January this year, mean girlsThe cult teen comedy returns to the Pantages stage as the US tour kicks off in Los Angeles.
At the show’s Los Angeles premiere, the audience was decked out in pink outfits and mean girls Goods, guests are producers and saturday night live Creator Lorne Michaels also participated. Based on Tina Fey’s original screenplay and book, Emmy Award-winning mean girls She follows the same story of the city’s new kid, Cady Heron, as she navigates the nefarious world of her high school suburbs – a place led by ruthless plastic and its queen bee, Regina George.
Ahead of the show’s final weekend at Pantages, hollywood reporter Meet the musical’s composer Jeff Richmond and current cast members to learn more about the upcoming film adaptation, Richmond’s working relationship with his wife Faye, and how the show is breaking down Broadway’s diversity barriers. We talked about whether
For Richmond, the journey to acquisition mean girls It started with acquiring the rights to the Broadway stage.
“Tina and I have always talked about doing a musical for years,” Richmond says of his wife and creative collaborator Faye. “[Mean Girls] People seemed interested and asked if I was interested in doing a musical. We were so close to Lorne and he was the one who had to give us that right, so we just said, “Let’s shoot for this.” I was able to get the rights to the movie. “
and in stage adaptation mean girls, the Emmy Award-winning television composer found a way back to his roots in musical theater.Throughout his career, Richmond has composed for shows like 30 rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, saturday night live When girls 5 evaPrior to that, he majored in musical theater in college and wrote several musicals and score compositions.
Jenny Anderson
Following its 2017 debut and Broadway’s pandemic shutdown in 2020, mean girls It’s back up and running for a US tour just in time for the ongoing development of the musical’s film adaptation. Of his current involvement in Broadway shows and tours, Richmond said: “We have very good management on the road and people take care of it. Now the day-to-day operations are about the film adaptations that we are working on.”
In 2020, it was announced that Lorne Michaels and Paramount Pictures were planning to adapt a musical version of the story to film. Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. will direct, while Richmond and lyricist Nell Benjamin will also return to the film’s score. It was also recently announced that Angourie Rice, Aurie Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, and Rene Rapp would appear in the film.
“We are very much into it,” says Richmond. “What we are trying to do [with the movie] Take a score that sounds like a Broadway score – in a good way – and [give] The movie has a fresher palette. To make it sound like what you want to hear on Spotify, as opposed to sitting in his eighth row center at a Broadway theater or Pantages. It’s like giving the whole thing a fresher, younger take. It’s like reinventing music for a movie, so it’s a lot of fun. “
Nadina Hassan, who played Regina on the tour, added: Because what we did when the movie came out will be shared with many others who couldn’t come see us on tour or see the cast on Broadway. I am always very lucky to be a part of “
After working together for the past 30 years, Richmond and Fey have mastered the art of working together, not to mention their most important collaboration: family. “Don’t forget our kids,” he laughs. “We worked with the kids and the dogs.” Of working together on the musical, Richmond says, “It couldn’t be better.”
“When we work together, we know when to get out of each other’s way,” the composer adds. “For example, who is playing this role? Always the same office, she’s a lot of fun to be with.”
Jenny Anderson
The stage adaptation also brought about great progress in terms of diverse expressions by assigning people of color to the leading roles.
Jasmine Rodgers, who plays Gretchen, said, “I saw the musical when it was released on Broadway.” I was lucky enough to see her perform. [Ashley Park who played Gretchen], and it was really, really cool. “
Three women of color are currently playing Plastics. mean girls During the tour, Hassan stresses the importance of breaking down Broadway barriers. “We didn’t get a lot of people of color in these lead roles because we were growing up and going to college while the show was out,” she explains. “So playing Regina now is really cool and something I didn’t expect. All three of us breaking down different barriers in these roles. This is pretty amazing.” That’s it.”
From movies to musicals to movie musicals, mean girls It became a teenage cult classic with quotes like “So get it!” “You can’t sit with us” has become a staple of his early 2000s pop culture. Nearly 20 years after his original release, audiences still find their way back to the original film.
“Tina talks about it all the time,” Richmond says of the show’s impact across generations. mean girls For each generation that comes back. You put them all back in the original movie, but suddenly there’s a different kind of version and it’s a movie. “
“I think part of it is that Tina Fey is hilarious,” adds Morgan Ashley Bryant, who plays Karen on the show. I wrote that super iconic line, but I also think the core value of this story is to remove all the extra clutter and support each other as women, which is why so many women and young people I think girls resonate with this story.”
los angeles run mean girls Shortly thereafter, the tour will head to San Francisco from January 31st to February 26th, followed by a week in San Diego, with a final stop in Costa Mesa, California. From March 7th he until March 19th. Tickets for upcoming shows can be purchased online.
