For the 94th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, members of the cast of Mean Girls reunited, performing publicly for the first time since the March Broadway shutdown due to COVID-19. In honor of the occasion, star Reneé Rapp gave Playbill a behind-the-scenes look at filming the performance.
“Back in 2018, when I started auditioning for Mean Girls, I was cramming to memorize lines and lyrics on the plane to NYC, and I was so anxious. Then, [earlier this month] on my flight from LA to NYC, I remembered that trip in 2018," Rapp explained. "I remembered looking out at the literal pink sky and thinking, 'If I could get this, it might change my life.' Now we just filmed for the parade with the Mean Girls family, and I still can’t believe I get to perform with these guys. It’s still unreal. I miss it. I even miss it eight times a week. But after filming the parade, I found new hope, and I know it’ll be back and better.”
In addition to Mean Girls, this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade featured performances from Hamilton, Jagged Little Pill, and Ain’t Too Proud. This year’s celebration was reworked for public safety, with the Broadway stars performing in pre-taped segments and the Parade spectacle condensed to one city block on 34th Street, primarily just for broadcast rather than in-person crowds.
