‘That’s so fetch’: Parent saves ‘Mean Girls’ production in Las Vegas
When Jillian Anderson found out that the spring production of “Mean Girls” was canceled, she said she had to get dragged out of the classroom because she could not breathe.
“Theater — and especially this musical — was the only reason I was showing up to school at all,” Anderson, 17, said. “I don’t show up anymore. I am never in class, just because I don’t have a will or a drive to be there anymore.”
The high school students at Del Sol Academy of the Performing Arts had been rehearsing for their annual spring musical for two months when school officials told them they were canceling the show.
“This season, we had an overlap in the casts and crew of our major productions. This overlap has significantly reduced the available rehearsal time for each show,” a March 3 letter from school administrators read. “Regrettably, due to these scheduling conflicts and the resulting lack of adequate preparation time, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our planned production of Mean Girls.”
Asked about the decision, Assistant Principal Melissa Mendoza directed the Las Vegas Review-Journal to the Clark County School District communications department, which did not respond to a request for comment.
At first, parent Selma Greer, whose daughter is in the musical, thought she could save the school’s show. She sent emails, arranged meetings and even started a petition. But her efforts proved fruitless. So, she did what she felt she had to do: paid $5,000 for the rights to the show, found a venue and put the show on herself.
The “Mean Girls” musical is a 2018 version of the 2004 movie about the complex social dynamics of an American high school. It stars Cady Heron, who moves from Africa to the United States and infiltrates the mean girls group known as “The Plastics.”
The show will debut at the Notoriety theater on Fremont Street on Friday with a 4 and 7 p.m. show, followed by Sunday’s 1:30 and 5 p.m. shows. The tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students.
Devastated at cancellation
School administrators called what Greer said was an abrupt meeting on March 3. They pulled students into a room and announced the cancellation, handing them a letter for their parents. Most students broke out into tears, the teenagers said.
“I was like, ‘This is my last show. How am I going to recover from this?’” Sevyn Schwurack, 18, said.
The students remain confused about the exact reason for the cancellation. They said they heard a wide range of explanations, including a burst pipe in the theater, a scheduling issue and a problem with the rights.
“There was a different story every time,” Anderson said.
One key component was the school’s removal of Theater Director Ernest Curcio from direct involvement with the show, though he remains employed at the school. That’s another aspect that is somewhat mysterious to the students, who cherished him as a director.
Curcio did not respond to a request for comment.
“Before I came, I was so closed off, and I wasn’t open,” Kaydance Greer, 15, said. “I was so shy. He helped me come out of my shell.”
Other students echoed their former director’s passion and the effect he had on them.
“When I first got here, I really wanted nothing to do with theater,” Stormbringer Gray, 17, said. “But Mr. Curcio made it so welcoming that I ended up falling in love with theater. It really helped me go through a tough time.”
But regardless of the reasoning behind the cancellation, there was no confusion about the devastation the students felt.
“Most of the adults really try and help us as much as they can. And it just really hurts, because admin, it’s your job to do a certain thing and make sure that happens for the kids that you’re taking care of,” Sen Preston, 16, said.
‘Saved my life’
The students began rehearsing at Positively Arts on March 11 three times a week, 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Selma Greer started a gofundme to raise money.
Pilita Simpson, founder and CEO of Positively Arts, provided her studio, tech support and microphones at a heavy discount. Ken Henderson offered his venue, Notoriety, also at a discount.
“It just was breaking my heart,” Selma Greer said. “So I just bought the rights to the musical, and I said, ‘OK, let’s do it anyway.’ And then all everybody came together. It takes a village.”
Two days before opening night, students strutted across the Positively Arts center on Wednesday, practicing numbers like “Meet the Plastics.”
Students thanked Selma Greer for her commitment to them, saying she saved them.
“Every time we come to these rehearsals, I get excited,” Ariyah Boozer, 16, said. “I’m falling in love with my character, and I just see everyone else fall in love with their characters and get to work together.”
Despite the heartache students initially experienced when school officials canceled the production, Boozer said the show’s current form feels like it is meant to be.
“It feels like we’re not doing it in spite of someone else. It feels like we are doing it because it’s something we want to to do,” Boozer said.
For Anderson, it meant the world.
“This saved my life. These people, this show, Ms. Greer, saved me. I couldn’t be more grateful for anything in this world,” Anderson said.
Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.