The full cast and creative team have been unveiled for the eagerly anticipated West End debut of the Broadway hit Mean Girls this summer.
Presented by Lorne Michaels, Sonia Friedman Productions and David Ian for Crossroads Live, the cast and creative announcement was accompanied by the news that the production’s debut run at the Savoy Theatre has already been extended over two months before the curtain is due to rise for the first time.
Due to begin performances at the Savoy on 5 June 2024 ahead of a gala opening on 26 June, the production will star Charlie Burn (Les Misérables, Disney100) as Cady Heron, the naive teenager who after growing up in the African Savannah returns to suburban Illinois in the US and joins North Shore High.
The ‘Mean Girls’ of the title, The Plastics, will be led by Georgina Castle (Dirty Dancing, Elf the Musical) as the charming but ruthless Regina George, with Elèna Gyasi (Six, Treason the Musical) as Gretchen Wieners and Grace Mouat (Before After, The Great British Bake Off Musical) as Karen Smith.
Elena Skye (Les Misérables, Kinky Boots) and Tom Xander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Book of Mormon) will play best friends Janis Sarkisian and Damian Hubbard, with Daniel Bravo (Cruel Intentions, Witness for the Prosecution) as Aaron Samuels, ‘one of the most popular guys’ at North Shore High, and Lucca Chadwick-Patel (Mamma Mia!, Legally Blonde) as Kevin Ganatra, captain of ‘The Mathletes’.
Ako Mitchell (The Sound of Music, Black Superhero) will play North Shore principal Mr Duvall, while Ms Norbury – the role originated in the 2004 film by Mean Girls creator Tina Fey – will be played by Zoë Rainey (Made in Dagenham, An American in Paris). Rainey will also play Mrs George and Ms Heron.
They are joined by Tia Antoine-Charles, Georgia Arron, Liam Buckland, Shonah Buwu, Baylie Carson, Freddie Clements, Siobhan Diffin, Clíona Flynn, Fergie Fraser, Angus Good, Jenny Huxley-Golden, Holly Liburd, Corey Mitchell, Mervin Noronha, Aharon Rayner, Trézel Sergeant, Josh Singleton, Annie Southall, Lillia Squires, Tommy Wade-Smith and Holly Willock.
In response to high public demand, the show’s Savoy run has been extended up to 16 February 2025, with 140,000 new tickets released and over 45,000 tickets priced at £40 and under.
The award-winning creative team – writer Tina Fey, composer Jeff Richmond, lyricist Nell Benjamin, and director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw – will be joined in London by scenic designer Scott Pask, costume designer Katrina Lindsay, lighting designer Kenneth Posner, sound designer Brian Ronan, video designers Finn Ross and Adam Young, hair designer Josh Marquette and musical supervisor Mary-Mitchell Campbell, with casting by Natalie Gallacher for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting.
Mean Girls had its world premiere in 2017 at the National Theatre in Washington DC and opened on Broadway in April 2018 at the August Wilson Theatre where it played to packed houses. The show then went on a hugely successful US tour in 2019 and is currently on its second US tour. The Mean Girls musical film adaptation from Paramount Pictures was released globally in cinemas in January this year and was the number one film at the box office in multiple countries including the UK and the US.
Working with ATG’s Creative Learning Department, the production will be providing a selection of matinees for schools and community groups who otherwise may not be able to access the show. To complement this, workshops and Q&As will be made available to these groups that centre around anti-bullying and empowerment. A weekly ticket access scheme will also be announced closer to performances.
Angela Thomas
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