My next show is back in London West End and at the Savoy. A venue I have visited multiple times over the years to see some very good and successful musicals. The show tonight is “Mean girls: the musical”. This particular production opened at the Savoy theatre back in June 26 2024. I have been waiting to see this show again after I watched in previous on broadway back in October 2018 at the August Wilson Theatre. Unfortunately it has not been as well received on the west end as it was on broadway as the show posted early closing and is scheduled on 8th June 2025 around a year after it first opened.
The musical is based on the 2004 Lindsay Lohan movie of the same. This musical version book is written by one of the original movies stars and Hollywood star Tina Fey with music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics from Nell Benjamin. The orginal Broadway show was so successful it spawned the 2024 musical film version of the show which had a couple of songs added and removed for the big screen. I really enjoyed the orginal broadway production and have listened to the orginal cast recording countless times. I have also seen the 2024 film multiple times as it is normally a time filler on my flights to and from broadway. So I was very excited to take my seat in the stall of the Savoy theatre in row M seat 16 to see it again on stage with this London cast.
For those who have not seen either films here is a very brief synopsis. We meet Cady Heron (Charlie Burn) who moves from Kenya to a American high school. It is here she meets Janis Sarkisian (Elena Skye) and her gay best friend Damian Hubbard (Tom Xander). They attempt to help Cady navigate high school life but end up pushing her into the “Plastics” lead by Regina George (Georgina Castle) with Gretchen Wieners (Elèna Gyasi) and they’re not so intelligent friend Karen Smith (Clíona Flynn). After a battle over Aaron Samuels (Daniel Bravo) Cady seems to overthrow Regina who both pay the price over the discovery of the “Burn book”. The shows ends with the high school dance in which status quo seems to prevail.
Before I start to discuss the show and this production I have to mention that I did encounter one of the longest show stops I have had in all my time visiting the theatre. I have not had many mid show stops at all but for this show around thirty minutes into the first act we encountered around a fifteen minute stop. There was no mention of the reason, I did not notice any cast changes and the set design would not lend you to think it would be the root cause of a full quarter of an hour show stop.
The set relies very heavily on the screens that you can see from the view from my seat picture. It is these screens which provide the main set pieces for the whole show. With very good use of the screen technology. There was a few minor set pieces that were used throughout a few scenes with the odd drop in scenery of a toilet block or door way here and there. As a result the use of props were slightly more important however the show as a whole did not rely on the at all. Which was surprising considering the heavy use of screens. As all scene changes were dictated by the full wall of screens. Which did occasionally slide and move out the way to allow the odd larger prop like a bed to appear. On some occasions trap doors allows larger set and props to appear and disappear onto the stage. As you can see from the below image the heavy use of screen was the same within the original production on broadway.
The lighting design did not really have its time to shine due to the volume and interstitial of the screens. The general chronography seems good enough for a west end production but seemed to lack the effectiveness that it should for a west end production. I believe that this was not down to the performers and their talent but the general size of the Savoy stage. As it is quite a small stage it can look and appear very cramped very quick. Which is the general result I found for this shows ensbample dance pieces. This theatre does not lend itself to large ensbample dance break and routines. This is proven by every musical I have seen their in the past did not attempt such large ensbample dance routines shows like legally blonde and pretty women did not have such volume of routines.
Unfortunately it did seem that a lot of the book was lost on the UK audience. Which could explain the much shorter run on the west end stage. I don’t recall as much of the scripted jokes falling as flat with the broadway audience from 2018. There did seem to be attempts to apply it to a 2025 audience which all seemed in-vein. Perhaps it needed the broadway/American audience for the high school dynamic jokes to land. I found myself laughing when I should be but no a limited numbers of others were. It’s a great shame as it did distract from the overall impact of the show compared to the first time I watched it. Tina Fey book was brilliant on the broadway but did not have the same effect with a UK audience.
Now for some of the individual performances. Before seeing the show the only actor I was previously aware of was Grace Mouat as Karen Smith however I was presented with the third cover for a Karen and her debut in the role Clíona Flynn under who played the role perfectly and is a prime example of why not only p understudies are under estimated within the West End. But the ensbample and all covers to be the third cover and a debut of the role and foe me not to even be aware shows the talent of these individuals.
First of all Charlie Burn as Candy Heron was perfection casting. Her vocals were flawless and her ability to gradually transition from a geek to a full on “Plastic” was perfection. Her credits are very limited within the theatre and musical theatre world but deserves many more roles in her musical theatre future.
Another role which is critical for the story progression is Damian Hubbard portrayed by Tom Xander. However the general role and impact and comedy that it should bring to the show again seemed to miss the mark. This was not due to Damian ability or talent as he wa Streatham in the role. I feel it was the London British audience who could fully get behind the character like an American audience could.
Along side him was Elena Skye as Janis Sarksian who was brilliant at not only the characterisation but vocals. Having some of the most challenges and demanding songs in the shows Elena was able to deal with them effortlessly. She was such a strong member of the cast.
A final mention has to go to Georgina Castle as the one and only Regina George. Overall her performance was great with the dominance it required while backing it it with some amazing vocals.
I am such a huge of the music and lyrics for this show. Having listened to the original cast recodering countless times and even continued to listen to it on my journey home after seeing the show. It has some amazing songs that are great as standalone but really have a different decision when put into context of the story and show. I highly recommended you watch the 2024 musical film and also listen to the orginal cast recodering which is available on all major streaming platforms. For me my favourite songs that I could and do listen to on respect regularly are “I see stars” and “Rather be me”
More details from the show can be found on their website.
Overall 3 out of 5 stars, a great show fuelled by my love of the orginal Broadway show back in 2018. Unfortunately the book does not seem to land the same way with an UK audience. However still contains some of my all time favourite musical theatre songs. Recommend listening to the originally broadway cast recording and watch the 2024 film.
A SPURDLE reviews 