Mean Girls at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is Pretty Fetch

Steps icon Faye Tozer heads up the young, vibrant and extremely talented cast of “Mean Girls” at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre this week, in a flurry of pink, plastics and high school passion.

Fans of the 2004 movie, and judging by the audience reaction last night there plenty of them there, will not be disappointed as the musical version is as close to the original as it can be.

It’s a typical American High School tale. Regina, Gretchen and Karen, or “The Plastics” as they are better known, rule North Shore High, systematically destroying anyone who gets in their way. When new girl Cady Heron arrives fresh from Africa, she soon discovers it’s a jungle out there and so together with her misfit pals Janis and Damien, she devises a plan to end Regina's reign. However, as she becomes more and more embroiled in the friendship of this queen bee, will she get stung?

The book written by America comedy legend Tina Fey is, I’m sure, a perfect reflection of USA high school antics in the noughties and is extremely well written. However I detest that crude American humour which so often appears in compositions of this nature which are clearly aimed at a teenage audience. It simply lowers the tone.

Sadly “Mean Girls” is peppered with references to subjects that maybe should remain at home rather than on stage and so I didn’t really laugh at many of the jokes.

That said, the script is intelligent and thought provoking and delivered by the whole cast with complete commitment and at the authentic, rapid pace at which you would expect.

The score, courtesy of Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin, is lively and upbeat and extremely well executed by musical director Tom Slade and the “Mean Girls” orchestra.

The staging of the show is minimalistic but effective and the speed of the scene changes are particularly impressive, as the cast moved large props and pieces of furniture seamlessly and rapidly to ensure silky smooth transitions.

Pop princess Faye Tozer plays no less than three roles in the musical - two moms and a teacher - excelling in each one. Facing such quick costume changes can’t be easy and yet she appears composed and switched characters with all the experience you would expect from a true musical theatre star. Just a delight to watch.

Opening a show and setting the scene is never easy, but from the off, Georgie Buckland as Janis and Max Gill as Damien had the audience in the palm of their hands and together these quirky characters are the backbone of the principal cast. The perfect combination of Georgie’s incredible vocals and Max’s comedy timing and natural ability to invoke laughter were the highlight of the show for me.

Meanwhile, Emily Lane as Cady is wholesome and fun, offering yet more outstanding vocals while Vivian Panka as Regina is cool and deadly and just steals the crown for the performance of the night.

Kiara Dario as Gretchen is funny and feisty in her desperate attempt for perfection, while Sophie Pourret plays her ditzy, cute character Karen to perfection, gathering the laughs as she went.

The youngsters who grew up with CBBC presenter Karin Zeroual and are now young adults, will be delighted to see him appearing as Kevin Ganatra, another strong comedy performance.

The ensemble are each individual characters in their own right and bursting with energy at every entrance. Their execution of director/ choreographer Casey Nicholaw’s vision is exemplary, with the complex, fast paced choreography in particular a triumph.

To coin a phrase, “Mean Girls” is “pretty fetch”, but just a little too crude in parts, so nine out of ten, could do better.

To book tickets, visit grand theatre.co.uk or call 01902 429212, and remember if you are going today, “On Wednesdays we wear pink!”

Runs until Saturday.