BWW Blog: My Reaction to Mean Girls Closing

It was announced this past Thursday that once Broadway reopens, Mean Girls will not return. Mean Girls opened at the August Wilson in 2018 and had a successful run, even recouping all of their original investments. With the success and popularity of the show, it poses the question "Why Mean Girls?" The shutdown has already caused a few shows to close or close earlier than announced, including Beetlejuice, Frozen, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

I was very surprised when I heard the news of Mean Girls closing because I expected it to run for much longer than it did. Between the popular movie, the catchy soundtrack, and the uber-talented cast, I was prepared for this show to have at least a few more years added to its run. From what I've seen and heard from others, no one expected Mean Girls to be one of the shows to close. To me, Mean Girls is one of the best movies to musical adaptations that we have seen on stage recently. It brought the movie to the current day while keeping the same themes but making them more relatable for today's teens. The first time I heard "I'd Rather Be Me" I was enraptured by this show because it just felt like me and I, as a teenage girl going through these issues, felt seen in a way that you don't really see on stage. A lot of Broadway shows about teenagers or young people don't focus on female friendship the way Mean Girls did. While the show did have romantic subplots, it wasn't the focus of the whole show and it was more about Cady finding herself and how teenage girls are pitted against each other in every part of our society.

My fondest memory of Mean Girls was when I saw it for the first time in 2019. It was the first time my parents had let me go to New York City by myself, so obviously I was going to see a Broadway show. I remember being able to feel the joy and happiness radiating off the cast during the show. Their energy was so strong and you could feel it throughout the theater. Also, I got to the stage door and met so many members of the cast who were all incredibly kind and wonderful people.

Personally, Mean Girls' closing reminds me of when Waitress closed. I know that these two shows really don't have anything to do with each other, but they share the same energy and I think they both closed prematurely. Both shows are tales of strong women doing what they feel they need to do to get by, no matter what that is. Another thing both of these shows share is the idea that your journey is your own. Cady didn't fit with either the Plastics or Janis and Damian because she was forging her own path. Jenna had many other people telling her what she should or should not do with her money, her job, her body, but she persevered and ended up in the best position of her life. I feel as if these shows are connected in a way and they both closed before they really had the time to spread their messages to all the audiences who deserved to hear them.

Luckily for us, this is not the end of Mean Girls the Musical. Once live performances begin again in the United States, Mean Girls will continue their tour and there are rumors of the show opening soon on the West End. Also, it is confirmed that a movie based on the musical will be coming to the big screen at some point within the next few years. For now, let us mourn the loss of this great show, but when we have the chance again, let's put all of our passion and love for this show into supporting the rest of Broadway.