Cast of “Horse Girls” at Wiebaden’s Amelia Earhart Playhouse ()

The manic lives of horse-loving and obsessed, suburban tween girls are on full display in this dark comedy, directed by Hannah Whittington and performed at Wiesbaden’s Amelia Earhart Playhouse.

The tone is instantly set in the opening scene as horse club leader, Ashleigh (Chantel Thompson), fawns over herself. We are transported to her bedroom which perfectly depicts her love of horses and the many ribbons and trophies she’s earned, complete with a poster of Ann Romney (a dressage horse rider). The room is saturated in the all the affluent pre-teen pink, sparkle, and fluff we expect in a stereotypical girl’s bedroom.

Ashleigh encourages the other girls at her horse club meeting to fight over the chance to braid her hair; after all, they should feel honored to touch her locks and be in the presence of her greatness. With effective tone and body language she conveys the egotistical leadership we see in “Mean Girls.”

Brandi (Cassandra Pacheco) arrives on the scene and is obviously upset, tearfully giving the girls very upsetting news about their beloved stables and horses.

Cast of “Horse Girls” at Wiebaden’s Amelia Earhart Playhouse ()

As they try to work through the issue, we begin to understand that there is a very clear hierarchy in this group where mistreatment is accepted and even, oddly, appreciated. Tiffany (Audrey O’Donnell) is the only girl other than Ashleigh rich enough to own a horse, which makes her a threat to leadership. During the course of the show, we see her brain waking to the reality, and eventual lightbulb moment, that she is really dealing with a frenemy in Ashleigh.

Costumes reflect the girls’ obsession: pastel-colored shirts with horses creating the shape of a heart on the back. They wear quintessential pre-teen items that we all can remember, from scrunchies and jewelry to photo’d socks and everything bedazzled.

Over the course of the performance, we learn about each of girls. Robin (Adelaide O’Donnell) is Tiffany’s quiet but supportive sister. Margaret (Stori Kennard) is expressive, loyal and enamored with Ashleigh to a fault. Insecure Camilla (Alice Fuller) lets us in on her low self-esteem during a hysterical poetry reading. She has brought along her cousin from the city, Trish (Emma Spahl), who helps to give us all a good reality-check every now and then as the horse girls frantically descend into chaos and take us down with them.

There are undercurrents of mental and physical abuse and sexual exploration; mature topics tackled by this talented cast with humor and over-the-top tween girl hysteria. Tack on some manic love for horses (or anything, really) and malevolence bubbles to the surface.

In the end, we get a glimpse into the mixed-up minds of these pre-teen girls. They are dealing with situations most adults don’t care (or know) to recognize, while laughter and fanaticism help us feel okay about the acknowledgement. It may not always be pretty, but this dark comedy is highly enjoyable, despite the macabre ending.