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‘Mean Girls: The Musical’ movie release date, cast, plot, and more

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Kate Rockwell, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Ashley Park, Erika Henningsen and Taylor Louderman pose at the opening night after party for the new musical "Mean Girls" on Broadway based on the cult film at TAO Downtown.
Photo by Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Recently, the upcoming film Mean Girls: The Musical was bumped up to a theatrical release, set for early next year. The movie, adapted from the Broadway musical adaptation of the cult 2004 teen comedy, was originally set to release directly onto streaming on Paramount+.

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Mean Girls: The Musical, much like the film that served as its source material, was penned by the iconic comedian Tina Fey, inspired by the Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, a non-fiction book for parents of adolescents. The musical was composed by Jeff Richmond, composer for 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as the original 2004 film of the same name. In turn, the lyrics were written by Jeff Richmond, best known for the musical adaptation of Legally Blonde.

‘Mean Girls: The Musical’ movie release date

Mean Girls: The Musical recently confirmed it will be released in theaters on Jan. 12th, 2024, over the four-day MLK Day weekend. Originally destined for Paramount+, the adaptation will debut on the big screen before hitting streaming.

The announcement was a surprise, given that there are no current trailers, posters, or promotional images for the film so far, with just over three months to go. Principal photography is said to have begun in May 2023, making for an unusually quick production.

‘Mean Girls: The Musical’ movie release cast

Angourie Rice (MCU Spider-Man trilogy, The Nice Guys) is stepping into Lindsay Lohan’s former role as lead character Cady Heron in the new movie. Reneé Rapp is reprising her Broadway role as Regina George in the film. Rapp, known for the comedy series The Sex Lives of College Girls, is joined by series co-star Avantika Vandanapu, playing Regina’s bestie, Karen Smith. Bebe Wood (The New Normal and Love, Victor) is completing the clique, portraying Gretchen Weiners.

Tina Fey will reprise her movie role as Ms. Norbury, as will Tim Meadows in the role of Principal Duvall. Auliʻi Cravalho, best known for the titular voice role in Moana, will portray Janis Sarkisian (known as Janis Ian in the original movie), joined by Tony Award nominee Jaquel Spivey as best friend Damian Hubbard. Other famous faces joining the cast include Jon Hamm (Mad Men) as Coach Carr, alongside Jenna Fischer (The Office) as Cady’s mother. Taking over from Amy Poehler in the 2004 film of the same name, Busy Phillipps will portray Mrs. George, Regina’s mom.

‘Mean Girls: The Musical’ movie release plot

Lindsay Lohan Mean Girls
Image via Paramount Pictures

Both the Mean Girls movie and its musical adaptation revolve around Cady Heron, a socially awkward and naive mathlete who recently moved back to the U.S. from Africa. After a life of homeschooling, Cady quickly learns from new friends, social outcasts Janis and Damian, the social structure of the American high school, and most importantly, how to survive. This structure is based on Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, a book for parents analyzing teenage girls’ behavior and social patterns in high school.

Soon, Cady is embraced by “The Plastics,” a trio of the most popular girls in school, led by Regina George, the Queen Bee of the clique. Janis and Damian support this surprising new friendship as a scheme to bring The Plastics down, but Cady enjoys the perks of being at the top of the social food chain too much to let go of it. Cady’s attempt to balance the two worlds comes with disastrous consequences as they collide, all worsened by the release of a “Burn Book” by Regina, a notebook where The Plastics write cruel words about their fellow students.

With a two-and-a-half-hour runtime, Mean Girls: The Musical is an hour longer than the movie it is based on. Much of this runtime is filled with full-length songs mixed in with the plot. In addition, greater emphasis is put on its supporting characters, notably Regina and the Plastics, with a much more fleshed-out – and generally more sympathetic – character arc.

Similarly, Janis and Damian, Cady’s two – much less mean – friends in the movie, have a more expanded role. The two characters serve as narrators of the stage musical, something that could be carried onto the movie version of the musical. In particular, Damian’s sexuality and self-discovery as a gay man are given much more depth in the musical.

In addition, the adaptation embraces social media and technology more than the film, as this was much more limited in 2004. In turn, some of the more controversial material in the original, such as racist jokes and the affair between Coach Carr and a student, have mostly been scrubbed from the musical.