The Mean Girls cast strikes a power pose during the finale. Photo by Meg Gore

The musical follows Cady Heron, who moves from the quiet safaris in Africa to a busy high school in America full of cliques and stereotypes. Among these cliques are the infamous ‘Plastics,’ Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. They’re the mean girls of the school, the queen bees. Cady, with the help of her new friends Janis Sarkisian and Damian Hubbard, begins to infiltrate the Plastics’ clique. But sometimes pretending to be plastic can lead to more trouble than it’s worth.

Pinkerton sophomore Lily Gennetti, who plays Cady, loves the versatility of her role.

“[With] the character arc that she goes through, I get to play like four different Cady’s the entire show,” Gennetti said.

For the past month and a half, the cast has been hard at work piecing together the show, none of which would be possible without the directors.

“Doing music with [music directors] Kevin Fisher and Ella Burroughs has completely changed the way I think about singing for the better,” Gennetti said. “And [I love] working with our director Meg Gore, and blocking all the scenes. She just puts so much thought into everything, and it really just shows how much she really cares about her shows and actors.”

The cast of Mean Girls has been “Fearless”-ly diving into all of the fun material of the show.

“People should come see the show because this is the most hard-working cast ever,” Gennetti said. “Everyone has so much love for the show, and you can really see it.”

Pinkerton senior Jonathan Uber, who plays Damian, says he’s most enjoyed getting to do a “sitzprobe” with the cast, which is an opportunity to run through all the music in the show.

“That’s the first step in seeing the show actually come together, so it was cool,” Uber said. “I also got to see how talented my castmates were.”

Although the show is called “Mean Girls,” the story works toward breaking down those stereotypes and sending a good message, all while being a funny experience.

Londonderry senior Kelly Egan plays Karen, one of the plastics, and said there’s more to the token “Mean Girls” than meets the eye.

“No one really talks about the reason that they’re mean,” Egan said, “They’re each going through their own struggles and their own insecurities. They’re just taking them out the wrong way. I think that’s why getting into these characters has been so challenging, but also intriguing.”

While there are some serious moments in the show, Egan said it’s also “really funny.”

“It’s an iconic movie that everybody knows and loves,” Egan said, “so it’s fun to portray these characters.”

The show explores these themes and unpacks the problems behind throwing a blanket stereotype before getting to know the people behind them.

“Mean Girls is an iconic movie and the musical is a great adaptation of that,” Uber said. “And it gives a strong message through a funny show, and I think it’s important that we listen.”

Several of the cast members are most excited for the audience to see “Where do you Belong?”

“It has the most energy and super fun dancing,” said Hanna Carroll, the Londonderry junior who plays Regina George.

Uber added that the song also introduces many of the characters that will be important throughout the rest of the show.

“It’s also just a hectic, funny, fun number,” Uber said. “And it’s exciting.” 

So “Where do you Belong?”you may be asking yourself? At the Derry Opera House on Nov. 10 and 11 with tickets in hand for this hit musical.