review
‘The extreme always seems to make an impression,’ mused Jason Dean (J.D to his friends) in the teen cult classic Heathers.
He proves his own point in the movie where the plot, frankly, is ludicrous – but in the funniest, most delightfully outrageous way: three Queen Bee bitches, all called Heather (the Heathers), reign supreme at a midwest high school. The fourth of the girl gang, Veronica, is the soul of the group, enjoying the perks of popularity, while wishing everyone could just be a little nicer.
She falls in love with the brooding new boy, JD, and together they accidentally (kinda) end up killing the head Heather. For a moment they enjoy the freedom, but all too soon another Heather rises up to fill her bitchy boots. What follows is deranged tale of murder, deceit obsessive love and ultimate revenge.
When I heard the movie had been turned into Heathers the Musical, I was a bit like: ‘Eh? How’s that going to work?’
It was so quirky, touching on subjects of bullying, teen suicide, homophobia and eating disorders, and I wasn’t sure if they could even get away with something so twisted in this enlightened day and age.
When I took my seat at the Wycombe Swan, I was expecting a fun, nostalgic blast from the 80’s past. What I actually got was a slick, touching, powerhouse of a production that literally had me gripped all way through. They’d kept the essence of the original film, with all the most infamous one-liners (‘Are you a Heather? No, I’m a Veronica’).
Rather than seeming off colour, the more sensitive subjects were dealt with in a way that stayed true to the film, but were obviously parodied, giving light to the darker subjects.
The actors were incredible in their roles, exactly the right about of kitschy over-the-top behaviour you expect to see. If I had to pick, Veronica and Heather Chandler (the head Heather) were outstanding in their main roles and rightfully earn their place as favourite characters. However, the biggest surprise came from the meathead jocks, Ram Sweeney and Kurt Kelly. The characters were pure genius – hilariously self-deprecating – and added real joy to the production.
The most risqué part was actually a brief love scene between Veronica and JD, which might be a little much for pre-teens, but otherwise it’s a loud, colourful, fun production that’ll have you dancing in your seat and smiling all they way home.
HEATHERS THE MUSICAL is based in London’s West End at The Other Palace (formerly St James Theatre) and is also touring the UK; visit the website for details.
• our tickets were kindly gifted
