The curtains swing aside gracefully, revealing spotlights that cast a luster on the stage. Each actor wears carefully selected costumes that are crisp and professional. The crowd cheers, with voices of applause ringing through the MPR. When the room finally quiets and the last echoes fade into silence, the musical begins.
The plot of this year’s musical centers on Cady Heron attempting to get revenge on the popular Regina George by joining Regina’s “popular girl” clique, the Plastics. She turns Regina’s friends against her and becomes the new head of the Plastics, but sparks a school riot caused by the “Burn Book” being exposed. After the experience, Cady takes full responsibility for her actions and renounces her “Queen Bee” identity in favor of true friendships and intellectual pursuits.
The musical, Mean Girls Jr., is directed by two Fallon teachers, Ms. Kunde and Ms. Park. The musical features a cast of talented actors, as well as tech, backstage, props, and costume design. As the second musical occurring in Fallon, Ms. Park notes that there are definitely some challenges. “We have a trick costume [A costume specially designed to be a visual illusion] in the show, so we need to be able to put together a trick costume,” and also adds that while these are not necessarily major issues, they’ll require time and effort to overcome.
Actor Freya Pancholi, playing Mrs. George in the musical, says, “This year’s musical will give students at Fallon something to connect to.” She elaborates that the musical can teach students how to overcome certain obstacles at school and help them relate to the student characters. Compared to last year’s fantasy Beauty and the Beast, this year’s musical takes place in much more modern settings, giving students more familiar scenery and providing insight into their daily lives. This new musical shares a fabulous theme with the audience!
However, the audience isn’t the only one who’s benefiting from the production. Cast & Staff have all explained how this experience is helping them grow, whether it’s about coming out of their comfort zone or learning to sing. Mean Girls Jr. is even helping people create new friendships! Zoey Islam, a stage manager, notes, “[I love] listening to everyone singing…everyone is really good.”
While it differs greatly from the previous musical and faces numerous roadblocks, Mean Girls Jr. has the whole school buzzing with excitement to see how it turns out. Ms. Park says, “I think it’s a message that everyone can kind of take to heart about how you should treat other people.” Everyone at Fallon can’t wait to see all the effort everyone put in!
