4-19-2025 4:21pm

FHS Drama Club to Present "Mean Girls High School Version"

Beth Callahan Editor

Photo by Bob Hogan, No. 9 Images Photography and Videography

Story courtesy of Franklin City Schools

FRANKLIN, OH -- High school: Friendships, crushes, cliques, teachers, classmates, parties. It’s a lot, right? Even if you’re not a naïve student who just moved from Kenya to suburban Chicago.

Franklin High School’s award-winning theater department will present Mean Girls High School Version May 2, 3, and 4, 2025, in the McDade Auditorium, 750 E. 4th St., Franklin. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets ($10/adults; $8/seniors; $5/students) will be available at the door and are available now online at https://fhsdrama.booktix.com/. Online ticket purchases incur a small fee. Please note that this performance is PG-13, suitable for students in grade 7 and older.

The show is adapted from Fey's hit 2004 film, Mean Girls, which was nominated for 12 Tony Awards. The book is by Tina Fey; music by Jeff Richmond; and lyrics by Nell Benjamin.

Cady Heron grew up on an African savanna and is wildly unprepared for life in suburban Illinois. As she navigates the high school’s social structure, she takes on The Plastics, three frenemies led by Regina George. Cady and her friends devise a "Revenge Party” to end Regina’s reign and learns the hard way that crossing a Queen Bee has a price.

Director Jeff Sams said fans of the Mean Girls movies will see plenty of familiar characters and scenes. “Tina Fey wrote the book for this musical and was heavily involved in the process of bringing it to the stage. You will see the same familiar characters from the film in this adaptation. The most recent (less successful) movie musical is directly tied to this show and features the same songs.” He added, “I personally feel that the stage version is superior to the recent movie musical.”

Sams said, “(This show) brings heart, humor, and catchy music to a story that continues to resonate with both students and adults. Underneath the pink and the punchlines is a message about kindness, identity, and the power of being true to yourself — an ideal match for a school production that invites both reflection and fun. Tina Fey herself has said that she hoped the original film would help us evaluate our behavior and be a little less ‘mean.’ I personally like that message. Good theatre allows us to examine ourselves and this piece is no exception.”

Some changes have been made to make the show appropriate for a high school production. Sams explained, “Tina Fey provides schools with a long list of acceptable line and lyric changes to make productions accessible to schools. Each school is encouraged to make these approved changes based on the needs of their school and community. We have made many of these changes in our production.”

Fans of the Mean Girls movies will recall the show is set in venues that range from Africa to a suburban-Chicago high school. To facilitate the quick scene changes, the production will use a digital projection system. Sams said, “This is new territory for us and has required a lot of preplanning. However, we believe the audience will be excited to see something new on our stage.”

Sams generally chooses shows that introduce something new to the cast and crew, but this one is a bit different. He said, “(Mean Girls) has allowed our kids to play characters their own age who share life experiences with the actors. This has made the process interesting because we haven't had to discuss character in the same way.” He added, “Our kids know what it's like to behave in a school lunchroom or in the hall, so it's really been more about taking their personal experiences and tying them to their characters.”

Additional production staff include Adee McFarland (assistant director); Lucinda Bires (music director); Maddie Smith (choreographer); and Josh Long (orchestra).

Mean Girls High School Version is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com. Scenic projections provided by Broadway Media.

Sams added, “Thank you for supporting the arts at FHS. We hope this production makes you laugh, think, and maybe even remember your own high school days. Enjoy the show—and whatever you do, don’t forget to wear pink!”