Mean Girls - Savoy

[djdan14]

3 from me - saw the original broadway production and with the changes this just felt poorer, and not a fan of some of the casting either.

[backtothetheatre]

Has anyone sat on the front row for this yet and know how high the stage is / what the view is like? The front row for Mean Girls is BB instead of AA.

[Paulw]

Jul 14, 2024 14:03:01 GMT backtothetheatre said:

Has anyone sat on the front row for this yet and know how high the stage is / what the view is like? The front row for Mean Girls is BB instead of AA.

I have and the view is fine and thought it was good value I’m 5’7 and it was about eye level but I got mine on Rush and not the in house new prices that they are new charging

I have pictures but don’t know how to upload one on here!

[ladidah]

I was front row, and it was great, no issues at all.

[Someone in a tree]

I asked a friend who loves a teen musical and quite liked this to rank it amongst others
1. Legally blonde
2. Heathers
3. Dear Evan H.
4. Mean Girls

He'd see the top three again but not this.

[robertb213]

I'd agree with that. It doesn't have the joyful heart of Legally Blonde, the dark edge of Heathers or the emotional weight of Dear Evan Hansen.

[Matt]

Saw the matinee today, my 2nd time seeing the west end production. We had 1st cover Cady on, Cliona. She was good, not complaints really, she lead the show well.

I cannot get over the massacre of It Roars, it bothered me a lot more than it did the first time I saw it. It just doesn’t flow as a song, I can’t tell what’s a verse or chorus or middle 8. Why was there a need to change it?

Also, the new song at the beginning of act 2, it’s like they were asked to write a song 5 minutes before curtain up. Does anyone know why Stop was cut for this?

It was a typical matinee crowd with not many laughs and shortened applauses, but everyone was straight up on their feet at the end. Everyone was on form, Tom as Damien is just such a presence on stage, he’s just so funny. Apart from Tom, it was Grace as Karen getting the biggest laughs, and rightly so. She just does such a brilliant job in this role, nothing like I’ve seen her do before.

[lewjohnny96]

Jul 19, 2024 17:25:26 GMT Matt said:

Saw the matinee today, my 2nd time seeing the west end production. We had 1st cover Cady on, Cliona. She was good, not complaints really, she lead the show well.

I cannot get over the massacre of It Roars, it bothered me a lot more than it did the first time I saw it. It just doesn’t flow as a song, I can’t tell what’s a verse or chorus or middle 8. Why was there a need to change it?

Also, the new song at the beginning of act 2, it’s like they were asked to write a song 5 minutes before curtain up. Does anyone know why Stop was cut for this?

It was a typical matinee crowd with not many laughs and shortened applauses, but everyone was straight up on their feet at the end. Everyone was on form, Tom as Damien is just such a presence on stage, he’s just so funny. Apart from Tom, it was Grace as Karen getting the biggest laughs, and rightly so. She just does such a brilliant job in this role, nothing like I’ve seen her do before.

I saw that Blowing Up (act 2 opener) was actually in the DC version of the show prior to Broadway, but it was called Bossed Up. There’s an audio of it on YouTube, but it’s pretty bad. I didn’t mind it but I do also miss Stop the more I hear bits of the show.

[mrbarnaby]

What’s all this fuss about It Roars? Whats so heinous with how it’s done here?
I don’t remember it being exactly a highlight in NYC.

[danb]

Jul 19, 2024 19:43:26 GMT mrbarnaby said:

What’s all this fuss about It Roars? Whats so heinous with how it’s done here?
I don’t remember it being exactly a highlight in NYC.

It has been changed from a crisp bit of melodic mezzo with purpose, to a muddled mess. It has been made more like the movie which obviously someone thought was an improvement. It needs to show the relative peace of the actual jungle vs the chaos of the schools eco-system. Now it just squishes everything up…but mostly it was just a lovely little song before, and now it isn’t.

[eliza]

Jun 10, 2024 23:23:15 GMT Being Alive said:

Interestingly I think it's the adaptation that's the worst part of this - Tina Fey managed to remove almost all of the humour that made the film good - the book just isn't funny enough,

I was really looking forward to the show and I definitely agree with the above.

I really like the cast recording so was excited for the songs, and I don't particularly like what they've done to It Roars. It's no longer memorable at all, but I enjoyed the songs in the show other than that.

The main issue for me was definitely the humour, it didn't live up to the original film at all. I found it really awkward because I could tell they were trying so hard and there were a fair few lines that were meant to be funny, but they just didn't land and the audience was silent. It got better after the interval, there was more audience reaction!

[Stephen]

I've wanted to see this since the Broadway recording was first released so glad I finally have. It's light, feel good, fluffy at times and overall fun if you don't expect to be moved too much. The crows were very up for it. Lots of quoting aloud and nice to see an audience all giddy and excited.

Standout for me was Elena Skye as Janis - she nails it. I have read about her deadpan acting but think that she really makes it work and loved her. Both leads (Regina and Cody) were understudies tonight. Both talented and gave very definite, if not particularly charismatic, performances. I actually liked the projections here - they worked well.

I'd love to know how much they're making on march because my god the queues and the amount people had. Even I spent £27 on three souvenir cups. I just got sucked in!

Side note - Row N dress circle 3,4,5 were probably the most uncomfortable seats I've ever sat in a West End theatre. So upright and zero legroom. Nothing on the notes when booking. I'm pretty easy going but they must get complaints nightly!

[Steve]

Jul 19, 2024 17:25:26 GMT Matt said:

Does anyone know why Stop was cut for this?

Imagine Anakin Skywalker is just about to become Darth Vader, and Jar Jar Binks jumps out singing "Stop" and leads him in a tap dance.

It's funny but narratively, after "Revenge Party," it makes much more sense for Cady to sing a song embracing "Blowing Up" as the new Regina George.

That doesn't speak to the quality of the song, of course, but it worked for me. Of course, it's a musical theatre crime to cut a tap number, so swings and roundabouts lol.

[showtoones]

The show is fun and when I saw it, Cliona was on a Cady and ZI thought she was extraordinary. This was her second performance and she was super.

[Steve]

Seen this twice, once at first preview, and once on Tuesday night, with 3 understudies. Loved it both times.

Some spoilers follow. . .

The first preview was when they made you feel special, with Tina Fey taking to the stage with the creatives (she didn't wear pink even though it was a Wednesday - the ultimate power play lol), with all the taxis outside converted to "Mean Girls" taxis, with free dated pins for everyone, a "House Full" sign and £45 getting you front stalls seats (Tina Fey was sitting one row behind me in Row E, making me nervous about not laughing at some of her jokes lol).

The problem with adapting a comedy everybody knows is that the jokes become nostalgic fossils that people cheer for rather than laughing at them.

Since comedy comes from surprise, and you can't be surprised if you know a joke, the only way you can get a genuine laugh out of these lines is having actors who surprise you with their intonations. That's where Tom Xander, Grace Mouat, Elena Gyasi, Zoe Rainey and Annie Southall (the assistant dance captain with the comedy instincts of a star lol) earn their stripes: they inject new laughs into old jokes with punchy attitudes and zany line readings providing the real laughs.

Xander is consistently wonderful (even better with props, like shades or electric wheelchairs), but his comic feistiness ("she doesn't even GO here!") knows no bounds, and he is a phenomenal singer as well, belting out "Where do you Belong?" with confident classic Broadway razzle dazzle!

Grace Mouat's dozy frozen vacant narcissism is hilarious, deliciously tinged with wild psychopathy, such as when she brazenly bursts out laughing at something mean when everyone else is embarrassed. There is almost nothing she can say in this character that isn't funny.

Elena Gyasi is much funnier now than at first preview. At first preview, they were trying to make her character distinct from Mouat's, playing her teary-eyed sensitivity, but now they're highlighting her shrill birdlike fear of Regina George, and primal fear portrayed as a human bird (CACAW!) is much funnier than sentiment. Now she's a hoot!

Zoe Rainey as all the adult characters is comedy gold. It's not that her understudy, Fergie Fraser, isn't good. She's almost too good, morphing into 3 believable characters. But it's the comic exaggeration, not the authenticity, that makes Rainey much funnier. There is added haughty judgemental breathiness as Cady's Mum, there is added shrill maniacal girlishness as Regina's Mum and there is added weary caustic knowingness as Ms Norbury. I've seen Rainey a ton of times in things but this is the funniest work I've seen from her, adding just the right amount of exaggeration to heighten the comedy without becoming an alienating cartoon.

Whether Annie Southall is given a line about pride in her "vaginal flow" or about how looking like Cady is "not achievable for me," she times the lines with the dry shameless lack of selfconsciousnrss of a pro-comedienne. If she ever wants to drop the line in dance captaining, a comedy career beckons lol.

Elena Skye's voice is belting emotive heaven in this, and she really brings the teen drama. She's not funny like the Janis in the film, but she is more relatable for it, the character in the show who displays the most authentic teen anxiety and fury.

As stand-in Regina George, Cliona Flynn gives great vocals and a fearsome attitude, and comes across as a Heather Chandler type. But Georgina Castle, as Regina George, was much more than just a mean girl, in her peerless characterisation: she resembled a goddess descended from Mount Olympus, or maybe one of those lizard aliens from "V" covered with a human skin, because her slow motion unpredictable movements, coupled with unpredictable silky but weirdly paced vocal intonations, suggested she was not human at all but truly an apex predator ready to eat humans for breakfast.

Of the understudies I saw, the standout by far was Lilia Squires as Cady. At first preview, Charlie Burn's Cady had the otherworldliness of someone who had never been to high school, but this made her feel a bit untouchable and unaffected by the plot points. By contrast, Squires' performance was so invested in every plot twist and teen emotion, that I found the rooting interest of every moment of the whole show exponentially higher.

Songwise, "Sexy" and "Whose House is this?" are hilarious, "Apex Predator" and "World Burn" have thrust and vision, "Where do you Belong?" is deliciously old school and "I See Stars" is just plain pretty.

This show does not have the awesome satirical viciousness of Heathers, in which fake news has kids more loved in death than life. It is instead a proto-typical teen comedy about cliques and fitting in. And while the show suffers from it's comedy being too ubiquitously known, I find that Xander, Mouat, Gyasi, Rainey and Southall are so funny, Skye so beltingly forcefully authentic and mellifluous, Castle is so awesomely alien and apex, and Squires so emotive, that there is loads to love and laugh at here, to the tune of an easy 4 stars for me.

[darreno]

Outstanding review above, really enjoyed reading that. Thanks for the effort.


I FINALLY caught this on Saturday night and, unsurprisingly, I loved it! It's not perfect but it's a must see in my opinion.

The casting for the plastics is PERFECT. The show was always going to live or die on this and it LIVES. Georgina is RIDICULOUSLY good as Regina. Like she was born for the part. I've seen her in a few other productions and she is always good but in this, she is GREAT. Particularly in World Burn which was a real thrill to experience live.

As everyone has said, Tom Xander is just WOW. He absolutely owns this character, adds a few dimensions to it, while keeping totally true to the film character. Not an easy task! A real showman, genuinely has the audience in the palm of his hand.

Who the Hell is Annie Southall and why haven't I seen her in every show I have ever attended??!! She is INCREDIBLE. Her comic timing is just perfect, perfect, perfect. She instantly goes on the list of people who I will go to see no matter what show they are cast in.

Same goes for Tia Antoine-Charles who is magic. She is such a star and I love seeing her perform. Was very excited seeing her on stage as I hadn't paid attention to the ensemble cast for this.

We had Angus Good on for Aaron and he did a great job, it's a tough character because your job is to be slightly bland and not steal focus from the girls! But he was charming and more than able to change gear during the couple of scenes where he is more heavily involved.

I don't like what they've done to It Roars, that's disappointing as it's such an excellent musical theatre song. I'm also not crazy about the changes to Stupid with love, but change is inevitable and the overall product is fun, slick, well paced and just hugely enjoyable. An example of how great casting can breathe life into a show that could feel tired if it went down the wrong road.

[Rory]

What time does the evening performance end?

[danb]

About ten.

[Rory]

Jul 29, 2024 18:59:03 GMT danb said:

About ten.

Cheers danb

[joonas]

I saw this yesterday evening and I have to say that the show itself is far from perfect but the whole cast is just phenomenal! All the leads were there, only one understudy in a minor role.

And I know there’s already been a lot of talk about “It roars” but I really don’t understand why they had to turn a great musical theatre song into a formless mess. Half of the time it almost sounds like she isn’t even singing the same song that the band is playing.

The digital set worked well at times but sometimes it just looked tacky and made the production seem cheap. I’m glad they have a decent-sized orchestra though, with 10 musicians I believe.

A three star show that becomes worth four stars because of the five star cast.

[marob]

I saw the matinee of this yesterday, having never seen the film. Bit of a planning failure on my part as I only realised after booking that Standing at the Sky’s Edge also did Friday matinees and closes today so won’t have seen that. But whatever regret I had was quickly dispelled by what a fun, enjoyable show this was. I’d only seen a few of the cast in other things. A particular standout was Georgina Castle. I’d seen her in Cinderella, but she never got a chance to sing like she does here. I also really liked the video screens. Didn’t like the ones in Hello, Dolly! but here they work really well.

[asps2017]

How easy is it getting rush tickets?

[Mark]

Aug 21, 2024 14:47:24 GMT asps2017 said:

How easy is it getting rush tickets?

Found it hard at first the other week but they kept adding more. We got amazing seats mid stalls about 15 mins after the initial release.

[Rory]

Aug 21, 2024 14:47:24 GMT asps2017 said:

How easy is it getting rush tickets?

I got middle of Stalls Row N yesterday within two minutes of 10am

[dillan]

Aug 21, 2024 14:47:24 GMT asps2017 said:

How easy is it getting rush tickets?

Tried today.. was a bit of a struggle. After about 15mins of constantly clicking, got offered Dress Circle K20, let it go as I feel this is quite far away from the stage at The Savoy. Continued to try and was then offered Dress Circle K15.. again let it go.

Will keep trying, I assumed the front row was held for rush but I guess not.