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Smash-hit musical Mean Girls to open in Manchester at start of its first UK tour
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Emily Sergeant -
2nd July 2025 
One of the most popular new musicals of the last decade is set to head out on its first-ever UK tour early next year.
And it’ll be kicking things off here in Manchester.
Based on the iconic 2004 movie of the same name, which is known and loved right across the globe, Mean Girls The Musical debuted at to huge success at the National Theatre in Washington D.C in 2017, before transferring to Broadway in April 2018, again to ecstatic responses where it played to sold-out theatres most nights.
The show then went on a hugely-successful US tour in 2019 and recently completed a second US tour.
Continuing on its run, the production then opened in the West End in 2024, where it was seen by more than 330,000 people over its run and recently took home the coveted ‘Best New Musical’ award at the 2025 WhatsOnStage Awards.
Not only that, but in 2024, you may remember that the new musical twist on the fan-favourite from the comedic mind of Tina Fey was released as a new feature film with sensational musical performances.
But for the first time ever, the rest of the UK is about to get a slice of the action.
Mean Girls The Musical will be heading out on tour early next year, and it’s us lucky musical lovers of Manchester that’ll get to see it before anyone else, as it’s landing on the legendary Manchester Opera House stage in February 2026.
Unfamiliar with the plot of Mean Girls The Musical? Just like the film, the musical follows Regina, Gretchen, and Karen, otherwise known as ‘The Plastics’ of North Shore High, as they meet homeschooled new girl, Cady Heron, as finds out that high school is a whole new level of savage.
When Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a queen bee without getting stung.
Expect iconic characters, razor-sharp wit, and killer songs.
Mean Girls The Musical has a book by Tina Fey, music and vocal arrangements by Jeff Richmond, lyrics, and direction and choreography by Casey Nicholaw and Nell Benjamin, among many other big names of the theatre world involved.
Read more:
- A new theatre show based on the Oasis and Blur rivalry is heading to Manchester
- Smash-hit musical Legally Blonde is returning to the Manchester stage
- Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon to kick off UK tour in Manchester
The tour will open at Manchester Opera House on 23 February 2026, before touring to venues across the UK and Ireland until the end of January 2027.
Tickets will go on general sale tomorrow (Thursday 3 July) at 10am here.
Featured Image – Brinkhoff Mögenburg
