Jeff Richmond Says MEAN GIRLS Songs Have Been 'Reinvented' For Movie Musical

The new film is currently in development at Paramount.

By: Jan. 27, 2023
Jeff Richmond Says MEAN GIRLS Songs Have Been 'Reinvented' For Movie Musical
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Composer Jeff Richmond has given an update on the upcoming musical film adaption of Mean Girls.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Richmond stated that he and his wife, Tina Fey, are working "day-to-day" on the new movie musical, revealing that the music has been "reinvented" for the big screen.

"What we're trying to do [with the movie] is take the score that sounds like a Broadway score - in a good way - and [give] the movie a fresher palette. To make it sound more like stuff you want to listen to on Spotify, as opposed to when you're sitting eighth row center at a Broadway theater or the Pantages. It's kind of making it a fresher, younger take on the whole thing. We've kind of reinvented the music for the movie, so it's really fun," he shared.

The film is set to be produced by Lorne Michaels and Tina Fey with the musical's writing team, including Fey's book and music by Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin, returning for the screen adaption.

It was recently announced that the movie will feature Angourie Rice as Cady Heron, Auli'i Cravalho as Janis, Jaquel Spivey as Damian and Reneé Rapp reprising her Broadway role as Regina George. Further casting has not yet been announced.

The teen comedy follows Cady Heron, who may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order?

By taking on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina's reign, she learns the hard way that you can't cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.

Mean Girls opened on Broadway in 2018 and earned 10 Tony nominations. The production closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos



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