Regina George (aka Taylor Louderman) can sing. And rock a fat suit. And command a stage. And she can be really, really mean, which was her job as head Plastic. I loved her. I loved her honesty, her fearless nature and her confidence. And when her sound system went kaput towards the end of the show, I loved her even more.
100+ of us gathered on Sunday to see the 3pm matinee of Mean Girls. In my row I had three fellow moms, one husband, eight 13 year old girls and one 13 year old boy. Of the kids assembled, 2 of the group I have known since birth (my children) and the other 7 since they were in kindergarten. Perched in the mezzanine with my assembled demographic, it was like sitting on a precipice to bear witness to my seat mates high school years. – for us and for them. It was terrifying!
High School can be rough – inching towards independence while grappling with one’s identity. Finding your place in the world, maintaining a social media presence and doing well in school, sports, music, art etc. is tricky business. Mean Girls tackles all of this with witty humor, trembling insecurity, snarky dialogue and some super fun song and dance numbers. Was some of the content a little racy? Yes. Did I sneak some peeks at my seat mates when the content got a little racy – yes I did! Did the girls pretend not to notice my sideways glances? Why yes they did.
Racy bits aside, the message of the show did eventually spiral to match the message my husband and I are trying to convey as a parents:
- Be yourself.
- Hang out with the people who bring out your best.
- Avoid negativity and steer clear of toxic people.
- Support your friends and help bring out their best.
- Never text or put anything on social media that you wouldn’t be proud to have on the cover of the New York Times.
How amazing to have all of these messages brought to the fore on the Broadway stage. Thank you Tina Fey – you, genius, you. I love you too! What a gift to share this experience with the very kids and moms and dads who I will be navigating these next few challenging years with.
Mean Girls is pure entertainment with a powerful message that the group assembled will be re-visiting for years to come. Thank you Mean Girls! Bring it on High School! We got this.
