On Thursday night, a crowd filed into the auditorium for Mean Girls: The Musical at Wildwood Park for the Arts in Little Rock, presented by Stage 13. The stage was lit in dark pink and filled with fog, heightening anticipation for the show that was about to come. 

 

The musical, which was based on the 2004 movie of the same name, was a hit on Broadway and even premiered to audiences as a movie musical in 2024. 

 

“The show has all the ingredients of the shows that we want to do and the kind of storytelling that we want to put out there,” Stage 13 Co-Executive Director Alyson Courtney said. “It’s bold, it’s iconic, it’s edgy and it’s full of heart, which embodies Stage 13, so we felt we had to do this show.” 

 

Photo by Warren McCullough

 

As the lights in the theater dimmed, Sascha Bass, a junior at Pulaski Academy, stepped onto the stage assuming the role of the awkward, new girl in school, Cady Heron. Bass has been performing since she was five and has been in about 17 shows. This past summer, she competed in the Jimmy Awards and was awarded Best Lead Actress at The Broadway Bound Awards for Central Arkansas. 

 

From the first song, Bass and the cast transport the audience from a jungle to another type of jungle, as the musical suggests, high school. Bass said there is a lot she can relate to when it comes to playing the main character of the show. 

 

“She falls into the social norms and the need and want to be popular, and then when she gets there, she realizes that that’s not really the case,” she said. “It’s not as amazing as they make it seem to be. I relate to that, especially going to a small school.” 

 

Photo by Warren McCullough

 

The show is directed by Kiona Reese, a vocal coach for Stage 13’s triple-threat pre-professional company. Reese has a long list of credits to her name, including directing Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Shrek Jr. and Descendants. She also had her original work, Dreamland, put on at Wildwood Park for the Arts last year. She has performed on stages in many places, including California, New York and even abroad with Celebrity Cruises. Her experience translates to her teaching, which Courtney said helped prepare the cast for the show in the short time they had. 

 

Despite it being a large show with many technical aspects, large dance numbers and almost nonstop singing, the cast and crew members prepared the show in about 21 days. 

 

Photo by Warren McCullough

 

Reese said it was able to come together easily because of the professionalism of the cast, who came in with their lines mostly memorized on their first read-through.

 

“You give all your students every single color of their own little crayon box so they’re ready to pull out whatever color they need, or mix colors,” she said. “That’s my goal as an educator, is to give them as many tools to succeed, and then just see what happens.” 

 

Photo by Warren McCullough

The cast’s skills were on full display during the run of the show Thursday. One of the highlights was a full ensemble tap and vocal number, “Stop,” anchored by Quinton Sanders, who played the character of Damian Hubbard.

 

Another crowd favorite was Janis Sarkisian, played by Annie Zimmerman, whose powerhouse vocals were met with cheers from the audience throughout the night, especially during her eleven o’clock number, “I’d Rather Be Me.”

 

Photo by Warren McCullough

 

Then there were The Plastics: Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith, played by Blakely White, Eli Atkins and Berkeley Courtney-Moore, respectively. The three embody the quintessential mean girl clique, moving as a pack that everyone else in the school was scared of. However, they still created their own characters, keeping the audience engaged in each of their stories of growth as they learn to love themselves and discover who they are beyond popularity. 

 

One addition to each performance is a cameo from a well-known local Arkansan during a titular scene in the second act. At Thursday’s performance, the reigning Miss Arkansas Teen, Amelia Lisowe, took to the stage in her sash and crown for the surprise. 

 

Photo by Warren McCullough

 

The musical was exciting from beginning to end, always giving the audience something to laugh at or think about. The final number sung by the entire cast is called “I See Stars,” and includes lines such as, “you could make diamonds dull, you’re so beautiful.” Its powerful message and vocals punctuated the night’s energetic performance with a heartwarming exclamation point.  

 

Reese said she hopes that when the audience leaves the performances, they feel that they relate to at least one of the characters on the stage. 

 

“I think high school is really hard,” said Reese. “I think being an adult is really hard. I think being a human and tolerating other people and seeing people where they are and meeting them where they are and not taking people’s differences for granted is important to me as an educator and a director, so it’s something I did want to highlight in the show.”

 

Photo by Warren McCullough

 

Bass hopes that people her age leave with a positive message as well. 

 

“I hope they can see that all you really need is a couple of good friends and that’s it,” she said. “You don’t need to be the most popular girl in school. You don’t need to be the prettiest girl in school or in life, too.”

 

Stage 13 is monitoring the weather situation closely for the rest of the showtimes, which is supposed to run through Sunday, Jan. 25. Watch their social media for updates. 

 

Photo by Warren McCullough

 

Photos by Warren McCullough
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