New Mean Girls Star Reneé Rapp Loves Sweatpants Too Much to Be a Real-Life Plastic

While college freshman across the country are discovering their favorite dining halls, becoming friends with their roommates and breaking up with their high school sweethearts, Reneé Rapp is once again stepping into the bright pink shoes of Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway. After winning at the 2018 Jimmy Awards, the North Carolina native took over the role from original cast member Taylor Louderman for a quick stint, but now Rapp is here to stay. She sat down with Broadway.com in honor of becoming the Queen Bee full-time to talk all about going from high school IRL to Broadway high school, original music and her affinity for sweatpants.

Sporty Spice
Rapp, a Charlotte native, never realized theater would be a part of her future. "I grew up playing a lot of sports and doing musical theater" she said. "I mostly just danced and put on concerts for my family and neighbors. We were really a sports-oriented family." After seeing that Rapp needed some extra motivation, her parents switched her to a school that better suited her burgeoning performing talents. "My sophomore year, I transferred from a public high school to an arts school, and, obviously, it didn't have any sports for me to do. I always liked art and music and it was what I wanted to do. It was a lot easier to transition into it when I didn't have a choice. There was a lot of tough love, but it really prepared me for this."

Leading Ladies
Growing up in North Carolina, Rapp didn't have access to Broadway. Instead, she looked to her local theater scene to find inspiration. "Charlotte has a pretty alive and great theater community," she said. "I love Eva Noblezada; we went to the same high school. Seeing her grow into this stardom has been incredible." Rapp is always looking for acting mentors. "Everyone knows about my public love for Jenn Colella, and I do love Jessie Mueller. Waitress was my first Broadway show. I love seeing leading ladies. I saw them and thought, 'Oh, yeah. I want to be in on that.'"

From Jimmy to Regina
After being named Best Actress at the 2018 Jimmy Awards, Rapp's future took an exciting turn. Instead of going to college after high school, she began visiting New York for auditions. "Going right from high school into this business was weird," she said. "I definitely had those days where I wondered if this was really for me. I saw my friends following this expected path that is a societal thing that you feel like you need to do, and I wasn't sure of my own choices. But I've really sunk into it now because if I can't trust my own path, then I can't do anything good for myself. It does get hard; you do feel like you're missing out. You feel like you're really stressed out to be this young, [Rapp is 19], but this is what I chose, and I wouldn't have chosen it if it didn't feel right."

Itty Bitty Living Space
Moving from the South to the concrete jungle meant Rapp had to deal with maximizing a small space. "Moving to the city wasn't something I necessarily thought about," she said. "My first apartment was really strange because the kitchen is my bedroom...and my closet...and my laundry. I miss grass and trees." Nevertheless, the young star is getting used to her new digs in the big city. "There was no other option for me, there's no plan B. If this is my destiny, I'm going to feed into it."

Watch This Space
On top of making her Broadway debut in the hit musical comedy, Rapp has also been teasing fans with original music. "There's a lot to expect and a lot of dates coming up to be on the lookout for," she said. "Whether that be performances or music releases or both, there's a lot happening." One thing the newcomer is most eager about is merging her musical theater career with her original compositions. "I'm excited to share this part of me in this realm because it is very different. We've been working super hard on it, and I think you guys are going to to like it."

Where Do You Belong
Having to transport oneself back to high school every night is easier when high school was only months ago, but Rapp still isn't quite sure who she would sit at the table with during lunch. "I'm definitely not a Plastic because I love wearing sweatpants," she said. "I think middle school Reneé would have sat with the JV jocks, but Reneé now would sit with the Mathletes. I am not good at math and I would always wonder what it must feel like to be good with numbers. I would give it my best shot to sit with them."

Watch Reneé Rapp in action at her Broadway.com photo shoot below!

Photos by Caitlin McNaney | Video directed and edited by Kyle Gaskell | Additional cameras by Mark Hayes