March 25 to 28th, Gateway’s theater department put on an amazing show, Mean Girls. This show was directed by Gateway Alumni, Paul Sommers. This show really brought the comedic essence of high school to Gateway and really encapsulated the message of Mean Girls. This was the senior show for Kira Glass, Frankie Hargrove, Michael Cassagnol, and Raygen Bennett.
The story follows Cady Heron (Mia Wenglicki) through her journey of finding her social clique in her new American school, and her journey navigating through the Plastics, Regina George (Shai Wallace), Karen Smith (London Cassagnol), and Gretchen Wieners (Ava Hopkins), and her eventual decision to be herself.
Cady deals with navigating feelings of love, navigating a new life, the realities of what being fake can do to friendships, and conflict. Mia Wenglicki portrays this character perfectly, and never missed a note, transforming the show from a high school feel to a more professional atmosphere.
The story begins with Cady feeling like an outcast in her new school, only to be found by Janice (Frankie Hargrove) and Damian (Mason Diaz). They introduce her to the life of the school and describe each of the different clichés to Cady, convincing her that the place she really is meant to be is with them.
Dynamics change when the Plastics are introduced and try to take Cady in. Shai Wallace did an excellent job portraying Regina George, and I loved what she did with the character. Janice and Damian convince Cady to be a spy-in on what the Plastics talk about, and the story begins to unfold. Cady finds out that the guy she’s into, Aaron Smith (Jackson Smith) is Regina’s ex, and despite Gretchen’s efforts to keep it a secret, she reveals it to Regina.
Regina takes this and uses it as an initiative to get Aaron back. The plot takes a turn when Janice and Damian help convince Cady to try to ‘dethrone’ Regina and get Aaron. The plan works, but eventually Cady’s world begins to unravel, leading her down the path of once again being who she is.
Overall, Gateway was really fantastic with this show. The entire cast did amazing, the music was perfectly done, the lights and effects were on point—the entire show was a great watch. It was nice to see the cast having fun on stage, especially the Mathletes, rather than just simply performing. Huge round of applause for everyone who contributed to making the show so wonderful—stage crew, set design, the cast, the managers, everyone! Excited to see what fall brings to the stage!
