On April 25, PHS Players put on a performance for the student body. They also held four shows for the general public after school April 24-27. They performed the musical “Mean Girls,” based on the movie and book of the same name. All adaptations have their differences but they all follow the same basic structure: homeschooled Cady Heron attends high school for the first time and gets adopted into a group of three mean girls, then tries to take them down from the inside. “Mean Girls” has been a staple of pop culture since its movie release in 2004, leaving expectations high for pre-existing fans coming to see it at PHS.
The PHS Players have not put on a musical since 2023, when they performed a rendition of “The Addams Family.” In 2024, the auditorium suffered major water damage and the theater equipment had not been replaced in time for a spring performance. With everything fixed up, the Thespians have returned to the stage with another phenomenal show.
The musical immediately started out great. Freshman Zachary Gaston completely captured the audience as Damian with his very first line. Gaston kept the audience laughing the entire time he was on stage, all while showing off his talented vocals. His chemistry with senior Grace Miller, who played Janis, made their friendship believable and fun to watch. Miller also delivered excellent vocals and acting. However, I wish her character would have leaned more into Janis’s punk-attitude that the original movie and musical portray, but Miller still did great with her interpretation. Gaston and Miller were also great dancers, especially during “World Burn.”
The reveal of Regina George was amazing. Everyone did an excellent job at making her appear intimidating and gorgeous. I’m really glad they kept senior Danica Sheppard’s original hair color instead of changing it to Regina’s signature blonde, as a wig would have made her look silly. Sheppard was able to sing the iconic high notes in “World Burn,” something that most fans of the original musical, including myself, are very critical of. When her prop halo-gravity traction device kept falling off, she was able to work with it and managed to stay professional.
Ensemble member and sophomore, Hayden Carey and junior Elizabeth Wallen as Kezie G also managed to always capture my eye when they were on stage. Carey just had so much energy and attitude it was impossible not to look at her, especially when she was dancing. She’s such a delight to watch and I could overhear that many other audience members were amazed with her performance. Wallen was hilarious and I loved her performance in “Who’s House is This?” That was one of my favorite songs from the original, and Wallen delivered the iconic raps without a hitch.
The musical also had several great props and used them well. The bathroom pass shaped like a fish was fun and the bathroom stall was impressive. Using the burn book to censor Janis’s middle finger in “I’d Rather Be Me” was a hilarious touch that made the audience laugh. Having Damian and Janis use flashlights and turning off the lights to create the illusion of the bus hitting Regina was excellent and actually managed to catch me off guard. Although the teachers needed whiteboard props, the actors did great without them. Seeing props that came from PHS classrooms, such as chairs and science tables, made the musical more realistic and feel like something that could really happen at the school.
The main problem with the musical was the sound quality. The microphones had majorly malfunctioned and only the main characters had headset microphones. To combat this, the volume of the music itself should have been lowered, but instead it overtook everyone without a headset. Even those with headsets sometimes had volume problems, especially when hitting a loud note that was ear splittingly painful. That’s not the actors’ fault, though, so it’s unfair to criticize them for that. Perhaps the actors should have been taught how to project their voices, but it could be difficult for those that are shy. Overall, the actors did good with overcoming the audio problems.
The PHS Players did an amazing job with recreating a classic film. They overcame the restrictions of an underfunded school production and provided an entertaining performance. I look forward to their next show! In the words of Karen Smith, I give their performance a “Caucasian thumbs up.”
