The iconic 2004 teen movie
Mean Girls has, despite 22 years passing, maintained relevance in modern youth culture; its “cautionary tale” still resonates. Therefore, back in 2017, original screenwriter Tina Fey created her musical adaptation of the story, maintaining the original's female empowerment and recognition of individuality while adding a little sprinkling of modernity, such as the arrival of mobile phones. It was such a success in London following a US debut that this UK Tour, now reaching Milton Keynes, was inevitable.
Cady Heron, a teenager who has been home-schooled in Kenya, relocates to Chicago and confronts the fiercely competitive world at her new high school. Guided by the outcasts Janis and Damian, she strives for belonging but is soon drawn into the superficial "Plastics," ruled over by Regina George. Cady’s attempts to navigate both social circles spiral into rivalry, manipulation, and payback.
While
Mean Girls may miss its target audience for this middle-aged male reviewer, I have to confess that this bright, breezy, and constantly moving musical is actually an immensely entertaining show. It helps that there is a nice, simple framework for both storytelling and characterisation, making it accessible to both ultra fans, of whom there were clearly many in the audience, and to this reviewer, coming to the story fresh.
It also has to be said that the cast, as a whole, is exceptional, led by the delightful Emily Lane as Cady Heron, initially out of her depth, taken under the wing of two school outcasts before falling under the spell of the infamous school “plastics”. Lane’s infectious personality imbues the show with drive, and vocally, she is superb. Lane's character does, unfortunately, suffer, though, at times, for being one of the least interesting characters in the show.
The outcasts, and our effective narrators of the piece, breaking the fourth wall on occasion, are played in perfect partnership by Georgie Buckland as Janis and Max Gill as Damien. Keeping it simple, they are superb. Buckland presents Janis with a lovely edge of vulnerability while trying desperately to gain the friendship of Cady. Buckland has a tremendous voice as well, with her performance of the powerful
I'd Rather Be Me one of the show's highlights. Equally showstopping is Max Gill and their performance of
Where Do You Belong? a true musical number if ever there is one, thanks to some fantastic choreography by Casey Nicholaw, who also directs. Gill, though, expands from this big number and easily becomes the star of the show.
“The Plastics” are played with relish by the lead of the group, Vivian Panka as Regina George, Kiara Dario as Gretchen and Sophie as Karen. Each has their own distinctive personality that easily provides variety. Panka has the edge to make the character a controlling force, but with a stark drive that amusingly declines when developments finally don’t go her way. Dario is delightfully needy as Gretchen, hoping to keep her best friend Regina despite being truly under her thumb and getting nothing in return, making it, in fact, a very sad character arc. Completing the “plastics” line-up is the fabulous Pourret as the dumb, but definitely most fun member, Karen. Pourret’s deadpan delivery of the monotone voice is a delight.
Elsewhere in the cast, Ben Oatley is great as the charming Aaron, pulled between two women but constantly troubled by their motives and character traits. Also, Karim Zeroual, while not having as much to do as Kevin Ganatra, brings his skills and, indeed, moves to the stage with the brilliant "Whose House Is This?" number.
The cast member that most would be aware of is Faye Tozer, who, within the show, plays three characters: Cady’s mother, Regina’s mother and mathematics teacher Ms Norbury. Tozer again shows that she is building a great stage career in three distinctive and humorous roles and gets a chance to sing a song or two, particularly a delightful duet with Dario, with a reprise of
What's Wrong with Me? Tozer also has a fabulous, quick costume change worth looking out for.
The songs from Tina Fey’s husband, Jeff Richmond (music), with lyrics by Nell Benjamin, are surprisingly strong and inventive throughout, and the theatre is filled with strong sound by the orchestra under the direction of Tom Slade, and while at times, a little loud over the lyrics, it is better than some touring shows.
Staging is bright and breezy thanks to Scott Pask’s scenic design and Katrina Lindsay’s boldly coloured costumes. Director Nicholaw keeps everything moving, and, as previously alluded to, his choreography is very strong, working the large, hugely talented ensemble hard.
So, Mean Girls was, for me, a pleasant surprise. In a theatre with maybe as low as 5% male audience members, I got more entertainment from this show than I expected. It is a lightweight, fluffy, and fun show that, at its core, does indeed have a “cautionary tale” and is recommended beyond those of the correct demographic and age.
Get online and fetch some tickets for Mean Girls, as it is really quite fetch!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Performance reviewed: Tuesday 14th April, 2026 at the Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes.
Photographs: Paul Coltas
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