Everyone is excited for RHS theater program’s production of Mean Girls, and as we get closer to the day of the first show, the cast and crew are working hard on making sure that the play is something that people not only love but also that does the movie justice and brings a feeling of nostalgia. Mean Girls is a significant musical to acknowledge, especially now, due to its sensitive yet universal themes—topics such as bullying, eating disorders, and homophobia. There will be various scenarios throughout the play that present how to cope with such heavy topics, as well as resources handed out at the show. If you aren’t familiar with the musical, it follows an exchange student, Cady Heron, who experiences the transition from home school in Africa to public school in America, where she meets a group of girls called ‘The Plastics’. The Plastics are known as Regina George, Gretchen Weiner, and Karen Smith, who are considered basically celebrities at North Shore High School. Cady ends up becoming “Plastic” to get closer to her crush, Aaron Samuels, as well as get revenge on Regina for her new friends Janice and Damian.
Ms. Lane is working very hard to ensure that people have fun watching the play and that the cast and crew have fun being in the play. While talking to her, I asked her what made her want to do Mean Girls and she told me, “I’m always looking for shows that feature a lot of different folks but also that tells a really good story.” That being said, the movie shows a lot of bullying and it is important that we recognize how relevant that is, especially right now, with how chaotic the world is. “It’s just really important that we’re being conscientious of our kindness to others and including everyone because we never know what folks are going through.” She hopes that people don’t just watch the show but also take away the lesson and apply it, which is, “be kind to others, and be the friend you want.”
A musical takes a lot of people in the cast and crew, they are all working hard on singing, dancing, and acting but also the important things that might get over looked like all of the technical elements that you can’t really see because it’s not front and center. While in rehearsals you can see that everyone is very dedicated to their role and making sure this production is something that people will love. Each day they are working on something different and trying to improve on what they did the day before. If you are considering trying drama or auditioning for the next musical/play then you should because no matter if you have experience you are welcomed. Ms. Lane says, “we can’t grow unless we do something that scares us.” which is shown in Mean Girls as we see Cady step out of her comfort zone towards the end and grow as a person.
Annalise Reimuller is a Sophomore playing Cady Heron and as the show is right around the corner you can only imagine how nervous she is since she says this is her first time as a big lead! Annalise would describe Cady as “Apologetic, gone through motions and she hurts people but at the end owns it and apologises. Fearless, able to just go with the flow and roll with the punches and come out the other side knowing so much in so little time. Introspective, able to look into herself at the end and her faults and to do that you have to be an introspective person.” She says that the most challenging part is just trusting in her own abilities to not only act, sing, and dance but also be a leader. She is excited to play Cady as she relates to her, “Sometimes Cady has a tendency to be naive and trusting and just sort of does what people tell her to do for the sake of popularity or the sake of being accepted into society and I feel like me and probably other teenagers struggle with that too.” Annalise showed a lot of interest in continuing to act in future plays and she has hopes to play any character in the Waitress or Hadestown since she knows it’s one Ms. Lane loves a lot and a musical her peers are all super big fans of.
The expectations for this musical are all high and it has many people very excited. Ms. Lane says, “We can expect the familiar movie story with Broadway musical tunes throughout. This story gives us permission to laugh at how ridiculous high school can be, while simultaneously recognizing how much high schoolers have to manage as they mature into young adults. Everyone attending will be blown away by the incredibly talented cast and crew!” Come see Mean Girls opening night February 27th for tickets, visit www.roosevelttheatre.org!
