The spring musical at LJMS, Mean Girls Jr, is coming soon. Each school year, we have two shows, one in the fall and one in the spring. In November, we had our fall play, Aesop Live, which had many fables from Aesop being acted out on the stage. In a week, it will be our spring musical’s opening night. But what is a musical?
What is a musical?
A musical is similar to a play, but they are primarily different in a few ways. Here are a few ways musicals differ from plays. Firstly, as written in its name, musicals contain music. A musical is a show told by actors on stage, conveyed by spoken lines, singing songs, and dancing.
There are many different ways music is used in musicals, whether it’s background music played during transitions between separate scenes or accompaniment tracks to songs. However, in order for it to be considered a musical, a show must have songs in it that are sung by the cast, and the song is always related to the plot of the story.
Musicals also have choreography, which is a fancy word for dancing. Usually, a large group performs a synchronized dance routine during a musical number (especially ensemble numbers). Ensemble members are background dancers, singers, and actors with small parts, sometimes a small solo. Ensemble numbers are songs where a large group performs together.
Some examples of musicals are Annie, Hamilton, Wicked, and of course, Mean Girls.
Our Musical!
Our talented cast and crew have been rehearsing for LJ’s spring musical, Mean Girls Jr. They have been working hard for several months, perfecting every dance move and song lyric. The musical is directed by Ms Stacey and choreographed by Zena Nguon. The music director for Mean Girls is Ms Ballou. In addition to our cast rehearsing several times a week, the show crew and production crew, directed by Mr McLellan, have also been contributing to making this show the very best.
Things You Need To Know:
- The run time for the show is approximately an hour to an hour and a half.
- The dates and times for the performances of Mean Girls are as follows: May 1st at 7pm, May 2nd at 7pm, and May 3rd at 2:30pm and 7pm.
- During the matinee/2:30 show, sixth graders are welcome to meet the cast and take pictures with them!
- There are purchasable flowers at the door that you can buy for your favorite cast or crew member(s).
- Tickets can be bought in the cafeteria or on the Luther Jackson website for $6. They can also be bought at the door, right before the show starts, for $8.
- All of the four performances will occur in the auditorium (you’ll see it when you walk in through the front door!).
- Make sure you tell everyone you know about this musical!
Mean Girls Plot
Before Mean Girls was a musical, it was a movie. The plot of the movie and the musical are the same: A teenage girl, Cady Heron, moves back to America after living in Kenya for many years. She attends high school for the first time in her life. She quickly makes two friends, Janis and Damian. However, Cady is invited into a friend group by the most popular girls in school, the Plastics. There, Cady learns how difficult it is to fit in, and not to fall under the influence of others.
Conclusion
Mean Girls is an amazing musical, and the world of theater is mesmerizing. Make sure not to miss out: seize the opportunity and come to see Mean Girls Jr at LJMS!
