EMILY IN PARIS STAR WINS A TONY

photos by Stephanie Branchu

Ashley Park was the only member of the original Broadway cast of Mean Girls to appear in the musical movie adaptation. Park originated the role of Gretchen Wieners on Broadway to great success, earning the show one of its 10 Tony Award nominations. While Reneé Rapp had played Regina in the Mean Girls Broadway production before booking the film role, she had been a replacement for original star Taylor Loudman.

Before moving from the stage to movies and TV with projects like Joy Ride, Beef, and Only Murders in the Building, Park was primarily a musical theatre actor. She made her Broadway debut in the ensemble of Mamma Mia! in 2014 before moving on to bigger roles in The King and I, the award-winning off-Broadway musical KPOP, and Mean Girls. With Park’s career on the rise and her involvement in the original Broadway production, it was fitting to have her make a cameo in the Mean Girls movie musical adaptation.

Following her work in Mean Girls on Broadway, Ashley Park had her breakthrough in television when she was cast as Mindy Chen in the Netflix original Emily in Paris. In the series, she plays the titular character’s first friend in Paris and an aspiring singer. Though Park doesn’t get to sing in Mean Girls 2024 or interact with Gretchen’s character, making her the French teacher could be a nod to Mindy and Emily in Paris. Casting Ashley Park in the Mean Girls movie musical allowed her to bring things full circle through nods to two of her best-known roles.

2024 made some changes from the 2004 classic, including the addition of a French teacher played by Ashley Park, who has an important connection to the source material. Mean Girls 2024 has received positive reviews, proving that audiences are still interested in the story, as well as the musical elements that were added to it. The movie musical is adapted from the 2017 Tony Award-nominated Broadway production, and both were based on the 2004 film. Along with the addition of the French teacher, Mean Girls 2024 made changes that added a unique twist to the familiar story, iconic characters, and memorable moments.

Though Mean Girls revolves around Cady, The Plastics, and her friends Damian and Janis, there is a rich supporting cast of characters that are made up of the staff at North Shore High. Tina Fey and Tim Meadows reprised their roles of Ms. Norbury, the AP calculus teacher, and Principal Duvall respectively, while Jon Hamm took on the role of Coach Carr, originally played by Dwayne Hill. For Ashley Park to make a cameo in Mean Girls 2024, the role of the French teacher was created just for her as a nod to other roles she’s played.

With breakout roles on Emily in Paris, Joy Ride, Girls5eva, Beef, and Only Murders in the Building, Ashley’s presence in a project signals that what you’re watching will be fun, fresh, and relevant. She is an ultra­modern woman—smart, kind, relatable, and uniquely beautiful. She works super hard while remaining completely at play, which is what makes her such a pleasure to watch. I predict Ashley’s career will be so long that we’ll still be watching when she has to switch to flats.