Meet the plastics: FYP’s ‘Mean Girls’ unites cast with lighthearted comedy
Pink decorations and costumes filled First Year Players’ musical production of “Mean Girls” this past weekend. Carmen Nold played Karen Smith, Angelina Brennen played Regina George and Téa Sedlarcik played Gretchen Wieners. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
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On Oct. 31, First Year Players announced its switch from performing “Heathers: The Musical” to “Mean Girls” due to a denial of rights. While it wasn’t the original plan for the theater organization, it was an “easy shift” because of the similar characters and themes of “Mean Girls” and “Heathers,” Nicholas Fiore, a Syracuse University senior and the show’s director, said.
FYP’s production of “Mean Girls” had 48 students in its cast, crew and pit. FYP, a student-run theater organization at SU that produces a full-scale musical production every spring semester, held “Mean Girls” this weekend for its annual show in Goldstein Auditorium.
“I made almost all of my friends in FYP, and they’re all so amazing to be around and I know that I’ll have a group of people with me for the rest of my time at Syracuse,” said Alton Peacey, a freshman who played Aaron Samuels.
Fiore said “Mean Girls” was the perfect show for FYP, especially since the cast, crew and pit are first-years and transfer students who can relate to the material.
“It’s also just such an important show to do, you know? Especially for our first years who are just coming out of high school, to kind of be put back in that setting a little and work with those characters, and I think they get a really good understanding of the characters because of that,” Fiore said.
Adapted from the 2004 movie, First Year Players’ rendition of “Mean Girls” follows Cady Heron as she navigates friendships and love life at a new school. The cast and crew included 48 students. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
Adapted from the 2004 film, the musical follows Cady Heron, a transfer student from Africa, who enrolls at North Shore High School. The musical begins with Janis Sarkisian and Damian Hubbard onstage for “Mean,” which narrates the start of the show and sets the scene for the audience. Cady first meets The Plastics in “Where Do You Belong?” with Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith appearing onstage as they wheel in from atop a table.
Following this scene, Damian officially introduces Cady to the group in “Meet The Plastics,” bringing in cheers throughout the audience during the performances, where Damian introduces Cady Heron to the group ruled by Regina George.
Cheers rang throughout the audience during the performances, notably during “Meet The Plastics,” the first appearances of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith.
Friends and family filled Goldstein Auditorium, complete with pink decorations and themed photo backdrops. Some were holding flowers, while others wore matching “North Shore High Mathletes” shirts.
Throughout the musical, images were projected onto a screen behind the stage, showing scenes as text messages when Karen and Cady were texting onstage, and candy rain during “Sexy.”
Attendee Gianna Taft said her favorite numbers were “Sexy” and “Apex Predator.”
“I’m sorry if you didn’t see ‘Mean Girls’; it was really awesome,” Taft said.
The musical also featured quick changes, specifically during “Revenge Party,” sung by Janis, Cady, Damian and the ensemble. Cady is ripped from her extravagant Halloween costume into her Plastics outfit right on stage.
In the “Rockin’ Around The Pole” scene of First Year Players production, cast members donned similar costumes as those in the movie. The scene is one of the many costume changes in the musical. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
Cal Ito, who attended “Mean Girls” on Friday, decided to watch the show because he knew a choreographer. But Ito said he was surprised the freshmen performers were not all studying musical theater. FYP is SU’s only theater organization for non-performance majors.
“(I enjoyed) the musical talent, the singing, top-notch, the choreography,” Ito said.
The show ended with Cady winning Aaron back, all while he was wearing the North Shore High mascot costume, a bear.
Both Fiore and Peacey said their favorite number was “Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise)” because of the ties to friendship and themes of love and hurt.
“It’s just so emotional. The show, in its whole, is very lighthearted, you know, it’s a comedy and that part in particular is just so emotional and relatable,” Fiore said.
Fiore said FYP is more than just a show; it’s a family. The entire group has such a “love and passion for each other,” he said.
“They love each other so, so much, and I think that’s such a beautiful thing about theater, is that you could also feel that love on stage from them,” Fiore said.
