Via NPR 

Jacqueline Graif

Voices Editor

The term “theatre kid” has historically referred to an annoying, young theatre lover who likely participated in local theatre and obsessed over musicals. I grew up as one of them, performing in local theatrical productions and visiting family in New York often to hone my love of Broadway musicals. As I grew older, I learned that being a “theatre kid” would never be a cool thing, and I hid behind my love of Reneé Rapp early on into her career, and kept my Playbill collection neat. 

To my surprise, Reneé Rapp blew up and became a global pop phenomena. Her album Snow Angel debuted at #44 on the Billboard 200 in its first week as she simultaneously broke the world record for most first week sales for a female pop debut in 2023. Her sophomore album BITE ME hit #3 in the Billboard 200 in August, marking Rapp’s first Billboard Top 10 in her career thus far. 

Following Rapp’s first album, she revived her Broadway role (2019) as “Regina George” in the movie adaptation of Mean Girls: The Musical. In reprising the role, not only did she attract her already large theatre fanbase, but her new fanbase from her music. The marketing for the movie then purposefully did not include any indication that it was a musical, to attract people who loved the 2004 cult classic. Auli’i Cravalho, who played Janis Ian, also starred in the movie, attracting her fans from Disney’s Moana franchise, where she originates the voice of the eponymous character. Non-theatre lovers piled into movie theatres, and unknowingly watched a musical adaptation of Mean Girls. The movie absolutely blew up on social media as it was not received well by critics, but is generally adored for its nods to pop-culture and sapphic themes that were not predominant in the original film. 

The blow up of Mean Girls: The Musical in 2024 caused a new fanbase to rise, skyrocketing the original Broadway cast album with streams up by 200% since the film’s January release, according to Playbill. This will kickstart a new era of non-theatre lovers who will listen to Mean Girls and transform into theatre kids, with their newfound love of musicals through the charms of pop-star Reneé Rapp.

Similarly, last year, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo starred in Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, an adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical. Though considered a “classic musical” to theatre lovers, it was mostly unknown to the public. The casting of stars like Ariana and Cynthia, who have both been on Broadway and could be considered theatre kids themselves, lured in a fresh audience. Other big stars appeared in the movie, such as Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Fellow Travellers), Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live!), Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, Independence Day), and Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once, Crazy Rich Asians). These big names created a stir on social media, as new fans became curious about the movie. These stars bring a certain legitimacy to the Wicked storyline that almost strips it off its total nerdiness, and brings in a set of sophisticated actors to something otherwise niche. 

As an original fan of the Broadway musical, I was very excited to see an entirely new audience appear for something that was lesser known. Marketing for this movie was incredible, as brands such as Target and Starbucks, among many others, released their own collections of Wicked merchandise to create buzz around the film’s release. Memes arose through Ariana and Cynthia’s press tours, such as the “Holding space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity” (Tracey E. Gilchrist) meme. The movie became beloved by movie-goers, and accumulated $165 million in its opening weekend globally, says Variety. Fans love Chu’s attention to detail, showcase of LGBTQIA+ characterizations, and casting choices as the musical has life breathed into it from its first original staging in 2004. 

Since Wicked was made into a two-part movie, making it a total of 5 hours long, the second part Wicked: For Good will hit theatres on November 21st. While the sequel has yet to release, it is expected to have similar success to the first part, given that the trailer for the sequel hit over 113M views in its first 24 hours, surpassing its predecessor by 38M views, states Variety. Highly anticipated, Wicked: For Good is likely going to break more box office records and, of course, touch the hearts of watchers everywhere. 

“With the rise of movie musicals such as Wicked and Mean Girls becoming a part of popular culture, it is fair to say that theatre kids are becoming cool again.”

The beloved movies, whether for their memes, popular actors, or beautiful execution, have given life to a new-era of theatre kids deriving from their love of these new cinematic musical masterpieces. The younger generations are looking up to pop-stars Rapp and Grande, and are even dressing up as Glinda and Elphaba for Halloween. The newfound communal love for classic musical theatre will spread into the new generation, and bloom a love of theatre that will last a lifetime. Even though movie musicals are a different way of appreciating theatre, it allows a bigger population to connect through beloved source material.