Mean Girls – Sunderland Empire

Writer: Tina Fey 

Music: Jeff Richmond 

Lyrics: Nell Benjamin 

Director: Casey Nicholaw 

For better and for worse, the plot of Mean Girls has become increasingly relevant since the film was released in 2004. On the negative side, in the past 22 years, the world has got a lot meaner. However, the themes of female empowerment and celebrating individuality also resonate more today than ever before. This musical adaptation by the ever-excellent Tina Fey of her own movie screenplay manages to subtly incorporate newer technology such as smartphones and social media while retaining the original’s spirit (both mean and otherwise). 

Teenager Cady Heron moves to Chicago after being home-schooled in Kenya and must navigate her way through high school with the assistance of outsiders Janis and Damian but quickly falling in with the vacuous “Plastics” led by the formidable Regina George. Cady’s efforts to fit in with both sets of people leads to conflict, deception and revenge – just an average day in the life of a teenage girl.

In the two-plus decades since the film came out, Mean Girls has grown in status to become something of a cult – no doubt due to new generations of young girls constantly discovering this witty cautionary tale. A musical adaptation was a no-brainer and the show debuted on Broadway in 2018, prematurely closing due to the pandemic in 2020 but leaving a lasting impression that carried through a US tour, a West End production, a movie adaptation, and now this UK tour.  

The show itself is a strong one. Fey’s trademarked mix of smart and often snarky comedy mixed with genuine emotional beats make her script a delight, matched perfectly by Nell Benjamin’s equally funny and touching lyrics. Meanwhile, Jeff Richmond’s music manages to be contemporary without ever feeling like it will become dated, and he manages a wide range of musical styles to match the diversity of the main cast of characters. As for this production, its biggest win is in the casting. Almost every single one of the impressively large ensemble are perfectly cast in their roles and display impeccable triple-threat talent… well, almost impeccable – more on that later. 

Emily Lane manages the challenges of playing Cady brilliantly, moving from perky to panicked and angelic to arrogant as her character is put through the ringer by the high school hierarchy. Georgie Buckland and Max Gill make a hilarious double-act as the unashamedly non-conformist Janis and Damian, each grabbing and holding the audience’s attention whenever they are on stage and particularly during their showstopping numbers. At this performance Regina was played by understudy Lillia Squires who brings buckets of sultry confidence and wicked playfulness to her apex predator, brilliantly supported by Kiara Dario’s fabulously insecure Gretchen, and Rebekah Bryant’s air-headed Karen – and absolute standout performance and shockingly played by another understudy. Bringing a celebrity name to the cast is Faye Tozer who displays good acting versatility by portraying both Cady and Regina’s mothers, as well as teacher Ms Norbury – often with impressively quick costume changes between. 

This all being said, this UK tour production has a few issues that undermine all of the above positives in a most frustrating way. Firstly, there are the production values. While the cast is great, the budget for this show seems to have been relatively tight. Yes, there are a lot of people on the stage (an unusual sight for a tour these days), but they are forced to perform in front of horribly dated looking painted backcloths, which along with the minimal stage dressings replicated from the original Broadway production, make this all seem cheap and rather amateur. The plain lighting doesn’t help at all with this either, and it is especially a problem on a stage as big as the Empire’s – leaving even a cast of over two dozen looking lost in such a cavernous space.  

The other, and greater issue, is a common one these days but seems especially bad here – clarity of sound. The sound balance in this production, as well as the diction of many of the cast, means that Fey’s jokes and Benjamin’s lyrics are frequently unintelligible – an unforgivable sin when working with such strong material. The music is often too high in the mix, drowning out the words that the singer is trying to convey, although a similar issue during scripted scenes suggests that in some cases it is the performers’ diction that seems to be the issue. Yes, the music has us tapping our feet, but a musical contains plot and emotion in the lyrics and here it is often lost. It’s maddening too that some of Tina Fey’s jokes fall absolutely flat due to poor delivery

Please don’t feel that this large chunk of criticism is mean-spirited. It is born out of frustration since these relatively easy to fix issues could have elevated Mean Girls from a decent night out to a great one. Casey Nicholaw’s direction is solid, his choreography is frequently outstanding, and as previously stated, this is a strong cast working with strong material. Perhaps this is a cautionary tale in more ways than one.

Runs until 11th April 2026, before continuing on tour