Plastic, glitter, and rhinestones don’t shine like these stars do! And Children’s Playhouse of Maryland is closing out their 2023/2024 season with some of the shiniest stars around with their production of Mean Girls (High School Edition). It’s so phenomenal— IT’S FETCH!! Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt, with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans, and Choreography by Rachel Miller, this fabulous and cautionary tale is an extraordinary way to end their season and showcases some of the area’s brightest and most talented stars making their way out into the theatrical universe one twinkle at a time.
All hail the high-school (production staff) Dream Team as they set the stage (quite literally) for these stellar young performers to have professional quality sets, lighting, costumes, and basically the most polished experience you could hope for as a young performer. Technical Director Diane M. Smith (with her impressive, moving projections— by SLShowTech— that bring North Shore High School and several other settings to vivacious life) works with all-star players including Costume Coordinator Robyn Alvarez, Lighting Designer Tyrell Stanley, and Scenic Artist Laura Miller and what they fabricate into existence for this production is FETCH! Beyond compare! You get that glorious sign on stage that is the show’s namesake, in full-on ‘Burn Book’ font, as well as every conceivable moving piece of furniture from the half-octo-cafeteria tables, desks on wheels, rolling toilet stalls, and everything else in-between. And Stage Manager Anne Marie Freeburger (and her crew) keeps the show rolling like a well-oiled machine; getting all of those epic pieces of scenery on and off in a timely fashion in such a way that doesn’t detract from the show’s overall pacing is really impressive. Tyrell Stanley’s wondrously illuminating lighting work really augments those emotionally charged moments of music, which in this show is practically every song, and you get a visually striking masterpiece from Robyn Alvarez’ amalgamation of costumes. There is so much pink popping on that stage that every day must be Wednesday!
Alvarez and her assistant, Theresa Foggo, along with the ‘Costume Moms’ (which are like ‘Cool Moms’ only cooler)— Tricia Anderson, Addie Howard, Melissa Lebowitz— really add that extra sparkle, that extra ‘high school’ feel, and completely perfect the look of these incredible kids as they tackle these wild characters. You get everything from Mathlete shirts and jackets to a lion-mascot-costume, so many shades of glittery pink, and of course twinkly spring-fling dresses— it’s just astonishing. And let’s not forget all of those amazing pink, high-heeled shoes. SO FABULOUS! Super-dooper shout-out to those crazy costumes which really just make this show pop to the next level!
The triple-threat cap to the production staff Dream Team— Director Liz Boyer Hunnicutt, Musical Director Charlotte Evans (with special shout-out to live-time percussionist Lisa Wood keeping all the beat, tempo, and rhythm during the performance), and Choreographer Rachel Miller— gives these talented young performers everything they need to deliver a stunningly successful production of Mean Girls. Hunnicutt draws laser focus to character development and moments of storytelling, while Evans evokes perfect harmonies, beautiful blends, and robust sounds from every performer on that stage, encouraging these sensational kids to really push themselves to be extraordinary. And you’ll simply burst into flames of fabulousness watching all of Miller’s choreography in action, particularly when it comes to the high-octane moves and ferocious tempos at which these songs roll along. Miller’s expertise in choreography knows no bounds, including letting the hit number “Where Do You Belong?” be choreographed by her two Dance Captains, Max Ozbolt & Molly Foggo, and Shahmeer Mirza. The double-deep kickline finale to that number was truly sensational. Miller, Evans, and Hunnicut, along with Smith and the rest of the production team, are the solid foundation for these young performers and their amazing production of Mean Girls.
With a cast that’s packed with star-grade performers, this show does not disappoint. Literally every ensemble member doubles up as a named player and each person is making their presence felt during this performance; it’s a great ‘learning lesson’ show but it’s also this amazing feel-good, uplifting, humorous show that you’ll definitely want to get tickets to because these kids are doing such an incredible job with it. Starting with a shout-out to what I’m calling the ‘FabFive DanceCorps’— you’ll see Lily Anderson, Molly Foggo, Amelia Grace, Max Ozbolt, and Teagle Walker— nailing a ferocious series of dance moves all throughout the performance, but particularly during the Act I Finale, “Fearless.” They are a featured dance corps that pops, locks, and slays Miller’s choreography from start to finish and it’s beyond astonishing to watch these young kids work it out. You’ll catch Max Ozbolt doing at least a hundred different things in this production, not the least of which is his ‘other team Mathlete’ character, which comes complete with a nasally vocal affectation, hunch, and nerdy walk; it’s hilarious. Speaking of hilarious Mathletes, you’ve got Teagle Walker playing this completely hysterical and totally off-the-chains character, Kevin G. Walker just throws out, throws down, and wilds himself all over the place in this role, particularly when rap-pattering through “Whose House is This?” and you just can’t stop laughing at all of his antics.
You get a fully loaded ensemble (featuring Chloe Anderson, Lily Anderson, Jack Atkins, Amelia Auvil, Kaitlyn Bell, Mars Bell, Xander Bell, Katelynn Cockey, Miranda Cockey, Christian DeBaufre, Angelina Ferris, Molly Foggo, Amelia Grace, Parker Hines, Finley McCully, Lane Morgan, Jordan Myers, Max Ozbolt, Lilah Peinado, Owen Ryscavage, Teagle Walker), which makes numbers like “It Roars”, “Fearless”, and “I See Stars” explode with vocal tenacity, emotional intensity, and an overall powerhouse sound that just gives everyone in the audience all the feels. You’ll see individuals like Amelia Auvil, who doubles up as Mrs. George, get to put her vocal prowess on display during “What’s Wrong with Me? (Reprise)” while other members of the ensemble— like Jordan Myers and Christian DeBaufre, as Coach Carr and Principal Duvall, respectively— pop up for some zippy one-lined moments of hilarious humor. Everyone from Kaitlyn & Xander Bell, playing Cady’s parents, to Mars Bell, who plays ‘the girl Mathlete from Marymount’, has their moment to shine. It’s truly an ensemble full of stars and you feel it every step of the way, from when they’re all dancing it out as crazy teens in “Where Do You Belong?” and “Apex Predator” to each of their individualized moments— like all of the chaos with the girls during the trust-fall scene just before “I’d Rather Be Me.” I cannot speak highly enough of how impressive the ensemble is, really making this feel like a professional production with extraordinarily talented young performers on display every step of the way.
In teen-youth theatre it’s a rarity to get so many characters who are actually teens. But where there are teens, there often too must be adults. Mean Girls is no exception to that. Miranda Cockey does such a phenomenal job of convincing the audience that she’s an adult as Ms. Norbury, that you readily forget she’s a young-teen performer herself. There’s something about the way that Cockey carries herself in this character that totally suspends your disbelief and has you full-on buying the fact that not only is she an adult, but she’s a teacher, a beacon of guidance who helps put these kids on the right path. She pitches her voice down just enough to sound authoritative without sounding condescending or mean; she interacts with the ‘kids’ on a human level, that reminds us all of that one teacher we really respected in high school, even if we didn’t like them all that much. You get an astonishing chance to hear Cockey’s vocal sensations at work during “Do This Thing”, a song near the end of the production featuring Cady and the Mathletes, where she just gets to belt her face off with the rest of them and it’s amazing.
Grool— you know, when you start to say cool but also the word ‘great’ takes over? That’s totally how Ethan Howard is rocking the role of Aaron Samuels (who Tina Fey and Nell Benjamin did dirty by not making him a bigger character on the whole for this show, but I guess it is called Mean Girls for a reason…) regardless, you’ll love everything Ethan Howard is doing with the character from the moment you meet him in Calculus class through to the end of the show. With a beautiful, harmonizing voice, which perfectly aligns with the Cady character for “Stupid with Love (Reprise)”, you get a real sense of how vocally skilled Howard is. You get to hear his delightful voice again in “More Is Better” where once again you get stellar harmonies from him and the Cady character. You also get a keen sense of the way Howard develops Aaron Samuels, making him more than just the ‘eye-candy-boy-toy’ that all the girls are gushing over. Howard creates a real depth to what could easily otherwise be a ‘bit part’ guy who just shows up and looks good.
Spectacular in pink and perfectly plastic you’ve got Karen Smith (Talia Lebowitz) and Gretchen Wieners (Lillian Colon) showing up as the supporting stilts of the Plastics Pyramid. Lebowitz and Colon couldn’t be more opposite in their character portrayals, with Lebowitz’ Karen being a ‘true blonde’ simplistic girl and Colon’s Gretchen being totally high-strung and desperate for all the attention. Both Lebowitz and Colon are bringing phenomenally sensational powerhouse vocals to their respective roles, first sampled during “Meet the Plastics.” The pair really shine in their introductory number, with Colon putting her intense vocals on display while Lebowitz gives you the first taste of her extraordinary mezzo-belt in that song.
Lebowitz really gets the party going during “Sexy”, her featured number where she gets to sing, patter, dance, and belt her face off, really putting tenacity and panache to the forefront of her performance. Colon is just going to break your heart into an ugly cry when she puts her glorious voice on display for “What’s Wrong With Me?” The song itself sends such a powerful message and when Colon is singing it with all her heart and soul, you just can’t help but tear up and feel everything deeply when she’s pouring her emotions out into the number. Both performers have exceptional moments when interacting with Queen Bee, Regina George, and with newcomer Cady Heron. And while the pair make up equal parts of “The Plastics” trio, each of them delivers a uniquely superb performance on their own. Colon and Lebowitz find balance in their characters, making them realistic whilst still emphasizing the superficial qualities that Tina Fey has built into the libretto. They fill out these characters with excellent dance moves, stellar singing capabilities, and an all-round sense of who these girls really are; it’s exceptional!
Allyson Gray is Regina George— and she is a massive deal! Possessing that psycho-calm that’s edgy as hell, Gray owns this role and puts the fear in ferocious. From the moment she struts through her character’s intro during “Meet the Plastics” you can feel a frigid chill sweep across the stage. Delivering a straight-up ice-queen smolder during “Someone Gets Hurt”, you feel like Gray’s Regina George is this double-edged-sword of a James Bond Girl/Villain all in one. The belts she pours out in this number are wild. Literally captivating everyone on stage and everyone in the audience, Gray vocally decimates and obliterates everything in her path as she belts the end of this song. But the show-stopper where you feel yourself getting gut-punched by Gray’s talent is “World Burn.” Smoldering into it slowly, like a rogue spark drifting down onto a fully loaded powder keg, Gray kicks off this number and sets the stage ablaze with her vocal prowess. Doubling down, Gray finds a way to humanize this Queen-Bee Plastic, Regina George, which seems almost impossible and yet astonishes when she does. Truly a powerhouse and perfectly suited for the role, Allyson Gray is ruling this part, hands down.
If ever there was a cautionary tale of two badass performers, it’s Bella Comotto and Shahmeer Mirza in the inseparable roles of Janis Sarkisian and Damian Hubbard. Entertaining, engaging, exciting, and downright enigmatic, this pair of superb superstars are doing their thing from the top of the show to the very end and it’s beyond amazing. Comotto and Mirza open the show with “A Cautionary Tale” and the top of the second act with its reprise, both humorous in their delivery, powerhouse in their singing, and perfectly in sync with one another’s timing. The camaraderie they share as ‘besties’ feels so authentic, you’ll be jealous of their friendship-status. And yet they couldn’t be more polar opposite, with Mirza’s character being flamboyantly over the top and Comotto’s character being the sarcastic, low-key gothic focal point. The pair of them launch “Where Do You Belong?” and make it a hallmark-style number for the first act, really pointing out all of the different ‘cliques’ that exist in high school (and beyond) for the newcomer Cady Heron.
As the melodramatically inclined, theatrically overcharged Damian Hubbard, Shahmeer Mirza is the perfect fit for the character and simply wears him like a second skin. Finding an impeccable balance between allowing the character’s radiance and flamboyance to shine without overbearing it into a caricature of someone who is ‘over-the-top’, Mirza really holds his own in the role. Often blending and harmonizing with Janis in numbers like “Where Do You Belong?” and “Revenge Party”, you get to hear Mirza’s stellar vocal capabilities often throughout the show, but where he really shines is in his big, show-stopping number during Act II— “Stop.” Not only does Mirza get a full-on patter-sing, but he gets a big ol’ dance break too and it’s filled with tapping, swings, and a whole lotta pizzazz. Some of his most hilarious moments aren’t even in song or dance but when he’s just popping up— like on the jazzy-scooter during “Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise)” or when he’s incognito during the assembly just before “I’d Rather Be Me.” Slaying the role in every sense of the word, Mirza is perfection as Damian Hubbard.
Busting out as a total badass with an axe to grind, Bella Comotto is slaying dragons with equal ferocity to her flamboyantly fabulous counterpart in the role of Janis Sarkisian. Looking every bit the part with the gothic flare, she struts onto the stage with as much confidence as our plastics posse and then some. There is a feral thrill to the way Comotto approaches “Apex Predator.” When she and Cady (Reese Bruning) are belting through the end of this number, you get chills. The snarky snap, the frosty bite, the overall intense viciousness that Comotto brings to the role really showcases that not every mean girl is a plastic. Totally owning the absolute heck out of “I’d Rather Be Me”, you get a stupendous performance from Comotto as she rocks out this ‘girl-power-anthem’ and blazes a path of self-assurance all through the song. And when she takes up the blasting bouncing number, “Revenge Party” you can’t help but bop along in the house as she leads Damian and Cady through this number. Fantastic and fierce, ferocious and fabulous, Comotto’s Janis Sarkisian is an intentional inferno from start to finish; she is epically feral and completely unhinged.
Like a mercurial yo-yo, the audience is treated to the enigmatic Reese Bruning as Cady Heron and she is just a twinkling delight of a shooting star that is going places. Masterfully owning the role of ‘awkward turtle’ when you see and hear her gushing out her crush over Aaron Samuels, you get this insanely dynamic portrayal right from jump-street with Bruning in this role. With a sensational voice that is beyond well-suited for the songs that Cady sings, you get serious intention, emotional fervor, and powerful expressions behind all of her belts, which you get as early as “It Roars.” Numbers like “Stupid With Love” give you a chance to see the quirkier side of Bruning’s character, showcasing her a well-rounded versatility as a performer. Watching Bruning take the character from home-schooled-math-loving-jungle-dork to popular-plastic is an astonishing journey and a joy to absorb. Really ringing the house down with her voice for “Fearless”, the emotional intensity behind her power-pushes in this number spread to the entire ensemble and you get this Act I Finale that just shakes the house down. The sincerity which Bruning showcases during “More Is Better”, a duet shared with Ethan Howard’s Aaron Samuels, is deeply stirring and very passionate. Kicking off the show’s finale, “I See Stars” you get this full-circle journey with Bruning’s Cady and it’s astonishing in addition to being vocally perfect.
If you’re asking, “What’s Wrong With Me?” the answer is likely that you haven’t bought your tickets to see these phenomenal, sensational young performers “DO THIS THING”— this thing called Mean Girls because they are world-burning for sure and you won’t want to miss this stellar conflagration that’s going to blaze up the campus with their sheer talent, raw emotions, and powerhouse vocals. It’s one of the more epic productions that CPM has mastered in these post-pandemic years and there’s no good excuse to miss it.
Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Mean Girls (High School Edition) plays through May 19th 2024 with Children’s Playhouse of Maryland in the Lecture Hall of the Administration Building at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex Campus— 7201 Rossville Boulevard in Baltimore, MD. For tickets call the box office at (443) 840-2426 or purchase them online.
To read the interview featuring five fabulous young performers, click here.
