Podcast Summary: Georgina Castle (Mean Girls, Mamma Mia, 9 to 5, Elf, and 50 First Dates) – Interview

Podcast: MickeyJoTheatre
Host: MickeyJoTheatre
Guest: Georgina Castle
Date: August 17, 2025

Episode Overview

In this lively and heartfelt interview, MickeyJoTheatre sits down with West End star Georgina Castle to reflect on her journey across some of theatre's biggest shows, her process approaching famously complex characters (like Regina George in Mean Girls), war stories from backstage, surviving the industry through lockdown, and her excitement for upcoming milestones—both professional (her role in 50 First Dates: The Musical) and personal (her imminent wedding). The conversation seamlessly blends behind-the-curtain insight, light-hearted banter, and a deep appreciation for the joy and challenge of life in musical theatre.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. A Bittersweet 9 to 5 & the Impact of Lockdown

• Georgina starts by performing “Backwards Barbie” from 9 to 5—a role she laments she never got to fully enjoy due to the COVID shutdown.
  • “I just did it for 12 weeks. So I feel like I haven't quite got what I wanted to get out of it.” (02:13, Georgina)
• She reflects on what it meant not to finish the show at the Savoy Theatre and acknowledges many suffered more during the pandemic, but this was still her “little ouch.” (02:45)

2. Regina George: A Career Breakthrough

• On whether Mean Girls felt like her “arrival” moment:
  • “Yes, actually, I think so, because everything that I’d done sort of before had been a much smaller sing, and I love singing... I’d been so desperate to sort of, you know, do the fun big notes and the mean, evil bitch parts, and I got to do it all in one.” (03:22, Georgina)
• On playing a character unlike her true self:
  • “We had workshops about, you know, staying disconnected from our character... I think they must have been worried that I was going to be a total asshole for the whole company.” (03:58, Georgina, laugh line)
• She shares her approach to not letting traits from her characters bleed into her real life—referencing how “Sophie” in Mamma Mia once influenced her wardrobe. (03:58)

3. Debut in Mamma Mia & The Family ABBA Connection

• The significance of her West End debut as Sophie:
  • “I’d got Swedish grandparents, so for them ABBA are like Jesus. ABBA is like the oracle and Ikea, like the two things that they worship.” (05:00, Georgina)
• Fun anecdote about co-star Maz Murray wanting to play her “mum” and sending in side-by-side headshots to the producers—despite not having much resemblance aside from hair color. (05:30)
• Discussion about joining long-running shows and trying to make iconic roles her own. (06:43)

4. Navigating Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella & Backstage Roller Coasters

• Being cast in Cinderella during the pandemic:
  • “The overriding feeling... is just I was so, so grateful to have something to look forward to in lockdown... my audition happened seven months into lockdown. It was at the Palladium on stage in front of Andrew Lloyd Webber. And I was like, well, there's nothing like throwing yourself back into it, is it?” (07:37, Georgina)
  • She emphasizes how getting jobs she "never thought [she] would" is a bit of a pattern for her thanks to her relaxed approach. (07:37)
• Wig and costume transformations:
  • “When they first said you’re going to have a blonde asymmetrical blue bob, I thought... But when they put it on, I loved it.” (09:52, Georgina)
  • She reflects fondly on the bonding between company members, despite intense outside speculation and drama about the show's challenges.
• Shock closure mid-performance:
  • “To find out we were closing at the interval was a little bit rough... I had this aura ring…it sent an alert to me to sort of say, are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital? Because my heart just went bang. But we move on. Everything happens for a reason.” (11:43, Georgina)

5. Channeling Goofiness: From Cinderella to Regina George

• On character overlaps and the joy of being silly:
  • “I love it when directors let me be a bit goofy because I’m not naturally like Regina... when I can then be a little bit weird or a little bit silly, or, you know, a bit drunk or in Mean Girls a little bit high…that’s what comes naturally to me.” (12:32, Georgina)

6. The Elf Connection: Love On and Off Stage

• Meeting her fiancé Simon Lipkin during Elf:
  • “It is for the very, very first time... He was also buddy the elf... What was it? The curly toed shoes or the terrible red Trumpian wig? I was like, something about it was doing it for me.” (13:15–14:16, Georgina)
• On their upcoming wedding:
  • "I was literally singing a song in it called Never Fall in Love with an Elf and I was like, too late. Yeah. Shit. It happened.” (14:19, Georgina)
• Sharing details about her recent hen do in Greece—which unexpectedly turned into a “Mamma Mia” fantasy with friends re-enacting ABBA routines. (14:43–15:38)

7. “Mean Girls”: Apex Predator, On-Stage Peril & Real Emotion

• On playing Regina George and her unique approach:
  • “Because there is nowhere to hide when playing Regina, there’s nowhere to put your nerves... the way that I wanted to do Regina was very still... they talk all the time about her being an apex predator and I’m like, well, then I better be that.” (16:32, Georgina)
  • Fun insight on using a special perfume as the final trigger to “become” Regina. (16:32)
• Emotional farewell:
  • “I grieve the ending of every show and especially every character... there was also, if I’m being honest, at the end of it some sense of relief... because it’s been. It does take over your life.” (17:28, Georgina)

8. Meeting (and Impressed by) Tina Fey

• On Tina Fey’s involvement:
  • “She was so present the whole way through the journey... she really cared... she was so keen to put it in all of our voices, which was just amazing... she has like 50 punchlines for every moment and they just come to her.” (18:41, Georgina)

9. Looking Ahead: 50 First Dates, The Musical

• About her next project:
  • "I did read the script and it made me cry at the end, which is always a good sign. I think it is heartbreakingly beautiful... If we don't fuck it up, it should be beautiful.” (20:00, Georgina)
  • She’s excited to play a “sweet and wholesome” character—a big change from Regina. (20:00)

10. Backstage Weddings, Stagey Celebrations & Community Spirit

• Wedding plans:
  • Open-mic style, lots of musical theatre friends attending: “If you want to get up and sing a song, get up and sing a song…It will be a little bit stagey, a little Jordan Luke Gages, but we're not anywhere as glamorous. We're in Shoreditch.” (20:51, Georgina, laughing)
  • First dance to be sung live by Jamie Moscato on a quick turnaround from his own show. (21:33)
• Jokes about the importance of proper “stage management” for running a wedding to West End timing standards. (21:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On her Swedish ABBA roots:

  "For them ABBA are like Jesus. ABBA is like the oracle and Ikea, like the two things that they worship."
  (05:00, Georgina Castle)

• On letting go of Regina George:

  "There is nowhere to hide when playing Regina, there’s nowhere to put your nerves…that stillness. So the nervousness…sometimes people push [the table] a little quick…jesus, this could go so horribly wrong."
  (16:32, Georgina Castle)

• On company drama and resilience in Cinderella:

  "To find out we were closing at the interval was a little bit rough…But we move on. Everything happens for a reason."
  (11:43, Georgina Castle)

• On working with Tina Fey:

  "She was so present the whole way through…She’d be writing. She has like 50 punchlines for every moment and they just come to her and I’m like, wow, such an incredible brain."
  (18:41, Georgina Castle)

• On meeting her fiancé in Elf:

  "I mean, funny because I was literally singing a song in it called Never Fall in Love with an Elf and I was like, too late. Yeah. Shit. It happened."
  (14:19, Georgina Castle)

Key Timestamps

• [02:10] – Georgina performs “Backwards Barbie” from 9 to 5
• [03:22] – Reflections on Mean Girls as her industry arrival
• [05:00] – ABBA as "gods" in her family during Mamma Mia
• [07:37] – Auditioning for Cinderella in front of Andrew Lloyd Webber
• [09:52] – Transformation through wigs and costumes in Cinderella
• [11:43] – On learning Cinderella was closing, mid-interval
• [12:32] – Embracing goofiness on stage
• [14:19] – Life imitating art: falling in love in Elf
• [16:32] – The physical and emotional challenge of playing Regina George
• [18:41] – Deep appreciation for Tina Fey’s hands-on approach
• [20:00] – First impressions of 50 First Dates: The Musical
• [20:51] – Musical theatre wedding plans and Jamie Moscato’s cameo

Tone, Style, and Audience Value

The episode is warm, witty, and brimming with behind-the-scenes candor. Georgina’s stories are filled with heart, humility, and humor—perfect for fans of musical theatre, aspiring performers, and anyone curious about the realities (and joys) of West End life. Both host and guest keep the mood light even when touching on tougher subjects, exemplifying a showbiz resilience that’s as moving as it is entertaining.