really a gift to her, I didn't think it would be necessarily be my cup of tea. (That cast included Taylor Louderman, Grey Henson & the inimitable Jennifer Simard.) So I was surprised & delighted at how much I enjoyed it. It's a really fun show & not just for teenage girls!
Seen this show 29 Times on Broadway! Need to fly to London to see thiss!!!
Love the review as always! Something that always “bugged” me as someone who doesn’t live close to NYC or London, was when I heard that the song’s lyrics were written and then put to music. That stuck with me and made the music feel off from the tone they may be trying to achieve and more like the show was almost translated to be a musical vs a deliberate and artistic interpretation. Keep in mind this was an interview from the NYC preview era so I would love to hear a recording of this one and see how they have been adapted and changed!
I saw it in one of the early previews. I've never felt so outnumbered in an audience before. I was both male and older than the early 20s demo that filled the space. And while I loved the original movie, and had seen several of the songs on UA-cam, I was not super impressed. I was most surprised by how few laughs the show got. Maybe it was because everyone already knew gags ported over from the film, but even the new funnies weren't. Funny, I mean. If the Legally Blonde musical built on and improved upon its source material, Mean Girls did neither. Aside from Sexy and My Name is Regina George, which I already knew, most of the other tracks were just there. On Thursdays we say meh.
I thought a lot of the humour was lost due to rushed delivery and poor comedic timing. Only the actress playing Karen landed her punch lines properly.
I'm not usually one to say oh the OG production was better but... Sadly it was. They cut some really funny and clever scenes, like the pink T shirt quick change on stage and the big tap number. The set feels basic, almost like it was made to tour? Not sure about the changes they made, I reckon they felt like they had to make improvements cos they didn't get any Tonys 🤷 The cast is stellar and they did the best they could, quite a few stand our performances in the show.
Charitable of you to describe Karen as “less knowledgeable” 😆
Even though I live in Australia and definitely won’t be seeing this, I’m sad to hear “Fearless” isn’t in the show. In the cast album, that’s the only track that makes me choke up a little 😅
Loved it, Janis and Damien were my standouts ❤
Damien made me laugh so hard. Regina was iconic! Very glamorous and scary
I don't think Janis and Damien work...when they went up to kady, I was so happy for her because the coolest people at school wanted to be her friend. 😂😂😂
We've had 'The Savoy Operas' from Gilbert and Sullivan. More recently we're getting 'The Savoy Musicals' which are film adapatations which are big, bright, colourful, loud and, as you say, "cartoonish".
Excellent review so is it still set in the early 00s or has it been completely updated like the movie musical? I know you mentioned Fearless was removed but what were the other song changes? I've heard Stop has been cut?
One thing I was thinking. This year I've seen many shows including Cruel Intentions and Standing at the Sky's edge, both of which have paper falling from the ceiling in parts of the show. So the whole world burn paper throw felt a little underwhelming compared to those
I have no intention of seeing the show but thank you for the extensive review
The Moldova comment made me laugh more than it should, Mickey.
Is that a "Legally Blonde" Bruiser in the background?
Saw it october 1st, thought they were all american. They were all british! Was ao good. Completely think Gretchen was the best of the ahow. Really embodied her. Bring on Clueless!!
I've seen Mean Girls, the original movie, and twice on tour in the USA. I think they did an excellent job with the adaption to the stage (except for excluding the coach's chlamydia line...that line's hilarious). It's too bad they cut Fearless for the UK production since it's a good final song, I like Revenge Party and Who's House is this as my favorites. Cadie's mom being single is a change as well, she doesn't have much of a role in the shoe, or really not much personality, I don't think it changes much of the story overall.
Tell us about the new songs!!!!!! Please.
There’s like one new song which is start of act 2 which is a actually a cut song from pre broadway which is now back for the west end production
just wondering…will you do a Tanz der Vampire review?
In my opinion I think the mean girls musical is similar to legally blonde the musical any early 00's woud transfer musicals are massive than you can imagine
Just came back from the theater and honestly it was too different from the original for me. Second act was way better than the first.. but what is their problem with Roar.. first the movie musical now this… it’s just awful. They tried really hard to incorporate the new film in the production. I was very disappointed. I wanted to love it so badly.
I liked a few changes but really missed important parts that were either changed or simply cut.
Cutting Damien second act opener was just non-sense. It really thought I was going to see the same show and I left the theater feeling so sad, honestly.
I was supposed to go again next week, guess I’ll go to Next to Normal again, that is a smart version of a show. 😢
will there be an official cast recording??
Hi love this video!! Do you think this cast will make a new Mean Girls musical soundtrack for the West End cast? Thanks
i think so cuz they changed some of the words
I love mean girls the musical 👇
do we know if there will be a cast recording for the original west end cast??
I think Janis very much internalising her emotions on the plastics is entirely a safety thing. Like I feel like Janis is at the stage where she has refused to acknowledge any of what has happened at all which is a unique take I enjoy :))
30 second gang gang 💜✨️
Now that you have seen the musical, does this change your opinion about the new movie? I believe a lot of your negative points on the movie actually came from the theatre version…
Finally it is hear
Despite all the writing talent involved and my love for the source material, I couldn't get past the terrible music. Incredibly nauseating. I literally felt like the music was composed specifically to annoy me.
I didn’t see this coming. Haven’t seen it but hated the West End Live performances