Musical star of "Mean Girls" visits Colorado high school, winner of "Bobby G Award"
Thunder Ridge High School in Highlands Ranch was selected as the school to hear from Alexys Morera, who portrays Janis Ian in the production. The school was selected due to its recent success with its own adaptation of the show in 2024.
"We were nominated and won the Bobby G Award for outstanding musical," said Gabi Karl, a recent graduate of the high school.
The Bobby G Awards are hosted by the DCPA, the same entity currently showing "Mean Girls" at the Buell Theatre in Denver.
"It was the most fun I have ever had in musical theatre," said Zack Rymkiewicz, a junior at Thunder Ridge.
"We all worked together really well. Everybody was so uplifting and supportive," Karl said.
So, on Wednesday, Morera welcomed the students to their own theatre by singing them one of the most popular songs from the show. She then took questions from the students for nearly an hour.
"Human interaction is one of the best parts of this job," Morera told CBS Colorado. "It is so great to see so much joy for theatre and kids doing theatre. It is one of the things that got me through high school."
Morera gave students tips on everything from how to land their first professional role to how to maintain your vocals while performing eight times a week.
"It shows you the musicals you do in high school are not just for high school," Rymkiewicz said. "To see an actual Broadway star who plays Janis, it was such a great thing to watch. It makes you feel like wow, I can do that someday."
Mean Girls will play the Buell Theatre for one week alone and opened Tuesday night.
"It is inspiring," Karl said. "It is nice to see someone on that level and tell their story re-inspires, brings back the flame and makes you want to do it even more."
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