“Romy & Michele” is a tale of faking it until you make it

The 1997 movie Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion was a daffy comedy about two high school BFFs who hadn’t amounted to much since graduation. They decide to go to their high school reunion claiming to have invented Post-Its so that they can brag about their success in front of the snobbish clique who made their school days a living hell. Once their story is revealed as the lie it is, they suffer a little humiliation, but are rescued by a literal deus ex machina — a nerdy classmate who made a fortune as a tech tycoon — who sets them up in what becomes a wildly successful fashion design business.

Add music to this and chop off a bit of the title and you have Romy & Michele, the new musical playing at off-Broadway’s Stage 42. Adapted by Robin Schiff from her play Ladies Room and her movie script with a score by Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay, Romy & Michele is a light wish-fulfillment comedy with plot twists that will not surprise anyone who’s seen the movie or is familiar with the genre. All the cliches are alive and well: the cynical goth girl; the nerdy AV-club boy; the narcissistic jock and the cheerleader queen bee.

At the center of it all are Romy (Laura Bell Bundy) and Michele (Kara Lindsay). These are two girls whose dreams outweigh their intelligence, loveable screwballs whose often bizarre sense of style has made them easy targets in their high school years. Oh, they may have a spat that breaks the team, but you know they’re going to hug it out before show’s end.

Bundy and Lindsay capture the dumb-blonde personas of their characters perfectly, with Lindsay especially good at being the dumber of the two (even turning a stage mishap into a little piece of comic gold). Other outstanding performances are given by Je’Shaun Jackson as Toby, the chubby AV-club guy with his camera always at the ready, and Jordan Kai Burnett as Heather, the goth girl hiding her secretly romantic side. The rest of the cast turn in decent performances under the direction of Kristin Hanggi.

The score, sad to say, is not especially memorable, particularly in the first act. This could be because the first act depicts the characters’ senior year and the dead-end where Romy and Michele find themselves. The second act, which is a bit more lively, concerns itself with our heroines’ road trip and the climactic reunion. 

Of the design team, the standout is Tina McCartney. Her costume designs are imaginative and colorful, leading up to a full-cast fashion show of color drenched, spangly outfits to end the show on a high note.

Romy & Michele is not, I’m sorry to say, destined to become one of the great musicals in theatre history. But it is a light entertainment, perfect for whiling away a couple of hours. If that’s what you’re in search of, I recommend taking a look at Romy & Michele.

Romy & Michele is presented at Stage 42, 422 West 42nd St., in New York, through Nov. 30, 2025. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to romyandmichelethemusical.com.