Mean Girls, book by Tina Fey, music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, based on the film of the same name, at the August Wilson Theatre, has a cast of pretty young girls and handsome young men, choreographed and directed by Casey Nicholaw. The theater was filled with young teenage girls. They applauded wildly. They were obviously the fans of the movie, which I did not see. It is about a clique of girls in a high school, and a new girl, who wants to join the group.  I attended an all boys high school, founded in 1688, outside Manchester, England, from 1943-1947. Arriving in New York, I attended another all boys school in the Bronx for one semester, and finished my high school education, at a co-ed Bayside H.S. from February 1948-Jan-1949. All three schools were wonderful. The girls at Bayside H.S. were pretty, clever, polite and pleasant. I do not recall one mean girl. It is hard for me to relate to movie and stage characters who portray dumb, obnoxious, vacuous and vicious girls. As a musical, the music was loud, and hardly memorable, and the choreography consisted of active movements by an energetic cast, and again hardly memorable. The lyrics were banal. The book had occasional funny lines. If the musical represents American high school girls, I fear for this country's future.

A revival of Children  of a Lesser God, by Mark Medoff, at Studio 54, is a play about a teacher (Joshua Jackson) and a deaf student (Lauren Ridloff). They fall in love and marry. Trying to achieve success in their marriage is difficult, and eventually cause both of them much distress and sadness. The two actors are remarkable, one speaks, the other uses signs language, and they both give outstanding performances. I imagine they will receive Tony nominations. The seven member cast is directed by Kenny Leon. The opening night audience granted them a thunderous ovation at the curtain call. The opening night party at the Edison Ballroom attracted a multitude of celebrities like Cady Huffman, Phylicia Rashad, Rosie O'Donnell, and the playwright and his wife Stephanie who attended the show and the-party, arriving from New Mexico for the occasion. It was a most enjoyable evening.
 

A revival of Carousel, music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the play Liliom, by Ferenc Molnar, has the most glorious music ever written by Rodgers. It was his favorite musical. It has also the most sentimental lyrics by Hammerstein. A song like You'll Never Walk Alone has almost become an anthem. If I Loved You is a magnificent duet and the solo Soliloquy is incomparable. It is a pleasure to listen to all of songs, especially with outstanding singers like Jessie Mueller, Joshua Henry, Renee Fleming, Lindsay Mendez and Alexander Gemignani. Jack O'Brien directed the excellent cast and Justin Peck was responsible for the choreography. The highlight of this New York City Ballet's dancer and choreographer was all male Blow High, Blow Low, which received  a thunderous applause. The story is a little grim, because the hero is abusive to his wife, but all is resolved at the end when he returns to earth for one day after committing suicide in a botched robbery. The opening night party at Cipriani 25 Broadway was filled with guests like Ted Chapin, John Lithgow and Ben Vereen..