This past weekend, FTHS’ Patriot Productions performed their spring musical, Mean Girls! This musical, roughly around 2.5 hours, was definitely one of the best performances brought to Township, and the turnout definitely reflected that.

The show, after an amazing opening from the orchestra, starts with Piper Doherty, playing Janis Sarkisian, and Noah Zalika, playing Damian Hubbard.

From the very beginning, it was clear to see how Doherty and Zalika were perfect fits for the characters, correctly embodying the hilarious, iconic duo that all Mean Girls fans love. Both Doherty and Zalika set the stage for the introduction to the main character, Cady Heron, played by Emily Landolfi. Beginning with her first song, “It Roars,” Landolfi, along with her extraordinary, simply beautiful voice, also managed to fulfill the good-hearted, laid back, and unquestionably unique personality of the beloved Cady. Aaron Samuels, played by Conner Keough, undoubtedly helped in developing Cady’s character, and her shift from her down-to-earth personality to an undeniable craving for power. Keough was perfectly able to show the genuine, accepting nature of his characters while also maintaining superb chemistry with Landolfi’s character.

While these characters opened the play, it is no doubt that “The Plastics” were an iconic, crucial part to the musical all together. To say Sydney Bryant, who played Regina George, did an amazing job would simply be an understatement. First introduced with her back turned to the audience, and an intimidating pose, without words, Bryant was able to correctly present herself as the cold, manipulative, and all powerful “Queen Bee” of the school. While her acting was flawless, her marvelous, powerful voice completely left the audience speechless. The undeniable talent exhibited from this character can not be ignored, whatsoever.

Karen Smith, played by Shain Stanley, and Gretchen Wieners, played by Leona Gagalac added a sense of comedic relief and further intrigue into the musical all together. Whenever Karen had one of her “dumb” moments, the audience couldn’t help but laugh, or at least crack a smile at the undeniably loveable character. While Gretchen’s random outbursts had a comedic effect, Gagalac still managed to play the character in a way in which the audience could also sympathize with her pain caused by insecurities and lack of acceptance. The contrast between the lightheartedness, and genuine insecurities further proves how talented not only Gagalac is, but how the whole cast in general is.

Other characters such as Kevin G (played by Andrew Parisi), Mr. Norbury (played by Amanda Storm), Mrs. George (played by Grave Harrivan), and Mr. Duvall (played by AJ Tedeschi) were all roles that might not have been directly in the spotlight, but nonetheless added even more interest and comedy into the musical. The impressive yet random rapping from Parisi and the iconic and hilarious comments by Harrivan were some of the most memorable and comedic parts of the whole show.

Overall, while watching the development of Landolfi’s character, the fighting, drama, and ultimate downfall of Regina, wrapping up with a happy ending in which everyone becomes friends again, the chemistry between the cast is unable to be overlooked and the talent was exhibited from every single cast member. Both the cast and crew did an absolutely flawless job putting the whole musical together and everyone definitely worked together very well in order to make this musical come to life. While the main roles did incredible, the ensemble also did just as great in coordinating their dances, adding dialogue to the scenes, and all around contributing to the wonderful production. Also, great appreciation should be given to Mrs. Robbins and Mrs. Richardson for directing this musical, and to Mr. Gattsek and Mrs. Conners for directing the band and ensemble! Additionally, thank you Mr. Dohan for leading the crew, who built the sets! Great job, Patriots, on an amazing musical!

Summary: Cady Heron (Emily Landolfi), a teenage girl who lived in Africa and was homeschooled all her life, ends up moving to the United States, where she attends North Shore High School. When she first enters school, she immediately feels out of place, until she stumbles upon Janis Sarkisian (Piper Doherty) and Damian Hubbard (Noah Zalika), two unlikely best friends who agree to befriend Cady. Janis and Damian, showing Cady to all the high school cliques, tell the main character about “the plastics.” The most popular, prettiest girls in school, Karen Smith (Shain Stanley), Gretchen Wieners (Leona Gagalac), and the leader Regina George (Sydney Bryant) stumble upon Cady, and take immediate interest in her.

Cady decides to fake being friends with the plastics, in order to feed Janis and Damian information about them. However, the one issue is that Cady develops a crush on Aaron Samuels (Conner Keough), a popular boy in her math class, who also happens to be Regina’s ex-boyfriend. When Regina finds out about Cady’s crush, she starts dating Aaron again to spite Cady. Cady, desperately in love, tries to change herself. Beginning to turn on her original friends, lying, and eventually overthrowing Regina, Cady becomes unrecognizable. Ms. Norbury (Amanda Storm) realizing this shift, tries to be a voice of reason to Heron. After more fights, lies, and broken hearts, Cady and Regina get into a fight, in which Regina gets hit by a bus and Cady has a change of heart. Embracing her true self, Cady joins the mathletes, wins the tournament, apologizes for all her wrongs, and in the process ends up winning the guy she likes.

Understudies: Cady: Veronica Girandola; Regina: Lia Polisano; Janis: Ava Dohan; Damian: Andrew Parisi; Gretchen: Kasey Rodriguez; Karen: Allison Karmazin; Aaron: Daniel Loges; Ms. Norbury: Olivia Zettell; Mrs. George: Gianna Hopper; Mr. Duvall: Joseph Wicke; Kevin G: Philip Glenn.