Mean Girls, the twelve-time Tony-nominated musical, has officially recouped on its capitalization and appears to be headed for the big screen. Producers of the hit musical announced today that Mean Girls is now set to be adapted to a major motion picture from Paramount Pictures. With this news, producers also announced that they are in final discussions to bring Mean Girls, with a book by Tina Fey and a score by Jeff Richmond and Neil Benjamin, to London’s West End in 2021. Tony Award-winner Casey Nicholaw directs and choreographs the stage production.
Tina Fey, writer of the screenplay of the original film version of Mean Girls, as well as its stage adaptation, said, “I’m very excited to bring Mean Girls back to the big screen. It’s been incredibly gratifying to see how much the movie and the musical have meant to audiences. I’ve spent sixteen years with these characters now. They are my Marvel Universe and I love them dearly.”
The new film version of Mean Girls will be produced by Lorne Michaels and Fey, with a script by Fey and featuring music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin. More details will be announced at a later date.
Lorne Michaels shared, “It has been a joy to work on Mean Girls and to watch it go from film, to musical, and now to musical film. I am very proud that Tina’s story and characters continue to resonate with new generations. We are all excited to continue to work with Sonia Friedman and her team as we prepare for London.”
Said Elizabeth Raposo, President of Production for Paramount Pictures, “We’re thrilled to be bringing this iconic property back to the big screen in musical form with our incredible filmmaking team.”
Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order? By taking on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, and The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs. His latest book, Sitcommentary: The Television Comedies That Changed America, released on October 15. He maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.