I've had a lot of debates with people about this one. Unpopular opinion: I liked the musical better. BUT I think I have a reasonable explanation for why.
It was my sister Jo's 19th birthday, and my parents were sending us on a special trip to NYC. The only thing my mom told us was that we were going to see a Broadway show. I was ecstatic! I love being surprised with a show (I mean, who doesn't?). It almost felt like it was MY birthday instead of Jo's.
When we pulled up to the theater, I jumped out of the car and looked up at the poster for our surprise show. You guessed it: MEAN GIRLS. My heart sank a little. Don't get too mad at me for this, but I had never seen the movie. I was lowkey horrified. Obviously I was really excited, but it's definitely better to have seen the movie first to get all the jokes.
However, when the show began, I loved every minute of it (despite not having seen the movie)! Everything about it was awesome. One thing I love about live theater is the audience, which really made this musical so fun to see. People talked, cheered, laughed, and overall seemed so happy to be there, setting the night up to be one to remember. I was lucky enough to see it near the time that it opened, with most of the original cast. I loved the entire ensemble, and the choreography was incredible. Barrett Wilbert Weed completely stole my heart as Janis, and Taylor Louderman was the perfect Regina. I felt somewhat undeserving of this since I had never seen the movie, but the next day I immediately watched it to compare the two!
Don't get me wrong, the movie is totally iconic. Lindsay Lohan is the star of so many of my favorite teen movies, so I'm biased towards her. But there's something about having outbursts of song and seeing everything unfold right before your eyes live that just can't be beat. It was pretty weird seeing the two out of order; I do wish I'd gotten to see the movie first, but honestly I still think I'd like the musical better!
There's definitely pros and cons to both, but at the end of the day, they're both hilarious :)
Xo, Weezy