Actress Barrett Wilbert Weed is very fond of the character she plays in the new Broadway musical, “Mean Girls,” now at New York’s August Wilson Theatre. But she’s not sure the feeling would be mutual.
“I love her. Janis Sarkisian is one of my most favorite characters I’ve ever gotten to play. She’s young, but she’s wise. She’s a visual artist and a good one, too, which I respect,” said Weed recently by telephone from New York.
“I would hope we’d be friends, but I don’t know if I’d be cool enough to hang out with her, which is what the story of this show is about. It’s about childhood traumas, being picked on and made to feel less than someone else, and how you deal with that.”
The musical is a stage adaptation of the 2004 hit film comedy of the same name, written by Tina Fey and based in part on Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 non-fiction self-help book, “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” about the damage female social cliques can do to high school girls.
A Cambridge native whose mother, Joanne Wilbert, lives just outside Harvard Square, Weed says she had experiences growing up that allow her to relate to her current project.
“I was picked on a lot. I grew up feeling not welcome, not wanted in school. When you’re a kid, the last thing you want to be is different. Later, it’s all you want to be.”
“My mother fought really hard to get me into Walnut Hill School for the Arts which is where I went for high school. It’s an amazing place — like Hogwarts. Walnut Hill saved my life,” says Weed of the independent Natick boarding school.
In the musical, the character of Cady Heron grew up home-schooled on an African savanna. That didn’t prepare her, however, for the mercilessness of some of some of her high-school classmates in her new hometown in suburban Illinois.
To survive, Cady must prevail against the Plastics, a toxic trio led by the deceptively charming Regina George. Before Cady can knock Regina off her Plastics perch, she learns the hard way that when you cross a Queen Bee, you often get stung.
Just as happy to be on the outside looking in, Janis and her friend, Damian Hubbard, try to steer Cady away from the trouble-making troika. When that doesn’t work, Janis decides to work Cady into her own revenge plot against Regina.
Weed well remembers her first impression of the fiercely independent — and just plain fierce — Janis.
“When I saw the movie, I was intimidated by Janis, but I knew immediately she was just the coolest. I think Janis and Damian are the most universal characters in the story.”
The film itself had lasting impact on the actress and singer, too.
“It’s one of my favorite movies. It’s the first time I saw female aggression dealt with in a real and sensitive way, which was especially impressive because it was a comedy.”
The musical is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (“The Book of Mormon”), features a book by Fey (“30 Rock”), music by her husband, Jeff Richmond (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), and lyrics by Nell Benjamin (“Legally Blonde: The Musical”).
“There is a song in act two that really sums up Janis. It’s called ‘I’d Rather Be Me,’ and it’s about people not wanting girls to be anything but nice. One of the lyrics Janis sings is, ‘I’d rather be me than be with you,’” says Weed.
As Weed sees it, the message that Janis and Damian convey is to be yourself and don’t tailor your life to suit other people. It’s a lesson Weed says she learned at a young age.
“I dealt with all kinds of mean girls in middle school. From early on, however, I was drawn to performing as an outlet. I did shows with the Boston Children’s Opera Company from the time I was about five to maybe 13 or 14. Performing ended up being the most important thing in my life.
Weed — whose first Broadway experience was as an understudy in the short-lived 2011 musical “Lysistrata Jones” — vividly recalls the impact one particular Walnut Hill faculty member had on her.
“Joe Cabral is director of theater at the school and he is an enormous presence. I truly learned from him. The standards at Walnut Hill are exceptionally high. You are expected to be at your best no matter what you’re doing.
“I’ve never since been held to the standards of professionalism and taste that I was held to in high school,” says Weed who earned her BFA in Musical Theatre from Elon University in North Carolina.
“That’s how I became a real artist — with Joe’s voice in my head telling me, ‘You can do better.’ I still hear it to this day and it inspires me all the time.”
These days, she’s putting that inspiration to work for a creative team that includes nine-time Emmy Award winner Fey and three-time Emmy winner Richmond.
“Tina and Jeff are great. They’re both so talented and smart. I think I just got over being nervous around them. I felt it leaving my body just the other day,” recalls Weed with a laugh. I feel like they’re my friends now, which is weird to say.”
Less odd, given the popularity of the movie, is the positive reaction the show is getting.
“After every performance, there are truckloads of young girls at the stage door,” according to Weed. “They’re so enthusiastic and so honest. They’ll tell you exactly what they like and don’t like. They really help you see what’s valuable and what is not.”
credit:holbrook.wickedlocal.com