That's so fetch. Dartmouth theater to perform Mean Girls musical

On Wednesdays, The Plastics wear pink, but soon Dartmouth High School theater students will be donning the color instead.

Students at Dartmouth High School have been busy preparing for their spring musical, “Mean Girls,” based on the 2004 movie by the same name for the past several months.

“I feel like some people might feel like Mean Girls is a raunchy musical,” said Sophia DeOliveira, who plays Regina George. “Yes, there’s some mature themes in it, but there’s a really good message overall too.”

She said that unlike the movie, the musical goes more in depth with its anti-bullying message and said it “gives insight into the different types of people that you’ll encounter in high school.”

DeOliveira encouraged tweens and middle schoolers to see the show because it could prepare them for things they may encounter in high school.

“In the end you learn the lesson of, you need to be kind to everyone because it will pay off in the end,” she said, describing the show as “bullying awareness.”

In the show, the main character Cady Heron moves to the United States and goes to high school for the first time. There she meets best friends Janis and Damian as well as Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith, a trio of mean girls known as “The Plastics.”

Aja Crockett, who plays Cady Heron, said “there’s a lot of ups and downs in the show, so there’s some really energetic songs and then there could be a sad song.”

Scotty Scutt, who plays Janis, said that seeing the musical is a “completely different experience” than watching the movie because the way the story is presented is different.

“It’s a different way of taking in the message, to go to a live show with people in front of you who are talking to you specifically,” she said, “And we sing some awesome songs that they don’t sing in the movie, so I think that’s a bonus too.”

She noted that there are also some changes to the characters, whether it’s how much time they have on stage or who they end up with.

For example, in the movie her character Janis gets in a relationship with a character named Kevin Gnapoor, who is considered a “mathlete.”

“In the show it’s actually kept ambiguous whether or not she’s actually queer, and I think that’s really cool,” Scott said. “I think it’s really important to show that it didn’t matter whether or not she was a lesbian, because they just shouldn’t have been mean to her.”

Peter Quinn, who plays Aaron Samuels in the show, said he’s loved how the cast has come together for a common goal: “We all want the show to be great and look great.”

“Everyone’s really worked hard this year, and we’re excited to share this with everyone,” he said.

The students will be performing “Mean Girls” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, 7 p.m. on Friday, May 1 and at both 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 2 at Dartmouth High School, located at 555 Bakerville Road. Tickets cost $18 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. To buy tickets, visit dhstheatreco.com.