Mean Girls will not return to Broadway when theaters re-open

Mean Girls has become the latest Broadway show to close in the wake of the pandemic.

On Thursday, producers announced that the musical will not reopen on Broadway when theaters return from the COVID-19 shutdown. The show closes after playing 833 performances at the August Wilson Theatre. It will continue to reach audiences with plans to resume its National Tour and a film adaptation in the works.

"'Irregardless,' the time has come for us to say 'Goodbye' to Broadway as we will not be reopening upon its return," a statement on Twitter read. "As Karen Smith once said, everything is really two things. Yes, this news makes us want to cry into our cheese fries. But this is also only the beginning for Mean Girls the Musical, and we have much to look forward to! We'll see you soon on our National Tour, which resumes performances this summer and the upcoming film adaptation from Paramount Pictures."

Based on the film of the same name, Mean Girls was produced by Lorne Michaels, Stuart Thompson, Sonia Friedman, and Paramount Pictures. It features a book by Emmy winner Tina Fey, which she wrote from her screenplay, as well as music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde). Tony winner Casey Nicholaw directed and choreographed the show, which opened on Broadway on April 8, 2018. At the time, EW's Kristen Baldwin dubbed the production a "lively, frequently hilarious adaptation of Tina Fey’s 2004 high school comedy."

"Thank you to the brilliant creative team, cast and crew that brought Mean Girls to life from our first reading to final performance," said Michaels in a statement. "We remain excited to bring this musical to the big screen, relaunch the tour and prepare for a London production. I look forward to the day, hopefully soon, when theaters can open their doors again."

Mean Girls isn't the first Broadway show to shutter permanently due to the prolonged COVID-19 shutdown of theaters, which will have stretched well past a year by the time of projected re-opening in June. Other titles that have announced they will not return include Disney's adaptation of Frozen, a starry revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and the Martin McDonagh play Hangmen.

"The chance to bring this show to Broadway, with such a talented young ensemble and five astounding female leads, has been a dream come true," said Fey in a statement. "And to our fierce and dedicated fans — the limit of our gratitude does not exist."

Fey recently hosted NBC's Best of Broadway special, which featured multiple performances from the Broadway cast of Mean Girls.

Related content:

• Tina Fey is turning her Mean Girls musical into a movie
• Broadway's Danny Burstein grapples with the loss of wife Rebecca Luker in devastating essay: 'There is a void'
• Hear a delicious bonus track from Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical