‘Mean Girls’ comes to Tucson for the first time

Alli Burgess from El Inde Arizona

March 26, 2023

From left, English Bernhardt, Jasmine Rogers, Nadina Hassan and Morgan Ashley Bryant of the national tour of “Mean Girls,” coming to Centennial Hall March 28-April 2. (Courtesy Jenny Anderson)

“Mean Girls,” the hit Broadway musical based on Tina Fey’s popular 2004 movie, is coming to Tucson for the first time March 28 through April 2.

The show, presented by Broadway in Tucson, will run Tuesday through Sunday at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. on the University of Arizona campus, with shows each evening and matinee shows Saturday and Sunday.

“Mean Girls” is a “contemporary comedy about cliques in high school,” said Mario Di Vetta, general manager for Broadway in Tucson.

The show premiered on Broadway in 2017 and continued until 2020 when it was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour launched a couple of years later and became an instant hit. It will continue its North American run through May 7 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Cady Heron, a naïve teen who has just moved from South Africa to the Chicago suburbs, is the show’s lead. Played by English Bernhardt, Cady takes on her biggest challenge yet: high school.

There, she meets the school’s queen bee, Regina George, played by Nadina Hassan.

Notably playing Janis Sarkisian, the goth friend of Cady Heron, is Lindsay Pearce, who played Harmony on the hit TV show “Glee.”

“Mean Girls” is a much lighter musical after a season of darker shows for the Broadway in Tucson lineup including Aaron Sorkin’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” in January and the musical “Dear Evan Hansen” last month.

“‘Mean Girls’ is your chance to actually laugh for two and a half hours and have a great time in the theater,” Di Vetta said. “If you want to have a great time in the theater with your friends or your girlfriends, go see ‘Mean Girls.’”

The show rounds out Broadway in Tucson’s 2022-23 season just days after the company announced its 2023-24 lineup.

“We’re calling it our rockin’ season,” Di Vetta said.

The upcoming season features “Aladdin,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” “Ain’t Too Proud,” “Chicago,” “MJ: The Musical,” “Hairspray” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

The eight shows are made up of six full-week runs and six split-week runs from September 2023 to May 2024.

For more information on “Mean Girls,” go to broadwayintucson.com.