Mean Girls Head to Valley

Mean Girls the musical, which is based on the musical and screenplay written by Tina Fey, will be premiering at Valley College Nov. 19.

Byline: Alexis Harris, Staff Writer

Get in losers… 

Mean Girls will premiere as the seminal show of the fall semester at Valley College, which will officially break in the William R. Payden Theater to the world of musical theater. Following the spring semester’s dance production, Mean Girls is inviting everyone to sit with them for what will be the theater department’s entry to the VACC’s main theater. 

Mean Girls is a rock musical written by actress Tina Fey based on the screenplay of the 2004 movie of the same name, also written by Tina Fey. It premiered on Broadway in 2018 before closing after 833 shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally based on the book titled, “Queen Bees And Wannabees” by Rosalind Wiseman, Valley Professor Matt McCray will be directing his rendition of the iconic musical, with auditions just having wrapped up on Thursday. 

The audition process included self-taped auditions, allowing for people to submit videos of themselves singing and dancing to a few of the songs from the musical, for consideration for iconic parts, like Cady Heron and Regina George. In past years, self tapes were only allowed and submitted for exceptions of people who could not attend the in-person auditions.

Mean Girls has stood the test of time with many relating to the feeling of being “othered” or being “included.” Tina Fey drew upon her own experiences during her years at Upper Darby High School to help create both the musical and the original screenplay for Mean Girls, with many characters using names of people from her own life to create more reality to the plot. 

Premiering on Thursday Nov. 19, the musical is sure to fetch theater-lovers and movie-watchers alike.  

Valley College, Theater, Musical, Mean Girls, Tina Fey, Fall Semester, VACC