The smash Broadway production of Mean Girls is returning to Cleveland’s Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre for a (very) short run, with performances spanning October 29 through November 3. The Tina Fey-penned story first infiltrated Pop Culture in 2004 with the debut of the feature film. Fast forward to 2018, Fey’s adapted story was brought to life by the lyrics of Nell Benjamin and the music of Jeff Richmond under the direction of Casey Nicholaw and became the stage show sensation that continues to delight audiences to this day!
When Mean Girls returns to Northeast Ohio, it brings along one of the nicer people in show biz! Actress Carly Ameling, an Akron, Ohio native, a swing in the production, is making her national tour debut!
“It is really exciting. It’s kind of a full circle moment,” Ameling said with excitement in a recent phone interview with CleveRock. “Obviously, because I grew up going to see shows that toured through Playhouse Square, and now to be able to come and perform in one of those shows and stepping on that stage, it’s a life dream, a career dream, and really full circle for me. And my parents obviously are thrilled as well.”
“I remember seeing one of the earlier tours of Les Misérables,” she continued. “I know it’s been touring for a while, but I saw it probably over 10 years ago when it came to Cleveland, and it was the first time ever seeing that show. The whole spectacle of it… I fell in love with it! And I was like, ‘Wow, I really want to do this.’ It Kind of reiterated that dream for me.“
Like The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney (oh, and a basketball player named LeBron James), Ameling is self-referenced as “just a kid from Akron.”
Tounge in cheek, Ameling was asked if she had any folks who doubted her career goal or gave her a hard time when growing up in Akron that now will have to pay a pretty penny to see her perform if they chose to attend Mean Girls.
“There definitely are,” she said. “I had a different type of college journey experience, and I think it’s pretty rewarding to have maybe those who didn’t fully see the picture that I was dreaming in my head for me and to be able to live that now and come back and show them that I did it, that’s pretty exciting. I hope they see the show and see how much I’ve grown.”
This polite writer has learned never to ask a lady her age. Using my investigative journalism skills and context clues, I figured that Carly was in the target demographic for Mean Girls when the original film was released. She was asked what it means to be part of a show based on a classic story that she grew up on.
“It’s a pretty incredible experience. I mean, I grew up on the original 2004 movie, and then when I was in college in 2015, I heard that the concept of a musical was happening, and I was really kind of interested and excited about that,” Ameling said. “And then, flash forward three more years, the musical is on Broadway, and one of my college friends actually played Regina George. I went to see her, and the story just keeps being told, as we have the new movie that just came out this past year. It’s kind of cool how it’s touching on different generations. And one thing that’s the most rewarding about being part of this company is our fans, the people who come to see the show. You have people who grew up on the movie from the early 2000s, and they know all the quotes, and they have their favorite characters, but then you have the musical theater kids who love the music and went to see it on Broadway, and that kind of stuff. Then, we also have this younger generation that saw the new movie with Reneé Rapp. It’s kind of cool how it keeps living and breathing even years after the original movie. And our fans are really what make it so exciting because they come dressed up in pink; some of them dress up as their favorite characters. I’ve seen a lot of Janis outfits in the audience. That’s kind of one of the most rewarding things. And I love that we all have a little community. We all love Mean Girls!”
Aside from the music and story, Carly was asked what other elements of the show that fans should be sure not to overlook.
“The costumes are incredible,” she said. “You really can tell what a character is like and what their backstory is just by looking at the clothing. I think that’s pretty exciting. And then also, we have so much great choreography from Casey Nicholaw, who choreographed and directed the Broadway production, and just kind of honing in and watching some of that grounded choreography and animalistic choreography you might see as well. That just adds to the excitement of the show as well. It’s a really big-picture show, so no matter where you’re sitting in the audience, you’re going to see different things and different interactions with ensemble characters and stuff. “
Finally, Carly was asked to make her best sales pitch on why Cleveland theater patrons should get their tickets to Mean Girls!
“It’s a pretty fetch show, as I do say so myself,” Ameling concluded. “If you want a good laugh, if you want to see incredible dancing and singing, I mean, our cast is extremely talented, our principles… but also our ensemble members and our swings. We work so hard, and it just is a feel-good show at the end of the day. So whether you love Mean Girls and you’ve been following it for a long time, or if you’re brand new to Mean Girls, kind of like my husband was, you’ll fall in love with it as well. We actually went to see a Broadway show recently, and my husband said, ‘I like Mean Girls better.’ So anyone, no matter age or race, anyone will find things to love about Mean Girls. I definitely want to see you all out there in Cleveland, for sure!”
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