Music Theatre International has released Mean Girls High School Version for licensing exclusively by accredited K-12 schools in the U.S. and Canada for a limited time.
Unlike most high school revisions that include a version of a show's script and score with changes tailored to teenage performers, Mean Girls High School Version will include the full, unedited script of the show along with a list of approved changes that individual schools can decide whether or not to use. The first-of-its-kind setup allows schools to customize their production of Mean Girls for their own community.
Based on the hit 2004 film, Mean Girls tells the story of Cady Heron, a teenage girl who finds herself in a suburban Illinois public high school after years of being home-schooled on the African savanna. Confronted with the animalistic social order of American teenagers, Cady devises a plan to topple the school's queen bee Regina George and her cohorts: The Plastics.
The show features a book by Tina Fey (based on her screenplay), music by Jeff Richmond, and lyrics by Nell Benjamin. The Broadway production, which opened in 2018 and is currently touring the U.S., is directed and choreographed by Book of Mormon Tony winner Casey Nicholaw.
"I’ve been looking forward to high school productions of Mean Girls from the day we opened on Broadway," says Fey. "As a former drama club member, I knew that a show with five female leads would be great news for most schools. As a former youth theatre director, I hoped that letting students play characters their own age, with a story they can relate to, would be fun and lead to some great conversations."
"It is very important to us that every school has the opportunity to present the show according to their community’s sensibilities," adds MTI Chief Operations Officer and Director of Development and Education John Prignano. "MTI has been offering official School Edition versions of select shows for many years, but the difference with our High School versions is that the script has not been edited or abbreviated. Instead, schools can see a host of approved options from which to choose—giving theatres the chance to truly put their creative stamp on the show."
MTI acquired licensing rights for the musical in 2019, but this High School version is the first time the work will be available for performance.
For more information, visit MTIShows.com.
English Bernhardt in the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Jasmine Rogers, Nadina Hassan, Morgan Ashley Bryant and English Bernhardt in the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Eric Huffman and the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Eric Huffman and Lindsay Heather Pearce in the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
English Bernhardt, Jasmine Rogers, Nadina Hassan, Morgan Ashley Bryant, Lindsay Heather Pearce and the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
English Bernhardt, Jasmine Rogers, Nadina Hassan, and Morgan Ashley Bryant in the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Jasmine Rogers and English Bernhardt in the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Adante Carter and English Bernhardt in the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Morgan Ashley Bryant and the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Morgan Ashley Bryant, Nadina Hassan, Jasmine Rogers, and English Bernhardt in the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Nadina Hassan in the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
Lindsay Heather Pearce and the National Touring Company of Mean Girls
