‘Mean Girls’ Turns 15 & Tina Fey Still Can’t Believe It’s Success
The motion picture Mean Girls just celebrated the 15th anniversary of its debut on the big screen, and its creator, Tina Fey, sat down with The Today Show to reflect on the film and how she is still blown away by its continued success.
She revealed that the film is “very, very special to me,” reported Playbill. Fey also admitted that she was shocked by the film’s success, revealing that she was so “excited” that it was going to be made. “It was a huge triumph, and it was all female leads. It was a great surprise at the time,” she explained.
In its first weekend, Mean Girls grossed $24M, effectively paying for its cost in the days following its release. Fey penned the script based on Rosalind Wiseman’s book and also portrayed Ms. Sharon Norbury in the iconic flick.
The film, which starred Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Jonathan Bennett, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, and Amy Poehler, debuted in theaters in 2004. The story detailed the life of Cady Heron, a new girl in school who befriended The Plastics, an A-list girl clique. Life was good until she made the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of lead Plastic Regina George.
The film was adapted for the stage in 2017. Mean Girls premiered at the National Theater in Washington, D.C., in October and made its Broadway debut in April 2018. The show was nominated for 12 Tony Awards in 2018 and 9 Drama Desk Awards. Fey took home a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical.
Fey was also honored with an Outer Critics Circle Award, and the show was honored with a Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography.
From @JimmyAwards to @MeanGirlsBway: Reneé Rapp will make her Broadway debut as Regina George https://t.co/ombxlCexIE pic.twitter.com/RpPWOvOqoZ
— Playbill (@playbill) May 28, 2019
During her appearance on The Today Show, Fey also announced that a new actress would be taking over the key role of Regina George in the Broadway production. Renée Rapp will officially join the cast, taking over from Tony Award-nominated actress Taylor Louderman. Rapp will appear in the show from June 7-26 before taking over the role full-time on September 10, according to Playbill.
Broadway World reported that Rapp was honored by the play’s producer, Saturday Night Live legend Lorne Michaels. Michaels said in a statement to Broadway World that he feels Rapp will be a “force to be reckoned with as our new Regina George.”
The current Broadway cast also includes Erika Henningson, Krystina Alabado, Kate Rockwell, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Grey Henson, Jennifer Simard, Kyle Selig, Cheech Manohar, and Rick Younger.
