Jennifer Simard, a Tony-nominee for her performance in the musical Disaster! and recently Ernestina in the current Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!, has found her next role. Simard will replace Kerry Butler in the hit Broadway musical Mean Girls, joining the cast at the August Wilson Theatre on September 11, 2018. Kerry Butler will play her final performance on Sunday, September 9.
Simard will play a trio of roles in the Tony-nominated musical: Mrs. Heron/Ms. Norbury/Mrs. George. Known for her quirky, comedic portrayals, Simard has also appeared on Broadway in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Shrek: The Musical, and Sister Act. She appeared Off-Broadway in Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit, The Thing About Men, and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.
Simard will join a cast that is currently led by Erika Henningsen as Cady Heron, Taylor Louderman as Regina George, Ashley Park as Gretchen Wieners, Kate Rockwell as Karen Smith, Barrett Wilbert Weed as Janis Sarkisian, Grey Henson as Damian Hubbard, Kerry Butler as Mrs. Heron / Ms. Norbury / Mrs. George, Kyle Selig as Aaron Samuels, Cheech Manohar as Kevin Gnapoor, Rick Younger as Mr. Duvall. The cast also includes Stephanie Lynn Bissonnette, Tee Boyich, Collins Conley, Ben Cook, DeMarius R. Copes, Kevin Csolak, Ashley De La Rosa, Devon Hadsell, Curtis Holland, Myles McHale, Chris Medlin, Brittany Nicholas, Becca Petersen, Nikhil Saboo, Jonalyn Saxer, Brendon Stimson, Riza Takahashi, Kamille Upshaw, Zurin Villanueva, Gianna Yanelli, and Iain Young.
Mean Girls is based on the popular 2004 film with a screenplay by Tina Fey. Fey received a 2018 Tony nomination for adapting her screenplay for the musical stage. The Tony-nominated score for Mean Girls is by Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin. Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!) directed and choreographed the production.
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. He maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.