NORTH SYRACUSE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT – Cicero-North Syracuse High School will present their spring musical, “Mean Girls: High School Version” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 16 and Friday, March 17; and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, March 18 in the high school auditorium.
In collaboration with MTI, ‘MEAN GIRLS’ is a coming-of-age stage musical with music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and a book by Tina Fey. It is based on the 2004 film of the same name also written by Fey, which was in turn based on the 2002 nonfiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. The musical premiered in Washington, D.C., in October 2017, and opened on Broadway in April 2018, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show played its final performance on March 11, 2020. It is currently on tour.
“Mean Girls” is a ferociously funny new musical and a totally GROOL smash hit! Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order? By taking on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.
“The creative team recognizes that some of the themes of the show are heavy and feel adult, but these are real-life situations our youth are facing every day. Through the students’ eyes, they strive to find a way to use art to turn the toxicity into positivity, connectedness, and empowerment. The students were able to pour their hearts and scream out at the top of their lungs, through song, what it feels like to struggle, battling those demons though theatre”, said Kimberly Panek-Edwards, Director.
The C-NS musical is being directed by the ‘Syracuse Area High School Student Theater’ award-winning team of Renee Frontale (Producer), Kimberly Panek-Edwards (Director), Caryn Patterson (Music Director), and Lisa Stuart (Choreographer). Haley Stuart is Production Manager and Assistant Choreographer, Legende McGrath, Rich Greninger and Steve Suppa are Set Design & Construction, John Nadler is the Technical Director, Sandi Thorne is the Producer’s Assistant, and costumes are by Kylee Galarneau.
The Cast includes: Heather Arnold, Natalie Aviles, Lily Bero, Isabella Borte (Mrs. George), Shannon Brown, Abby Calabria, Joseph Calveric (Damian), Eve Campitello, Leo Chung, Liam Chung, Zachary Heilig, Ryan Hill, Jordan Hnatiw, Kiera Kot, Julia Kulakowski (Regina), Val Lants, Aither Logrono (Mr. Duvall), Alanna Manning, Ethan Meives, Sergei Muller (Janis), Kaley Otis, Natalie Pace, Gabriella Pinoargotte, Jessica Ricciardi, Addison Romano, Jake Seitz (Aaron), Alaina Sokolowski (Karen), Grace Sugrue (Mrs. Norbury), Ava Tyler (Gretchen), Emma Wall, Reilly Williams-Gardner (Kevin), and Sydney Wright (Cady).
Members of the Crew (Stage and Technical) include: Savanna Abbott, Tyler Abdo, Nico Abruzzese, Emily Bedard, Donatella Borte, Connor Boyle, Meg Cannella, Matteo Cavallaro, Nick Ferguson, Ariana Gehman, John Guariglia, Emerson Herrera, Mia Huynh, Jamie Johnson, Tommy Koons, Kat Kulesza, Hunter Lawless, Jake Laws, Nathan Luangaphay, Michael Marano, Kendra McCarthy, Gianna Montesano, Joseph Nadler, Abby Neely, Victoria Nguyen, Nikki Niemczynowski, Amari Nobles, Samara Ochiabuto, Alex Ortloff, Poe Porter, Sandya Powdyal, Kaden Recore, Shelby Ritchie, Sadie Ritholz, Julia Romano, Jake Roskopf, Paige Viau, Riley Vulcano, Aiden Weiskopff, Ryan Williams, Quinn Wilson, Matt Woodworth and Lizzy Yorgey.
The Pit Orchestra, conducted by Caryn Patterson, includes: Mark Adamski, Dave DiGennaro, Peyton Empey, Sebastian Fredette, Glen Gardner, Kathy Hahn, Aiden Hanas, Andrea Iqbal, Lily Misco, Sandy Murphy, Drew Rebecchi, Nat Todesco, Helania Morgan, Lydia Morris, Maddie Rodoski, and Courtnee Waldref.
Tickets are now on sale and are available online at Showtix4u.com or by calling 315-218-4002 during school hours. If not sold out, tickets will be available at the door on a first come-first served basis. Adult tickets are $14 and students/seniors are $12. Reserved seats are $16 and available only online. For more information, visit cnsmusical.com or follow them on Instagram @cnsmusical.
Note: “Mean Girls: High School Version” contains some mature themes and may not be suitable for children under the age of 13.