Goodbye, Gretchen Wieners: Ashley Park Leaves Broadway's "Mean Girls"

Ashley Park, who played Gretchen Wieners on Broadway, poses for Broadway.com.

After almost a year and a half on the August Wilson stage, Ashley Park has stepped down from her role as Gretchen Wieners in the Broadway production of Mean Girls.

The 27-year-old actress, after starring as Tuptim in Broadway’s production of The King and I, joined the original cast of Mean Girls in 2017. Park has been the principal actress for Gretchen since the show’s premiere in October of the same year.

Park recently spoke with a Broadway.com representative, where she reflected on landing the role.

“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. I was in complete shock, so grateful and excited, all at the same time,” Park said. “Thinking back on that moment now, I can digest how crazy and magical it was.”

During her time in Mean Girls, Park has received positive reviews and numerous accolades, such as the 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Broadway achievement and a 2018 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

Park is also the recipient of the 2019 Marin Mazzie Award for Empowerment, which is given to a performer who utilizes their platform to advocate for those with cancer. Park, who survived her own battle with acute myeloid leukemia as a teenager, regards the award as “the greatest honor of my life.”

According to Playbill, Park accepted television roles in both the Netflix revival of Tales of the City and an untitled ABC comedy that will be directed by Jessica Gao and feature an all-Asian cast. Park expressed her excitement for the roles on her Instagram account, saying that “lots of dreams are coming true.”

As someone who has followed Park since her casting and got to see her perform in Mean Girls last June, I can say that she will be deeply missed. Park’s vocal talents are exceptional, but the energy and personality that she exuded on and off the stage is unmatched. Even though Mean Girls will continue to enthrall audiences without her, in my mind, Ashley Park will always be the only Gretchen Wieners.

“I already miss it so so much,” Park told the Broadway.com representative. “But isn’t that the beauty of theater? That we are all present with each other for a fleeting moment, it’s a self-contained and sacred time of space and experience. I’m truly grateful for this one.”

Park was replaced by Krystina Alabado, who debuted as Gretchen on March 12, 2019.

(LU)