Mean Girls the musical has finally hit cinemas, bringing with it a new generation of Plastics to rule the school. While we're still coming to terms with the fact that it's been *20 years* since we last visited North Shore High School, the new film pays tribute to the original and its inimitable one-liners (“You can’t sit with us!”, “Stop trying to make fetch happen!”), while integrating songs from the film's successful Broadway musical adaptation. So fetch.
With the original film now a much-memed cult classic which gave us some truly iconic lines that I personally find myself quoting at least once a week, the Mean Girls musical cast had some big shoes to fill and did not disappoint.
A fresh musical-led take on Tina Fey's 2004 classic, the new film does a brilliant job of balancing the nostalgic moments that have come to define Mean Girls while introducing some new, highly memorable songs and moments along the way. One number that particularly stays with us is Reneé Rapp's World Burn in which she completely and utterly embodies Regina George's evil energy.
Here, we introduce you to the class of 2024, AKA the Mean Girls musical cast, as well as reminding you of their original 2004 counterparts, covering everyone from Cady Heron to Regina George to Aaron Samuels. Plus, a blissfully nostalgic cameo from one of our fave OGs. With the Mean Girls 2024 cast having appeared in everything from The Summer I Turned Pretty to Moana, we're sure you've seen some of these talented stars before.
Get in loser, we're going to see the Mean Girls musical.
Cady Heron
2004: Lindsay Lohan / Now: Angourie Rice
Lindsay Lohan needs no introduction, with her well and truly being the it girl when she took on the role of Cady Heron in Mean Girls. Having already appeared in major Disney films such as The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday, her role in the 2004 film reinforced her standing as celeb royalty in Hollywood, with the film racking up $130 million at the worldwide box office.
Reprising the role of an initially naive and sweet Cady Heron who is inevitably corrupted by the Plastics is Angourie Rice. An Australian actress best known for playing Betty Brant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Rice has also appeared as Kate Winslet’s daughter in HBO's Mare of Easttown and in supporting roles in the Spider-Man films. The actor had her breakout role in 2016 when she appeared opposite Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys and has a long list of other credits, including the Miley Cyrus Black Mirror episode.
Regina George
2004: Rachel McAdams / Now: Reneé Rapp
Truly, where would we all be if we hadn't been personally victimised by Regina George?
Rachel McAdams had already made her Hollywood debut in The Hot Chick before she appeared in 2004's Mean Girls, with the actor then going onto star in The Notebook and The Time Traveller's Wife to name a few.
Taking over the role from McAdams in the 2024 Mean Girls cast is Reneé Rapp. No stranger North Shore High School, Rapp played Regina in Broadway's Mean Girls: The Musical after Taylor Louderman left the show. Previously, Rapp also appeared in Mindy Kaling's The Sex Lives of College Girls in which she plays Leighton Murray, a wealthy student grappling with her sexuality and her mother's sky high expectations.
A multi-talented queen, in 2022 Rapp also signed with Interscope Records and went on to release her first EP Everything to Everyone, followed by her full album Snow Angel in 2023.
Gretchen Wieners
2004: Lacey Chabert / Now: Bebe Wood
It wouldn't be mean girls without Gretchen Wieners trying to make ‘fetch’ happen. While Lacey Chabert took on the role in the 2004 film, Bebe Wood joins the class of 2024 to reimagine this iconic character.
Bebe Wood originally met Tine Fey on the set of 30 Rock as a child, with her previous major role being as Lake Meriwether in Love, Victor.
Karen Smith / Karen Shetty
2004: Amanda Seyfried / Now: Avantika Vandanapu
Amanda Seyfried had her feature film debut playing Karen, the Plastic who could inexplicably predict the weather with her chest. Seyfried has since gone on to star in everything from Mamma Mia! to The Dropout, with Avantika stepping in to fill the role in the 2024 Mean Girls cast.
Having appeared in several Indian language films, Avantika also had a leading role in Disney's musical comedy Spin and the Netflix film Senior Year in which she stars alongside Rebel Wilson.
Speaking to Teen Vogue, Avantika revealed that Karen has always been her favourite character. She said “It's very difficult for me to glamorise cruelty in film, so Karen was easily my favourite. I thought there was something really pure and beautiful about watching somebody retain how kind of a person they are despite their circumstances.”
Janis Ian / Janis 'Imi'ike
2004: Lizzy Caplan / Now: Auliʻi Cravalho
Amongst many other projects, Lizzy Caplan had appeared in Freaks and Geeks prior to Mean Girls. The role of the artsy student who seeks to take down the Plastics will be taken over by Auliʻi Cravalho whose voice you might well recognise from her role as Moana. Yep, the Moana!
Fans of the Moana soundtrack will know what a gifted singer Cravalho is, with her also having appeared in the Netflix comedy All Together and Amazon series The Power, amongst others.
Damian Hubbard
2004: Daniel Franzese / Now: Jaquel Spivey
Damian is another fave from the original Mean Girls for the insane quips he serves up through the film. In the Mean Girls 2004 cast Damian's role was played by Daniel Franzese, with his character being portrayed by Jaquel Spivey in the 2024 film.
Having won several awards (as well as a Tony nomination!) for his work on Broadway, Spivey played Usher in A Strange Loop, with him also earning a Grammy nomination for the recording of the show.
Aaron Samuels
2004: Jonathan Bennett / Now: Christopher Briney
Jonathan Bennett quickly established himself as a teen idol after appearing as Aaron Samuels in the 2004 Mean Girls, with the actor going on to appear in Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and Cake Wars.
Stepping up to take over the role is established teen idol Christopher Briney who is a favourite amongst Gen Z. The Summer I Turned Pretty fans will recognise Briney from his role as Conrad Fisher, with the Mean Girls musical being his first major film following his supporting role in Daliland.
Ms Norbury
Tina Fey
Tina Fey has been busy! In addition to writing the scripts for both Mean Girls movies, she adapted the 2004 film into the Broadway musical which ran from 2018 - 2020. While the Broadway show's run was cut short by the Covid pandemic, it earned an incredible 12 Tony Award nominations along the way, including best musical. Beyond her work on Mean Girls, Fey has a long list of credits that include everything from creating 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to appearing on Saturday Night Live regularly, hosting the Golden Globes and even voicing a character in Soul.
The 2024 Mean Girls musical sees Tina Fey return to her role as Ms Norbury, the ‘pusher’ maths teacher and coach of the legendary Mathletes.
Principal Duvall
Tim Meadows
Joining Tina Fey from the original Mean Girls 2004 cast is Tim Meadows, her Saturday Night Live colleague. One of the longest-running cast members of SNL, Meadows has also appeared on Schooled and The Goldbergs.
The only character to appear in both Mean Girls and Mean Girls 2, for the new musical film he reprises the role of Principal Duvall.
Ms. Heron, AKA Cady's mum
2004: Ana Gasteyer / Now: Jenna Fischer
Ana Gasteyer played Cady's mum in the Mean Girls 2004 cast, with the actor being another long-term SNL co-star of Tina Fey's and having made appearances in everything from Suburgatory to People of Earth.
Stepping in to take the role of Cady's mum in the musical is Jenna Fischer. Perhaps best known for her role as Pam in The Office, she has also appeared in films such as Blades of Glory and Hall Pass.
Mrs George, AKA Regina's mum
2004: Amy Poehler / Now: Busy Philipps
“So what is the 411 you guys? What is everybody talking about?”
Who could forget Amy Poehler's iconic appearance as ‘cool mum’ Mrs George? While that shot of her dancing with camcorder in hand is forever burned into our memory, Poehler has appeared in countless other films and series before and since Mean Girls. Famously ‘work wife’ to Tina Fey and another SNL regular, Poehler also produced and starred in Parks and Recreation as overachiever Leslie Knope in addition to acting as executive producer on series such as Broad City and Russian Doll.
Taking over from Poehler from the Mean Girls musical cast is Busy Philipps. With her first break being on Freaks and Geeks, Philipps went on to appear in Dawson's Creek and had a key role as Laurie Keller in Cougar Town, best friend to Courtney Cox's character Jules Cobb.
Coach Carr
2004: Dwayne Hill / Now: Jon Hamm
Ah, Coach Carr. North Shore High School's athletics coach and wildly inept sex-ed teacher who blessed us with valuable life lessons such as “Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant and die!”
The 2004 Mean Girls film saw Coach Carr played by Dwayne Hill, a successful voice actor. In the 2024 Mean Girls musical cast, Jon Hamm, AKA Don Draper from Mad Men takes over the role. With appearances in everything from Baby Driver to Stolen, Top Gun: Maverick and many more, Hamm has also earned Emmy nominations for his appearances in Mean Girls creator Tina Fey's 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Kevin Gnapoor / Kevin Ganatra
2004: Rajiv Surendra / Now: Mahi Alam
All you sucka MC's ain't got nothing on Kevin G, from his grades to his rhymes you can't touch him. Rajiv Surendra did a sterling job portraying Kevin Gnapoor in the original Mean Girls films, with the actor recently appearing in a Mean Girls-themed Black Friday advert for Walmart alongside his co-stars Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert and Daniel Franzese.
In the Mean Girls musical cast for the 2024 film is Mahi Alam, with Mean Girls marking his feature acting debut in a movie. Previous credits include his role in Disney+ series American Born Chinese.
“It was so nice being back together after all these years.”
And let's not forget the cameos! Mean Girls 2024 also featured these stars, much to the delight of fans:
Mathlete Competition Moderator
Lindsay Lohan
Would it even be Mean Girls without Lindsay Lohan? The OG Cady Heron makes a surprise appearance in the new musical remake in the form of a cameo as the moderator of the Mathletes competition – how perfect?!
While Lohan's appearance in the film was a well kept secret, her appearance at the film's world premiere in New York had us hoping that she might be making an appearance, and we were not disappointed.
**Megan Thee Stallion **
As herself
Grammy-winning hot girl Meg Thee Stallion appears in the Mean Girls musical via several TikToks through the film, with her joining Reneé Rapp on the film’s song It’s Not My Fault which plays during the closing credits of the film.
Madame Park
Ashley Park
Ashley Park what are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be with Emily in Paris?
Rather fittingly, Ashley Park's cameo as Madame Park sees her as a French teacher at the school. Park actually played the role of Gretchen in the Broadway instalment of Mean Girls, earning a Tony Award nomination along the way for featured actress in a musical. The role was a breakthrough for the actor who then went on to star in everything from Emily in Paris to Only Murders in the Building to Beef.
We don't have long to wait!
