[Event Review] Heathers The Musical

Films becoming stage musicals is nothing new and if anything, it seems like there’s a new one every few months. Legally Blonde, Back to the Future, Mrs Doubtfire, and of course Carrie and Evil Dead, are just a few of the stories that have made the leap from screen to stage.

But of all the possible films, 1988’s dark satirical comedy Heathers written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann might initially seem like an unusual choice. However, with an Off-Broadway production and several critically acclaimed UK runs, the musical with music, lyrics, and book by Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy has definitely found its audience. This recorded performance of Heathers: The Musical from London’s The Other Palace will show for one night only in cinemas on 28th March bringing the show back to the big screen and making for some Big Fun as an experience, but with some variations that might be jarring for hardcore fans of the original. 

It’s difficult not to think about the musical in relation to the movie. The plot is more or less the same; teen Veronica Sawyer sells her soul for high school popularity and protection from the Heathers, the school’s top-tier clique of megabitches, while her new romance with bad boy J.D encourages something darker than cheating on a pop quiz. We still get the same cast of characters and many of the film’s iconic lines are present, which will be a relief to fans of intimate relations with chainsaws.

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What is different is in the execution. Some of this is due to the change in medium as what works on film needs to be altered or streamlined for stage. For example, a briefly seen character in the film called Betty is combined with bullied fat girl Martha to be Veronica’s former best friend who she leaves behind when she joins up with the Heathers. The main thing that the musical lacks is a certain bite and meanness which is present in the film, born from being a dark reflection of the popular John Hughes teen comedies of that time. To say that the musical is like the film but with all the edges padded and sanded down would be unfair though, because telling this kind of story then compared to now is actually very different. In the 80s the concept of suburban high school teens killing themselves and each other seemed somewhat absurd, but these days it’s an unfortunately more common occurrence with Christian Slater’s J.D especially seeming like a template for every misanthropic teenage ticking time bomb in a trench coat. As such the musical is much more played for laughs and while both versions end on a hope for people to do better, the delivery in the movie is subdued whereas in the musical this is conveyed through singing and dancing. It has an emotional sincerity that the film is just a tad too cynical for. However, don’t think that the musical is wholly sanitised, this is still a story featuring murder, attempted suicide, and sexual assault, and has had plenty of criticisms of belittling serious issues like the film did. Nothing in the musical invalidates the movie, it’s just a slightly different approach that fits better for both its medium and its audience. I believe there’s room for both, just which you prefer will depend on your mood.

Away from the movie, Heathers: The Musical is still an extremely entertaining time. Staging is simple but versatile, utilising a walkway at the back of the stage for key moments. The cast are fantastic, with Maddison Firth as Heather Chandler being the big standout. Alisa Davidson has a great voice but plays Veronica just a little bit too dorky and naïve. She does have good chemistry with Simon Gordon’s J.D though and their duet “Our Love is God” goes from a tender affirmation of teen love to a kind of twisted mission statement that makes for a delightfully dark finale to act one. Instead of an 80s inspired sound, songs are modern, catchy, and punchy which I think works better for the energy of the show, with “Beautiful” nicely building both the show’s world and the muddled internal lives of its teen cast and being a mean girl has never looked as much fun as it does in “Candy Store”. Whilst nothing can really beat the atmosphere and energy of live theatre, this filmed version is a great alternative that ensures the best view.

So get your scrunchies, your slushies, and your shoulder pads and make a night of Heathers: The Musical.

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