The Castilleja Theater Department is showcasing underclassman voices alongside seniors in a production of “Mean Girls: High School Version” scheduled to run Nov. 10 and 11.
In the Castilleja production of the Tony-nominated Broadway musical, three of the five female leads—the protagonist Cady Heron, queen bee Regina George and fellow Plastic Karen Smith—will be played by members of the class of 2026.
“I was nervous [about] what people might think,” Sadie Evans ‘26, the cast’s Regina, said about the number of underclassmen in lead roles. “But it really hasn’t affected anything. The upperclassmen treat us like one of their friends.”
Natalie Dang ‘26, who will play Cady, said she was also nervous about being cast into such a well-known role: “I didn’t know what to expect, and then after I got cast— ‘Wow, this is huge.’ And it was scary, because everybody knows who Cady Heron is,” she said.
The licensing rights for “Mean Girls: High School Version” were only acquired by Music Theatre International in September 2022, making the 2023-24 school year only the second for high school productions of the show. Yasmine Haque ‘24, Castilleja’s student stage manager, said the show’s satirized high school narrative resonates differently in a student production.
“The movie is such a big part of modern day culture, and especially school,” Haque, now in her third show as stage manager, said. “It was kind of ‘meta,’ honestly, that we’re doing a show about high school as high school students,” Haque said.
According to Dang, Castilleja’s “Mean Girls” will have a slightly different set and costuming than seen in the movie or musical. Evans pointed out that while many associate the story with the early 2000s, the musical is set in 2019, which gives the show a more contemporary feel.
As the cast enters their second week of tech rehearsals, the interviewed actors expressed their excitement for the show.
“The theater community here is just like none other. They’re the most welcoming and kind people I know,” Evans said.
The opening night show is 7:30 p.m. Friday Nov. 10, and there will be a 2 p.m. matinee and an additional nighttime show Saturday Nov. 11. Tickets are $15 for general admission and free for faculty.
To purchase tickets, visit showtix4u.com/events/castilleja.
