Maryrose Brendel left the Penn State University campus in 2022 and suddenly found herself traveling the world playing one of the main characters in the National tour of the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.”

Brendel plays Karen Smith, the funny but lovable member of the Plastics, in the series based on the film by Upper Darby native Tina Fey.

“I probably saw the original Mean Girls movie before that era. “I should have done it” Brendel in question. “I loved the funny, sassy Tina Fey’s writing. I think I watched it when I was 8-9 years old. It probably seemed a little inappropriate when I first watched it, but I loved it.

“Then when I was in high school I saw the original Broadway musical. I loved both versions of it and never thought I’d be a part of it when I first saw it in high school. I was a very shy and awkward teenager. I couldn’t see much of myself in the series.

“Achieving this now is a dream come true.”

“Mean Girls” comes to The Playhouse at Rodney Square in Wilmington Nov. 15-17. Tickets are available at: http://broadwayinwilmington.org.

The Broadway version of “Mean Girls” adapts the story from the movie, but it is not an exact replica.

The series tells the story of Cady Heron, a girl who may have grown up on an African savannah but was unprepared for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home in suburban Illinois. One way for the naive newbie to rise to the top of the popularity rankings is to take on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the attractive but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t outrun a Queen Bee without getting stung.

The role of Karen Smith gave Brendel the chance to explore her wilder side.

“I like to think I have those elements in me,” Brendel said. “I definitely have a bit of a ditzy side, but honestly not as much as that. I think one thing I learned in shaping the role, working with our director and tour director, was to play Karen, who is ditzy, maybe stupid, quote unquote, with a part of her already written in the text.”

“Not if you exaggerate. More than that, he lives in a very happy space, finding joy in everything. I think it’s a great time to be able to insert myself into that part of his character. So much so that even if I go into the show, even if it’s been a busy day, I’m a little tired or maybe I’m not in a very good mood, once I step into that role I always leave. There’s a better, happier progression in the theater and I think that’s all you can hope for from a role. “This is it.”

Brendel was first and foremost inspired to get on stage while watching the “Spider-Man” movies.

“We all loved watching Tobey Maguire’s ‘Spider-Man’ movies, and since my name is Maryrose, I thought I’d love to be Maryjane since we have similar names,” Brendel said. ”In the second “Spider-Man,” she is an actress. I saw that and said, ‘I want to do that.’ I’m like him, so I have to do this.

Now in her second year of touring with “Mean Girls,” Brendel will hit close to home by performing in Wilmington.

“All my people are coming to Wilmington,” Brendel said. “I am very excited. It’s also my mom’s birthday weekend. And he said, ‘Great.’ We’re all going to see ‘Mean Girls’. That’s why I’m counting the days.”