Broadway Baby

From left: Danielle Wade(Cady Heron), Megan Masako Haley (Gretchen Wieners), Mariah Rose Faith (Regina George), and Jonalyn Saxer (Karen Smith). PHOTOJoan Marcus

Casey Nicholaw brings big gay energy to ‘Mean Girls,’ making its Boston debut

Director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw’s musical theater baptism happened in a big way. He recalls that when he was a teenager in the late ’70s, his mother drove from their home in San Diego to Los Angeles so they could attend a Wednesday matinee of “A Chorus Line.”

“It was a huge thing. I bought the cassette tape…for me to hear a gay character have a monologue, it was like, ‘I’m not alone,’” says Nicholaw, 57, in a telephone interview. Other influential musicals of his youth, he says, include “The Wiz,” “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” “Annie” and “Evita.”

Nicholaw has brought that same smart, splashy Broadway sensibility to the many musicals he’s choreographed or directed over his illustrious career, from “The Drowsy Chaperone” to “The Book of Mormon,” from “Mean Girls” to “The Prom.” “I try to bring something for everyone,” says Nicholaw who began his career as an actor-dancer in the choruses of “Crazy for You,” “Victor/Victoria” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie” to a lead role in “Seussical The Musical.” He made his debut as choreographer on Broadway with “Spamalot” in 2005 and took on his first directing project a year later with “The Drowsy Chaperone.” “I like original musicals more than revivals,” he says. “I’m not drawn to shows that have been seen in high schools already.”

Nicholaw won a Tony Award for his co-direction and choreography with Trey Parker on the mega-hit “The Book of Mormon.” (“Trey and Matt [Stone] love musicals; it worked both as send up and as paying homage,” he says). “The Book of Mormon” is still running on Broadway along with “Aladdin,” which Nicholaw directed and choreographed.

Boston audiences can soon experience his razzle dazzle when “Mean Girls,” which Nicholaw directed and choreographed, makes its Boston debut at the Opera House January 28–February 9 as part of Broadway in Boston. This is the first national tour of the show which has been running on Broadway since it opened in April 2018.

The crowd-pleaser about an outsider, Cady Heron (Danielle Wade), whose childhood spent in Africa is nothing compared with the social jungle of her new suburban Illinois high school, which is ruled by The Plastics, a formidable trio led by the ruthless Regina George (Mariah Rose Faith). The musical is based on the 2004 movie directed by Mark Waters

Cast of “Mean Girls.” PHOTOJoan Marcus

and written by Tina Fey who also starred alongside Lindsay Lohan, Amy Poehler and Rachel McAdams.

Fey (“30 Rock”) adapted her film script into the musical’s book. Besides Nicholaw, the creative team includes Fey’s husband, composer Jeff Benjamin (“30 Rock,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) and lyricist Nell Benjamin (“Legally Blonde”), who wrote the production’s songs that include “A Cautionary Tale,” “Meet the Plastics” and “What’s Wrong with Me?”

“Movies turned into musicals have to have a reason; I have to see if they’re worthy of being a musical,” says Nicholaw. “Can you open it up enough? If I know right away, I’m in.”

“Mean Girls,” he says had immediate, universal appeal.

“Everyone can relate to not fitting in as a high school teenager. I was a big fan of the movie,” he says. At an early creative team meeting, he recalls Fey making notes on a big board. “There was a lot to cover to make the show musical-worthy. Tina understands comedy. I know how to keep a show moving with energy and keep the dancing seamless.” Even with the know-how of this creative quartet, “Mean Girls” had to make the giant leap from screen comedy to stage musical-comedy.

“We all had to ask, how do you select musical moments and keep the momentum going? It has to be about the humor,” says Nicholaw. “There is nothing worse than a comic movie turned into a musical and the humor is gone.”

Nicholaw, who’s been out since he was 16, has been in a show biz marriage for seven years (they’ve been a couple for 11 years) with Broadway hair stylist Josh Marquette. “He’s done all my shows [plus among others] ‘Kinky Boots,’ ‘School of Rock,’” says Nicholaw.”

Nicholaw took time for an interview with Boston Spirit while in rehearsals for the Netflix movie of his most recent Broadway hit, the LGBT-themed “The Prom.” The movie version, due out later this year, is directed by Ryan Murphy with an all-star cast that includes Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Awkwafina, James Corden, Ariana Grande, Keegan-Michael Key and Andrew Rannells.

A popular show on Broadway last year, “The Prom” earned six Tony Award nominations, including one for best musical. (“I wish it was still running,” says Nicholaw). It follows Emma, a lesbian high school senior in the fictional conservative town of Edgewater, Indiana who is banned from taking her girlfriend Alyssa to the school dance. When assorted former Broadway luminaries get wind of the controversy, they band together to champion the cause and rehabilitate their careers.

The pro-LGBT storyline was embraced by Broadway, says Nicholaw, but there was some pushback when a performance from “The Prom” was featured in last year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The two leads shared a kiss on live television, which was heralded as the first same-sex kiss in the parade’s history. Despite some social media criticism, “There was so much love and support,” Nicholaw says. “I’m just drawn to stories I like. I wanted to do a story about love and acceptance and people getting along.” [x] boston.broadway.com