Here’s why Mean Girls wasn’t sold as a musical in its marketing

Mean Girls being a musical was purposely hidden during the marketing, and the reason was obviously a way to make more money at the box office.

People have been kicking off about feeling duped into seeing an all-singing, all-dancing affair – something that not everyone likes – after seeing the trailer for the film. For those already in the know, the new Mean Girls was obviously a musical because it is based on the Broadway show that debuted in 2018. Obviously, the stage show was inspired by the 2004 teen comedy that starred Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and Lacy Chabert. It also saw Tina Fey write the book and join forces with her composer husband, Jeff Richmond. The pair have a history of adding musical numbers to their projects like The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

However, this info surpassed many who were not aware of the goings on of the New York theatre scene. This might be because of the reputation theatre kids have or just disinterest. Either way, Paramount considered this movie musical apathy when putting together its promotional material. When producing the trailer and all the other marketing stuff, it was motivated by the fear of missing out on the mass market appeal. This fear came from its assertion that people treat the genre “differently” to other kinds of movies. Do you mean to tell me there were kids who didn’t love the Rodgers and Hammerstein movies their grandmothers would put on? Or even have grandmothers who thought Rodgers and Hammerstein were the bridge that would unite the young and old? Wild.

people while watching the new mean girls movie and realizing it’s a musical pic.twitter.com/X77cMXlS6W

— adam driver in francis ford coppola’s megalopolis (@stunninggun) January 15, 2024

“We didn’t want to run out and say it’s a musical because people tend to treat musicals differently,” Marc Weinstock, a studio executive, told Variety magazine.

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“To start off saying musical, musical, musical, you have the potential to turn off audiences,” he continued. “I want everybody to be equally excited.”

Paramount’s marketing president says they didn’t market ‘MEAN GIRLS’ as a musical because “people tend to treat musicals differently.”

“To start off saying musical, musical, musical, you have the potential to turn off audiences.”

(Source: https://t.co/08y5g3Ef4m) pic.twitter.com/zVbMzE9y4G

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 15, 2024

Marc defended his decision, arguing the film was not really a musical. It was instead a “broad comedy with music”, which is a bit what? It’s quite literally a musical, but go off. Musicals can be about anything, including a revamped version of a millennial high school classic with a Gen-Z spin. Andrew Lloyd-Webber has built a career on making smash-hit musicals on topics that get you to go, ‘What?’ when you ask for the sypnosis.

What was the reaction to finding out Mean Girls was a musical after all the glossy marketing?

Lots of people made their confusion about this strategy known on social media. Some were outright annoyed at what they felt was one big “lie”.

“It’s best to not lie to your potential audience for a film you are marketing,” one person said.

Others pointed out similarities with the Timothée Chalamet-led Wonka, which was notable for making audiences feel they had been tricked into sitting through a musical.

These stories of people getting upset at screenings after discovering that WONKA or MEAN GIRLS or whatever is a musical are hilarious, because if you hate musicals then you probably deserve to be miserable.

— Bilge Ebiri (@BilgeEbiri) January 15, 2024

Some people were fans of all this trickery and found it all very  “hilarious” as it meant heartless weirdos who don’t like musicals have to suffer.

“These stories of people getting upset at screenings after discovering that WONKA or MEAN GIRLS or whatever is a musical are hilarious, because if you hate musicals then you probably deserve to be miserable,” one person quipped.

Some others were quick to dub anyone unaware it was a musical before heading to the cinema as “daft” because of the ample amount of information about being a musical. This is despite the marketing campaign. Namely, all the Broadway stars such as Reneé Rapp, who played Regina George on stage before reprising her role in the cinematic adaptation.

One person wrote: “If you genuinely bought #MeanGirls tickets not knowing it was a musical imma think you’re a little daft because…?”

Anyway, now you know that the film is indeed a musical. Luckily for those still interested, it is in theatres now!

Related stories recommended by this writer:

∙ Seven times Reneé Rapp was iconically unhinged on the Mean Girls press tour

∙ Lindsay Lohan is apparently demanding a joke be edited out of the Mean Girls movie musical

∙Despite what Twitter says, no Ayo Edebiri isn’t actually Irish

Photo credit: Mean Girls (2024)