\u201cMean Girls\u201d the musical is coming to the Mid City Civic Theatre, featuring comedy-driven drama, cast members from the LSU Musical Theatre Club, and an audience filled with laughter.<\/p>\n
The musical features Summer Riche, a digital art and animation junior, as Cady Heron. The audience follows Cady as she navigates public school for the first time after living abroad in Africa with her researcher parents. Her main goal is to just fit in, no matter the cost, landing herself in the most notorious clique of the high school: the Plastics.<\/p>\n
Cady doesn\u2019t exactly make the best decisions throughout the musical. She gets herself into quite the pickle, and the audience gets to see all this high school drama play out. It may seem dramatic and silly, but it still holds important messages.<\/p>\n
The story of Cady Heron is a \u201ccautionary tale\u201d for students entering a new school for the first time. It might be tempting to change yourself to fit in, but it won\u2019t benefit you in the long run.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about staying optimistic, but it\u2019s also about holding yourself accountable, reflecting on your choices and staying true to who you are,\u201d Riche said.<\/p>\n
Regina George, the queen bee of Cady\u2019s new high school, is played by Ava Reyer, a junior natural resources ecology management major. Her portrayal of the character is unique. For instance, she isn\u2019t blonde and she doesn\u2019t really wear pink.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never really saw myself as playing a mean girl, but now that I am playing Regina, it\u2019s definitely a lot of fun,\u201d Reyer said. \u201cI enjoy making a lot of different choices with her character.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regina may be a notorious bully, but she\u2019s still a human on the inside who just wants to feel accepted.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe definitely realizes that her actions have led to where she ended up,\u201d Reyer explained.<\/p>\n
Her character shows us that it isn\u2019t right to put others down to satisfy our own cravings for love and attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in college,\u201d Reyer said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to make a lot of new friends. Some of them we\u2019ll like. Some of them we won\u2019t like. But there\u2019s really no reason to judge people or hate them for where they come from or what they\u2019re involved in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone who watches the show will learn a thing or two from these characters. Besides this, it\u2019s also a great chance to sit back and enjoy the performance from talented LSU students. Many of them have been working toward this moment for some time now.<\/p>\n
\u201cCady Heron has been a dream role of mine since I was a freshman in high school, and when I found out I got the role, I was just so beyond stoked,\u201d Riche said. \u201cI was willing to put in any time. Anything they needed, I was willing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riche likes the character not only because of her story, but because of how much she sees her own positive mindset in the character.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about being able to adapt to a new environment while staying positive,\u201d Riche said. \u201cThat\u2019s one thing she kind of is good at. Even when she\u2019s being bullied, excluded and outcasted, she still has hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Co-director Don Fields, a theatre performance and kinesiology double major, was amazed that in just weeks, the actors not only pulled the show together, but were able to ensure these messages were getting through to the audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been really nice to see how hard they\u2019ve been working, especially coming back off book, coming in before rehearsals, staying after, meeting up outside of rehearsal hours to rehearse,\u201d Fields said. \u201cIt\u2019s been really great watching them put the show together. It\u2019s been a really rewarding experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
The community that has built the Musical Theatre Club of LSU is made through the actors and their friendships. Dyllyn Scranton, a freshman music education major who is cast as Aaron Samuels, is a part of the club for the experience and the friendship.<\/p>\n
\u201cNavigating college with a group like this has been phenomenal,\u201d Scranton said. \u201cYou never feel isolated. You never feel like there isn\u2019t someone you can lean on for things. We\u2019ve sat on the sides when we\u2019re not in the number, we\u2019ve done homework together and we get food together all the time after shows.\u201d<\/p>\n
MTC will be performing \u201cMean Girls\u201d on Feb. 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on Ludus<\/a>, and the cost is $25 for general admission tickets. However, LSU students with a valid Tiger Card get in for free.<\/p>\n Any LSU student who dreams of finding themselves center stage can join the Musical Theatre Club. The organization can be found on TigerLink<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s something you even have a sliver of curiosity about, just try it,\u201d Riche said. \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s better to try and say you did than not try, and not know what could have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n