By JEANNI RITCHIE

I’ve been obsessed with Mean Girls since I first saw it onstage last year, the Nell Benjamin-lyrics speaking to my middle-aged soul. Today’s teens are so self-aware, I’d thought, until I realized the performed-by-teens score was actually written by a woman closer to my age.

 

It made sense. It takes years of experience to speak the wisdom of lines such as how women are taught to “slap someone down with their underhand” and how mean girl bravado is merely performance art.

 

Sticking largely with the original dialogue of the 2004 Lindsay Lohan movie, the adapted screenplay makes the necessary adjustments to reflect the current climate of high schools across America. Gone is slut-shaming and in is the impact of social media. Inclusivity is the end goal and while the characters take a journey of self-awareness and acceptance, we learn more about ourselves as well.

 

The cast of Pineville High Theatre’s Mean Girls performance brings the show to life with such authenticity you can’t help but be energized and even changed inside.

 

Led by PHS Theatre Director Kristopher Prestridge, the show begins with the Janis-Damian duet “A Cautionary Tale” as Cady Herron moves from the wilds of Africa to attend high school in the States. These PHS theatre students sing and dance their way through two acts with dynamic energy and rousing choreography. You don’t want to miss the stage version; many of the songs didn’t make the Mean Girls 2024 movie, including “Where Do You Belong?” led by the incredibly talented Keagan Moore who played Damian in the performance I saw. Gibson Russell shares the role.

 

Both Ada Shoup and Ayiana Canoe play Regina George, a role that I was regrettably born four decades too early to play. That didn’t stop me from singing along with the high-octane performances of “I am Regina George” and “Someone Gets Hurt,” two of my favorite car karaoke performances.

 

Even intrusive thoughts get their moment onstage during the moving “What’s Wrong with Me?” by Gretchen (Annie Tran/Allie Breedlove), the smart but insecure member of The Plastics.

 

Katelyn Bush portrayed Cady Heron so innately sweetly in Act 1 that I wasn’t sure she could pull off mean Cady in Act 2. The revenge gleam in her eye before the show headed into intermission showed that I needn’t have worried. I have no doubts that this senior will go on to star in many more productions as she pursues an MFA in musical theatre next year.

 

As Cady’s popularity grows and Regina’s wanes, relationships change as well. Gretchen seeks a new leader while other Plastics member Karen (Halle Joiner/Chloe Lair) embraces newfound girl freedom in “Fearless.” During the number Taylor Wendell (Sarah Arnold) reminds us to not “hunch our shoulders to make ourselves small,” something women have long been conditioned to do.

 

The pain Mrs. George (Emma Stewart) feels during the reprise of “What’s Wrong with Me?” is understood by all mothers who find themselves becoming obsolete in their daughter’s lives but such sorrow is quickly replaced by the electrifying “Whose House is This?” led by Kevin G (Charles Bubenzer) at Cady’s house party.

 

Janis Ian (Chloe Burlew/Sidney Burlew) led the assembly with “I’d Rather Be Me” and I sang along, its words buried in my heart after a similar situation in my own life last year led me to self-acceptance regardless of the opinions of others. These themes aren’t confined to teens, its message should be adopted by women of all ages.

 

Sidney Burlew agrees. “I think that in everyone’s life they feel as if they are not good enough to fit in. But this song says differently. Screw what people say and be who you truly are.”

 

I’ve spent the last three months writing pieces about the messages of positivity in the Mean Girls musical and movie adaptation. If you have preconceived notions based on the title, throw them out the window. This is a message we should all hear and an amazing cast we should all support.

 

Pineville High Theatre presents Mean Girls: High School Version in their school auditorium Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7 PM with matinees at 2 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available at pinevillehightheatre.com.