Karen Smith News

Top stories include casting for Dear World at City Center Encores! Plus, Frozen 3 is in the works, get a first look at Hercules at Paper Mill Playhouse, and more!

The Mean Girls movie musical has found the rest of its Plastics! Avantika has been cast as Karen Smith and Bebe Wood will play Gretchen Weiners. Christopher Briney will play the role of Aaron Samuels. The join the previously announced Reneé Rapp, Angourie Rice, Auli’i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey.

What did our critic think of MEAN GIRLS at Golden Gate Theatre?

This season of work invites Roundhouse audiences to contemplate the present, reflect on the past and conceive new possibilities for a world in need of change. This sprawling and highly inclusive treasury of ideas, shared by world-leading artists, writers and thinkers, will challenge perceptions of what the future can hold.

It's a guide to the Mean Girls movie musical. A Mean Girls remake is officially happening with the adaption of the hit Broadway musical! BroadwayWorld collected all the information we could about the upcoming film - including who's starring, what roles haven't yet been cast, and what will change from stage to screen.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 19th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Philadelphia Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 12th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Philadelphia Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 5th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Philadelphia Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

Broadway favorite Kate Rockwell and husband Spencer Howard have welcomed their first child. Sylvie Violet Howard was born on October 19, 2022.

What did our critic think of MEAN GIRLS at National Arts Centre?

It’s a little bit surprising that the film version of Mean Girls was both a good movie, and also a hit.  Based on a non-fiction book about high school cliques that was aimed at parents and teens, it was transformed into a charming comedy by Tina Fey in 2004. It’s not too much of a stretch to think that the creators could get lightning to strike twice by transforming this beloved story into a Broadway musical, but despite the myriad talents of Fey and music director Jeff Richmond, Mean Girls The Musical can’t capture the magic of the film and feels rather underwhelming.

From being homeschooled in the savannas of Kenya to attending North Shore High School, Cady Heron (English Bernhardt) has some huge adjustments to make. With the help of her new besties, Damian Hubbard (Ian Young) and Janice Sarkisian (Lyndsay Heather Pearce) she will embark on a new adventure. High School!

South Camden Theatre Company has announced their live stage production, “The Brothers Size” by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The show is directed by Damien J. Wallace, a Philadelphia based director, AEA Equity Actor and theatre teacher. 

Tonight's performance of Mean Girls has been rescheduled at the Hobby Center. Read their statement here.

The First National Tour of Mean Girls— the record-breaking new musical comedy produced by Lorne Michaels, Stuart Thompson, Sonia Friedman and Paramount Pictures based on the hit film—is coming to Overture Center on Tuesday, Aug. 30 through Sunday, Sept. 4.

Jonalyn Saxer will join the cast of DUETS: The Concert Series Volume 8 at 54 Below on August 19th, 9:30pm. Originally from Los Angeles, Jonalyn has appeared in five Broadway shows including Bullets Over Broadway, Honeymoon In Vegas, Holiday Inn, Cats, and most recently Mean Girls.

Whether young students begin their theatrical careers in their performing arts high schools or get their BFAs and then join a high-level production, Texas performers have become a staple for the arts within the United States. A point of Texas pride is that many of the states performers are treading the boards on Broadway and on tours across the country. Adriana Scalice is a recent Texas State University graduate whose dream is coming true by being cast in Mean Girls shortly after graduation. In conversation with the Bobcats alum, Adriana discusses her schooling, life after graduation, and being the Standby for some iconic characters.

A Broadway baby is on the way! Broadway favorite Kate Rockwell and husband Spencer Howard will welcome their first child this October. BroadwayWorld sends our congratulations to the growing family!

Almanac Dance Circus Theatre has selected the first recipients of the BIPOC New Work Presentation Track. These works will be part of the second annual Cannonball, an independently run Fringe Hub of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Running September 1-30, including a week of performances before the start of Fringe, Cannonball features more than 300 performances of over 65 shows,  spanning circus, dance, theater, film, and more.

The 5th Avenue Theatre has announced that Broadway's Kate Rockwell (Mean Girls, Bring it On: The Musical, Legally Blonde) and Hunter Foster (Little Shop of Horrors, The Producers, The Bridges of Madison County) will star as Ellen and Clark Griswold in the upcoming world premiere of the laugh-out-loud new musical comedy The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation.