Cappies Review: Mean Girls

Welland Centennial's dedicated theatre students spent the last six months hard at work crafting their "Apex Predator" of a musical, "Mean Girls."  

The original 2004 film is a cult classic turned 2018 Broadway musical. The story follows the main character, Cady Heron, as she moves to the colosseum that is North Shore High School. Having been homeschooled in Kenya, Cady has to learn the intricacies of high school power dynamics and friendships. After being recruited by the clique of high-status bullies in pink known as "The Plastics," her friends Janis and Damien convince her to aid them in the ringleader Regina George's downfall. But what happens when Cady finds herself becoming one of them? 

Centennial's cast of forty-five students' enthusiasm and joy commanded the stage in their biggest musical numbers like "Who's House Is This?" and "Fearless." Mila Bolgar, who wonderfully displayed Cady's character development and eventual identity crisis. Her first scene in heels was marked with intentional stumbles, but by the end of the show, Bolgar showed Cady's confidence with bold strides. Mckenna Burns played Regina George with finesse and subtlety, showing the nuances of the character. Burns effortlessly switched her attitude entirely for the needs of a scene; her ability to manipulate any and all characters with just her voice was truly impressive. While the lights may have been pink as she crossed the stage, the atmosphere was chilling. Burns wowed the crowd with her rendition of "World Burn," where she effortlessly hit the highest notes all while maintaining her menacing mien. 

Addison Hobin and Lee Clarke, who played Janis and Damien, portrayed the best friend relationship as they narrated the story. Hobin's performance of "I'd Rather Be Me" was noteworthy as she belted out every last word with impressive tone and projection. Hobin also embodied the character of Janis' artistic side, as the paintings used in the show were all done by Hobin herself! Likewise, Clarke as Damien was full of jokes and fun musical numbers that held the audience's attention. As Gretchen Wieners, Annabelle Manuel reminded the audience that these mean girls are all just insecure teens trying to find themselves.  

This production had nearly two hundred and fifty individual prop pieces, including the papers that fell from the ceiling during "World Burn" and the recurring puppets of African Savannah animals used in Cady's musical numbers, likening the high school events to those of the natural world. The set was made of LED projection screens with immersive animations that followed the movements of characters onstage. With the costumes, the actor's mic packs were often visible and sometimes distracting, but the costumes department did a phenomenal job at portraying each character's personality and growth. 

All in all, Welland Centennial's production showed that this story is more relevant now than ever. "Mean Girls" is certainly one for the books, and not a burn book!