Mean Girls West End stars on Regina George’s sexuality and why bigots are in their Burn Book
Elèna Gyasi as Gretchen Wieners, Georgina Castle as Regina George, Charlie Burn as Cady Heron, and Grace Mouat as Karen Smith in Mean Girls on the West End. ( Sonia Friedman Productions)
Get in loser, we’re going to the theatre. The Broadway sensation, two-time movie blockbuster and queer pop-culture phenomenon Mean Girls is coming to London’s West End this summer.
It’s been more than 20 years since Tina Fey’s American high school comedy starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams first came into our lives, and it’s almost taken on a life of its own in that time.
The quotes remain part of our regular lexicon, while the 2018 musical version stormed Broadway, becoming an instant hit. That show launched the career of one of the best queer pop stars of recent years, Reneé Rapp, and the musical movie version, which came out earlier this year, only further cemented the story as one of the most recognisable pop culture moments of our generation.
Although Rapp won’t be starring in the West End version, the story is in good hands with an all-new cast of Plastics.
Dirty Dancing and Elf the Musical star Georgina Castle is Regina George, Les Misérables actress Charlie Burn is Cady Heron, Elèna Gyasi, seen in the gripping The Hunt for Raoul Moat, is Gretchen Wieners, and The Great British Bake Off The Musical star Grace Mouat plays Karen Smith.
Ahead of the show’s opening at the Savoy Theatre next week (5 June), the Plastics sat down with PinkNews to talk Regina George as a bisexual icon, following in Rapp’s footsteps, and the things that are currently in their burn books.
PinkNews: Mean Girls is one of the gayest films and stage shows in recent memory, so what’s the queerest moment in the West End version?
Grace: Damien’s first number is iconic, full stop.
Georgina: We’ve got a completely new design. So, the show is going to look sensational, and, in terms of queerness, it fully embraces everybody’s weirdness and quirks and how people identify. We’ve got some rainbows and unicorns and all sorts of camp, brilliant things.
Charlie: For Cady, the socks and the sandals give such bi energy. I’m bisexual myself, so I can confidently say that it’s giving bi-curious.
Obviously, Mean Girls is full of characters who caused queer awakenings. What can you say about the way the West End version will navigate the queerness of some of these characters?
Charlie: We’ve been really sensitive with how we wanted to be inclusive. The way our writers have approached, for example, Janis is clever. It’s done in a way that Regina is still mean and is still isolating Janis, but it’s not because [of her sexuality]. It’s clever because nowadays you do get people [who] are homophobic… but we didn’t want it to be about that. We wanted it to be more about Janis and isolating her just because [she’s] Janis.
Especially since the Mean Girls musical film came out earlier this year, starring lesbian pop legend Reneé Rapp, there’s been a lot of online discussion about whether Regina George is actually part of the LGBTQ+ family. Do you think she is?
Georgina: This is something I’ve known about because Reneé has been super vocal about her interpretation [of Regina] being bisexual. I think [my interpretation] is aggressively heterosexual. But I don’t know. I think at that age, exploration and curiosity is so important. So, if you’re playing 17, 18, 19 [year olds], it’s the time to be playful, it’s the time to be curious. It’s the time to explore. I feel there’s no way they haven’t practised kissing each other. But [my] Regina has made up her mind that she likes men and she likes them intensely, and she’ll do whatever she can to get them.
Speaking of Reneé, you have the immense task of taking what her Broadway version has become and bringing it to London. How does it feel to follow in her footsteps?
Georgina: It’s surreal. It still is amazing and bizarre that we’re in it. The pressure is now building to take that baton and bring it forward. The show is up on its feet and we’re running it which is amazing and so exciting, and it looks really good.
Grace: We are running it now, we’re in that stage, and we’re still belly laughing. I can’t wait to have an audience to witness that. It’s hilarious, razor-sharp, witty lines. Tina [Fey] is a genius. It’s just the ultimate night out.
Considering this is Mean Girls in London, if the original story had been based in the UK, is there anything about the characters or storyline that would have been different from the original?
Georgina: I have based my version of Regina [on] a specific girl I knew in school. I won’t say who it is because she might [see] this. But I remember her and her group would always come in with these teeny miniskirts and those belts that were like big circles, that went down a little bit, always with Uggs and long hair. I feel that belt encapsulates what it might be if it was set [in the UK] when I was a teen.
Charlie: If Cady [had] existed when I was here in the UK, I feel she maybe would have been quite cool and quirky, as opposed to more the outsider she is in our version.
Is there anything that is giving you the ick right now that you think belongs in the burn book?
Elèna: I would have said Crocs a month ago but I put on my dad’s to put the bins out the other day, and I was feeling it. I think I’m gonna be getting a pair.
Charlie: I think an ick for me at the minute is being under-confident. It needs to go. This cast is so talented, and I’m thankful I’m here. We all need to believe in ourselves and our performances.
Georgina: I would get rid of all jellyfish. I have a real thing about them. Also, bullies. In the world at the moment, it’s intense. You want to have an opinion and say how you feel and I’m all for freedom of speech, but I’m not for hate speech or trolls or bullies.
Grace: Who’s in my burn book? Bullies, racist people, transphobic people, homophobic people, ableist people. Anyone with malicious intent. They are my icks.
How to get Mean Girls musical tickets
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Mean Girls will make its West End debut this summer, with previews beginning at the Savoy Theatre on 5 June and opening night set for 19 June, with a run confirmed until at least 16 February, 2025.
Tickets for the musical are available to buy from ATG Tickets, Love Theatre, See Tickets and Ticketmaster, with prices ranging between £22.50-£178.50.
