**First Look Photos Revealed**
Mean Girls, the record-breaking new musical comedy produced by Lorne Michaels, Stuart Thompson, Sonia Friedman, and Paramount Pictures based on the hit film, is pleased to announce the actresses who will launch the First National Tour as “The Plastics”. Newcomer singer-songwriter Mariah Rose Faith will lead the trio as Regina George with Wicked national tour alum Megan Masako Haley as Gretchen Wieners and Mean Girls original Broadway ensemble member Jonalyn Saxer stepping into the role of Karen Smith. First look photos available here.
The Mean Girls National Tour launches on September 21 in Buffalo, NY. Click here for the full tour route.
Mean Girls features a book by nine-time Emmy Award winner Tina Fey, based on her screenplay for the film, music by three-time Emmy Award winner Jeff Richmond; and lyrics by two-time Tony Award nominee Nell Benjamin. Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw directs and choreographs.
New York Magazine calls Mean Girls “HILARIOUS! A smart, splashy new musical that delivers with immense energy, a wicked sense of humor and joyful inside-jokery.” Chicago Tribune said “Tina Fey writes FUNNIER, SMARTER, SHARPER satire than anyone else in the business.” People Magazine calls the show “FRESH, FUN AND INFECTIOUS – Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin’s songs keep the laughs coming!” The New York Daily News said Mean Girls “TICKLES THE EARS, EYES AND FUNNY BONE – the direction by Casey Nicholaw packs style, invention and red bull-force energy.” And, Entertainment Weekly calls it “A MARVEL: DAZZLING & HILARIOUS!”
Mean Girls opened on Broadway in April 2018 to rave reviews at the August Wilson Theatre, where it continues playing to packed houses. The show had its world premiere at the National Theatre in Washington D.C., in the fall of 2017.
Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order? By taking on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.
The creative team includes Scott Pask (Set Design), Gregg Barnes (Costume Design), Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Brian Ronan (Sound Design), Finn Ross & Adam Young (Video Design), Josh Marquette (Hair Design), Milagros Medina-Cerdeira (Make-Up Design), Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Music Director), John Clancy (Orchestrations), Glen Kelly (Dance and Incidental Music Arrangements), Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Jeff Richmond, and Natalie Tenenbaum (Vocal Arrangements), Howard Joines (Music Coordinator), and Telsey + Co / Bethany Knox, CSA (Casting).
Mean Girls (Original Broadway Cast Recording), produced by Atlantic Records, is now available.
Follow @MeanGirlsBway on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
Cast Biographies
MARIAH ROSE FAITH (Regina George) was certainly not Regina George in high school, but she’s excited to be stepping into those heels now! Mariah Rose Faith is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and you may recognize her from Team Starkid or Youtube (which is how she got her initial audition!). https://youtu.be/6jRGSnGdxWo?t=26
JONALYN SAXER (Karen Smith) is (heart-eyes emoji) to be bringing Mean Girls around the country! Broadway: Mean Girls (Original Broadway Cast), Cats, Holiday Inn, Honeymoon In Vegas, Bullets Over Broadway. Film: Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (December 2020). Syracuse Graduate. Thanks to the MG family and the Mine. For Grandma and the girls. @jksaxer
MEGAN MASAKO HALEY (Gretchen Wieners). NYC: Pacific Overtures (Tamate, Classic Stage Company), Big River (Joe Harper/Joanna Wilkes City Center Encores!). Tour: Wicked (Nessarose). Workshops: Almost Famous (Estrella), Alice by Heart (Canary). TV: “Instinct”, “Madam Secretary”, "Younger", "Blue Bloods", "Broad City". BFA, BYU. CGF Talent. Thanks Mom and Dad for everything. Love to Mark! Instagram: @meganmasako
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts. TrustArts.org | @CulturalTrust on Facebook · Instagram · Twitter
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The PNC Foundation joins the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in bringing the best of Broadway to entertain, enlighten, and complement the rich experiences that add to the region’s exceptional quality of life. The seven season presentations and four specials in the 2018-19 PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series contribute to the city’s reputation as a major destination for the arts, culture, and world-class entertainment.
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