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Theater Review: Mean Girls, The Musical, Is Clique Bait
Mean Girls (★★★☆☆) are reprising roles from the 2019-2020 tour, and their experience shows in the well-honed comedy and character work on display.As Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith — two of The Plastics, the pastel-pretty apex predators of the story’s high school jungle — Megan Masako Haley and Jonalyn Saxer know where all the laughs are. They nail Gretchen and Karen’s dramatic beats, too.And Mary Kate Morrissey, with the pipes to elevate every song she takes on, delivers snark without resting on stereotype in her portrayal of proud misfit Janis Sarkisian, eager to see The Plastics toppled from atop the North Shore High food chain.Janis might get her wish with the arrival of new student Cady Heron, played by Danielle Wade, also reprising her role from the previous tour.An American girl raised in Kenya, Cady hasn’t a clue how to navigate the social savagery of a suburban Illinois high school, but she learns fast from Janis and vividly gay fellow outcast Damian Hubbard, performed by Eric Huffman, another in the cast with an engaging take on their character and firm handle on the comic timing.Damian and Janis’ tutelage in numbers like “Where Do You Belong?” sets Cady up for finding popularity.
