If you loved 鈥淢ean Girls鈥 the movie, you鈥檒l like 鈥淢ean Girls鈥 the musical, on stage at Centennial Hall with Broadway in Tucson through Sunday, April 2.
But you might not love it.
It鈥檚 the same story 鈥 16-year-old Cady Heron (English Bernhardt) experiences teen girl angst for the first time after a lifetime of 蜜聊直播chooling in Africa and desperately tries to fit in with the cliques at her Chicago high school.
And the same predictable ending 鈥 she becomes the most popular girl on campus after putting the Queen Bee Regina (Nadina Hassan) in her place, landing the boy of her dreams Aaron (Adante Carter) and turning her back on her newfound best friends Damian (Eric Huffman) and Janis (Lindsay Heather Pearce) only to realize she has lost her true self in the process.
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It鈥檚 funny and entertaining and snarky 鈥 we鈥檇 expect nothing less from Tina Fey, who wrote the original 2004 movie and the book for the musical.
But at the end of the night as you鈥檙e leaving Centennial Hall, don鈥檛 be surprised if you don鈥檛 remember a single song from 鈥淢ean Girls鈥 the musical.
The score, written by Fey鈥檚 husband Jeff Richmond with lyrics by Neil Benjamin, is mostly unmemorable. A couple of songs stood out 鈥斺淲hat鈥檚 Wrong With Me,鈥 鈥淎pex Predator鈥 and 鈥淚t Roars,鈥 which nodded to the puppetry of Disney鈥檚 鈥淭he Lion King鈥 to recall Cady鈥檚 Kenya childhood 鈥 and the little asides especially from Huffman鈥檚 over-the-top Damian and Heather Ayer鈥檚 wonderfully sarcastic math teacher Ms. Norbury channeled the Tina Fey we remember from 鈥淪aturday Night Live.鈥 But the singing was pitchy at times and performances were uneven throughout the 2陆 hours.
Surely the audience nearly filling Centennial Hall for opening night on Tuesday, March 28, wasn鈥檛 expecting a 鈥淟ion King鈥 experience, although the three-dimensional video projections were pretty amazing.
Judging from the demographics, which leaned heavily to mid-30s, the audience was reliving a chick flick memory that took them back to high school or their early days in college.
They were probably cringing as they saw themselves or their high school nemesis in the 鈥淧lastics鈥: Hassan鈥檚 pouty and deliciously overly privileged Regina, who always gets what and who she wants; Jasmine Rogers鈥 puppy dog do-everything-to-please-the-Queen Bee sidekick Gretchen; and Megan Grosso鈥檚 ditzy, self-professed dumb blond Karen.
Or maybe they related more to the vulnerability of Bernhardt鈥檚 Cady, who couldn鈥檛 quite pull off the cruelty of Regina. Or the over-the-top theatrics of Damian, who is obsessed with finding Mr. Right while keeping his own little clique of Cady and the hard-edge, revenge-seeking Janis on the same page.
At the end of the night, the audience could care less if the voices were less than spectacular or the songs were never going to find their way onto their Spotify playlists.
Broadway in Tucson鈥檚 run of 鈥淢ean Girls鈥 the musical continues through Sunday. For showtimes and tickets, visit .
Morrill High School cheerleader Katrina Kohel's solo performance at the Nebraska State High School Cheer & Dance Championships. Video courtesy Rhonda Kohel.