Meet the Plastics — Anya Seet, Maici Guise, and Kaitlyn Seitz-Pruitt play the ultra-terrifying ‘Plastics’ in the LAHS Olions production of Mean Girls, which runs for one more weekend. Photo by Timothy Talley
Calculust — Mattea Clarkson and Sumner Tholen shine as Cady Heron and her crush Aaron in Mean Girls. Photo by Timothy Talley
Damian — Isabella Gietsos, Mattea Clarkson, and Gyasi Atta-Fynn will win your heart as Janice, Cady, and Damian in the Olions’ musical Mean Girls. Photo by Timothy Talley
BY KELLY DOLEJSI
Los Alamos
There is nothing more fetch than Los Alamos High School Olions’ production of Mean Girls. You have one more weekend to laugh, cringe, and join in on all your favorite quotes from the movie — or to experience the classic tale of high school horrors for the very first time.
The musical will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday at Duane Smith Auditorium, 1300 Diamond Drive. The understudy show will be Friday.
Tickets at $20/$10 students are available at the door and online at https://onthestage.tickets/
It’s ridiculous how many strong performances these kids packed into one show. Leads Mattea Clarkson (Cady), Izzy Gletsos (Janice), Gyasi Attafyn (Damian), and Maici Guise (Regina) sang, acted, and danced their way into my cool-mom heart in one stunning number after another, including but not limited to “Where Do You Belong?”, “Meet the Plastics”, “Stupid With Love”, “Apex Predator” and — OMG — “World Burn” and “I’d Rather Be Me.”
Regina’s minions, the so-called “plastics”, played by Anya Seet (Gretchen) and Kaitlyn Seitz-Pruitt (Karen) were so committed to their characters, they were completely transformed. I laughed so hard I cried at Seitz-Pruitt’s intro to “Sexy”. And on the other end of the tear spectrum, I had a lovely, cathartic, quiet sob during Seet’s solo, “What’s Wrong With Me”.
Sumner Tholen gave an impressive performance as Aaron, Cady’s math-boy crush, and I loved Keira Fichtl as calculus teacher Ms. Norbury — you might remember her character from the film, where she was played by the inestimable Tina Fey, who also wrote both the movie and the musical. Fichtl nailed that sweet, deadpan sarcasm.
But one of the best parts of the show for me was Christine Benkoski’s choreography. Her hardworking dancers are in nearly every scene — the cafeteria, the art studio, a Halloween party, a small gathering at Cady’s house — and wherever they are, they add so much life, spirit, fun, excitement, hilarity, and/or angst to the action onstage.
I particularly enjoyed the ingenious hip-hop for “Who’s House is This?” — one of my favorite scenes of the show, despite its disturbing portrayal of underage drinking. Most excellent rapping, Zach Sestric! And the laugh-out-loud number “Stop!” is full of fabulous surprises.
Infinite kudos to Benkoski and dance captains Eliana Lobato and Maici Guise, as well as director Megan Pimentel and music director Louisa Singleton. Pimentel and Singleton did an amazing job harnessing these kids’ talents, not only for singing and acting but for things the audience might not think about, like set and costume design. They put together a beautiful and entertaining show.
And I know some of them are shy, but shout out anyhow to the live pit orchestra, which features several local students and adults, including LAHS’s own Ryan Finn.
Definitely come see the main cast — but if you can come twice, do it! The understudy show is bound to be fantastic as well. It will star Abby Clay as Cady, Iris Butcher as Janis, Zach Sestric as Damian, Naomi Miller as Regina, Bryanna Lierly as Karen, and Annabelle Deburgomaster as Gretchen.
Congratulations to all cast members, including Alyssa Sanders, Anna Gattis, Anna Ferenbaugh, Aubrey Rushton, Eliana Lobato, Gloria Marksteiner, Ian Mackey, Jo Cambell-Martinez, Karly Seitz-Pruitt, Kat Didier, and Lily McDonald. These dancers/singers/actors are in almost every scene, and absolutely critical to the show’s success.
Congratulations, too, to the crew, whose long hours of work are as essential as the performers’: stage manager Ariela Rittner, lighting and set designer Ester Keiter, costume designer Emmy Smith, and makeup designer Victor Markos, as well as Maddie Sutton, Teddy James, Alex Sheats, Ash Sapp, June Neilsen, Dyami Shorty, Kai Parker, Ruben Diaz-Jimenez, Morgan “Sal” Dewitt, Jolene Campbell-Martinez, Madison Ross, and Nora Ticknor.
Full disclosure: Kelly Dolejsi is a member of the Olions Booster Club Board. But she really does think this is one of the best high-school shows she’s ever seen.
Dancers — Christine Benkoski’s choreography is one of the highlights of Mean Girls Photo by Timothy Talley
We Wear Pink — Anyone who has seen the movie Mean Girls will remember the Plastics’ classic and cruel Burn Book. Photo by Timothy Talley