Tina Fey Praises ‘Mean Girls’ Musical Cast As ‘Baby Timberlakes’

The musical production of “Mean Girls” is finally happening and if Tina Fey’s update on the musical is any indication, the cast of the show will be great and full of a bunch of “baby Timberlakes.”

Appearing on NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” Fey, who wrote the original film, praised the cast, saying, “Like, these kids are so talented. We have the cast now. We’ve been rehearsing for about a month. There’s a bunch of baby Timberlakes. Everyone can do everything! They just sing so loud and they dance so hard.”

While Fey has been in her share of what she calls “movie musicals,” the actress said it's much different from the stage. “The secret with movie musicals is you can secretly suck and be a star,” but after seeing the moves the cast had to learn, Fey was baffled by how fast they picked up on everything.

Expected to premiere on Broadway in 2018, Fey confirmed that the “Mean Girls” musical would first make its debut in Washington, D.C. “When it’s a new show, you practice it here and then you go out of town — either to Chicago or La Jolla or wherever. We’re going to D.C. We’re at the National Theatre,” she told Jimmy Fallon. “I mean, I’ll probably come back here like five more times before we actually come to Broadway, but it’s a real thing now.”

The “30 Rock” star also spoke about her husband who is behind the production as well. “My husband, Jeff Richmond, is writing all the music, and this woman, Nell Benjamin, is writing all the lyrics. It’s really exciting.” Additionally, Casey Nicholaw will direct and choreograph the production, while Lorne Michaels and Stuart Thompson will produce it.

According to The National Theatre, the musical follows Cady Heron moving to Illinois after years of living with her zoologist parents in Africa. “A sweet, naive newbie, Cady quickly attracts the attention of The Plastics, a trio of popular frenemies led by the vicious and calculating Regina George. When Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.”

Originally released in 2004, plans for a “Mean Girls” musical had been in the works since 2013. “We want to. I would love to,” Fey said at the time. “I’m trying to develop it with my husband [Jeff Richmond], who does all the music for ‘30 Rock,’ and I think Paramount’s onboard.”

As for a sequel to the film, in 2016, Lindsay Lohan revealed her interests in creating another film in the franchise. “I have been trying so hard to do a ‘Mean Girls 2.’ It is not in my hands,” she said in a Facebook Live chat with CNN, according to Entertainment Weekly. “I know Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels and all of Paramount are very busy. But I will keep forcing it and pushing it on them until we do it.”