What immediately distinguishes this musical production of the 2004 teen screen classic is its sheer energy. Every single member of the cast is committed to recreating those heady, hormone-filled days when just the wrong colour of sweater ensures social suicide.
OUR VERDICT
Paul Coltas
Written by US comedy royalty Tina Fey, the original film starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams (as Cady and Regina George, respectively) has reached near-cult status, while the Broadway version - also penned by Ms Fey - featuring now-pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter garnered great reviews and spawned a second movie.
The quality of the writing certainly shines through here, too, as the acerbic barbs come thick and fast among the familiar corridors of this Illinois high school.
The show opens with a cautionary warning on personal integrity from the excellent ‘geeks’ Max Gill as Damian and Georgie Buckland as Janis before we meet Cady Heron, who, after being home-schooled in Africa, joins an American high school and is drawn into the ruling clique, the Plastics, led by Regina George.
Paul Coltas
As Cady schemes with Janis and Damian to topple Regina, popularity inevitably corrupts her. Betrayals, friendships and self-discovery follow, ending with lessons about kindness, belonging and the dangers of the school bus!
While the songs, as with most of these films-turned-stage shows, are largely forgettable, there are a couple of bangers, including Regina’s revenge song ‘Burn’ and ‘I’d Rather Be Me’ which was belted with bravado by Ms Buckland, there is barely a static second on-stage and the action moves swiftly and deftly in both acts perfectly suited to a show built around high-school hysteria.
Paul Coltas
Much of that momentum comes from the choreography, which is one of the production’s greatest strengths. The slick commercial styles capture the vanity, competitiveness and performative confidence of teenage life without ever feeling forced.
The ensemble deserves enormous credit. They attack each routine with commitment, and crowd scenes feel essential rather than decorative. There is a genuine sense of a student body in constant motion, which helps sell the world of North Shore High as a social battlefield.
The leading cast brings some powerhouse vocals, encompassing everything from Broadway-style standards to R&B riffs.
Paul Coltas
Emily Lane gives Cady a welcome sense of warmth while Vivian Panka commands the stage with the effortless authority required of an archetypal mean girl.
Her sidekicks, Gretchen (Kiara Dario) and Karen (Sophie Pourret) swap plastic fantastic for friendship goals and provide some great comic moments along the way.
Some of the nuance of the emotional hell-hole that is adolescence has been sacrificed for spectacle, but that is a minor trade-off for a production bursting with vigour and vim.
The show is definitely giving ‘fetch’, and if you don’t know what that means, then you should definitely head to Woking and find out!
