Early last week, the trailer for “Mean Girls,” the movie version of the musical by the same name, was released. As an avid fan of the musical, I’m nervous.
My first issue with the trailer was the use of Olivia Rodrigo’s hit “get him back!” Though it is a good song, I am struggling to find the reasoning behind using that and not one of the songs from the actual musical. It felt as if the team was trying to hide the fact that the movie is a musical.
I’m also struggling with the fact that the creative team chose to go with a movie musical and not a proshot. If you’re unaware of what a proshot is, it’s when a stage production is filmed on the stage. A few examples of this would be “Hamilton” and “Newsies,” both of which reached great success. I’m a pretty big theatre fan, so I think I speak with some authority when I say that, in my opinion, proshots are always better at capturing the full essence of a stage production. I think that it is an interesting choice to turn a movie into a musical and then back into a movie. Why not just film it with the Broadway actors on a stage, the way that the show was intended to be viewed?
Speaking of the Broadway actors, I’m worried that the actors hired may not do justice to the show. I have absolutely no doubt that Renee Rapp, who’s playing Regina George, will do her justice. Rapp replaced Taylor Louderman, the original Regina on Broadway, when she was just 19 years old. And she did a phenomenal job at it. I’m also not worried about Jaquel Spivey, playing Damian Hubbard. Spivey is a Tony-nominated performer who has won many accolades for his role in “A Strang Loop” on Broadway. Another actor I’m not worried about is Auli’i Cravalho, the voice actor for Moana. Cravalho will be playing Janis ‘Imi’ike (formerly Ian). I’d love to see some lesser-known Broadway actors get their chance at these roles. But, considering I’m only confident in the abilities of three of the characters, I’d say the casting choices have left me feeling a little nervous.
Why else am I nervous? Because I’ve heard rumors that some crucial songs may be cut. Of course, rumors are just rumors so don’t take this as fact. I heard that “It Roars,” a song that gives a look into main character Cady Heron’s life in Africa and her move to the United States, is being cut. I also heard that “Meet The Plastics,” an introduction to the characters of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith, is being cut. This one particularly hurt.
Again, I’m a huge fan of the musical, so when the movie comes out on Jan. 12, 2024, I absolutely will be sat. I just hope that the movie does justice to the musical I love so dearly.
