Mean Girls is having a moment. The Tina Fey–penned film that brought “that’s so fetch” into the popular vernacular back in 2004, that became a Broadway musical in 2018, and a movie musical in 2024, is also a Broadway touring company that’s making its way to the Granada January 8-9, 2025.
I spoke to José Raúl, who plays the role of Aaron Samuels, on the phone last week. He says audiences should, “prepare to have a good time and to laugh out loud.” The story follows the adventures of Cady Heron, who grew up on a savanna in Africa and lands in a high school in suburban Illinois full of even more vicious animals than she ever experienced in the wild — the clique of mean girls.
“So we see a girl apply the survival tactics of the of Sub-Saharan Africa to suburban Chicago, and you’re going to see her really, get, really get kind of shocked as she experiences a major culture shock by the animalistic nature of being a teenage girl in an American high school,” says Raúl.
His favorite musical number in the show, which breaks the fourth wall by having a couple of the characters talk directly to the audience, is “Someone Gets Hurt,” where the Queen Bee character Regina tries to seduce his character just to get him away from Cady, the new girl.
The songs and dance number are sure to bring the fun — and all the feels — but most off, as People Magazine wrote, “Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin’s songs keep the laughs coming!”
New York Magazine called the show, ”HILARIOUS! A smart, splashy new musical that delivers with immense energy, a wicked sense of humor and joyful inside-jokery.”
“It’s just been a staple in culture throughout my entire upbringing,” says Raúl. “One of my favorite things is that the audience really is another character for us. That’s true for a lot of theatrical experiences, specifically for Mean Girls … You know, it’s been in our consciousness for nearly 20 years, right? So we have this sense of, I don’t want to say ‘ownership’ isn’t the wrong word. It’s just like, it’s a part of us.”
Mean Girls will be on stage at The Granada Theatre January 8-9, with both performances at 7:30 p.m. See BroadwaySantaBarbara.com, GranadaSB.org and The Granada Theatre Box Office for tickets.
