'Heathers' Off-Broadway review — dark cult classic remains a candy store of talent
Read our review of Heathers off Broadway, the musical adaptation of the cult classic 1988 film, now being revived at its original NYC venue, New World Stages.
Why resurrect Heathers: The Musical, shipped from London's West End under Andy Fickman’s direction, off Broadway once more? One appeal is that the musical, adapting the cult classic 1988 movie, flashes the middle finger to rose-tinted nostalgia and sentimentality of high school. It’s a campy world where popular girls and cartoonish jocks laugh maniacally as they torment the lower food chain. This revival of Heathers, written by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe, stays unapologetic about the viciousness of teenhood, even as it smooths over the edginess of the source material and paves a safe, nostalgic path for its adoring masses.
Lorna Courtney errs by over-sweetening the snarky protagonist Veronica, watering down Winona Ryder's more nihilistic vibe from the film. Yet Courtney charmingly builds on her Veronica’s dichotomy: optimistic yet susceptible to destructive influences like the Heathers clique, led by queen bee Heather Chandler (a regal McKenzie Kurtz), that leashes her into their reign of terror. She lights the fire in the signature, horny jam “Dead Girl Walking” and the triumphant breakaway ballad “I Say No.”
In an impressive 180-degree turn from playing Marty McFly in Back To The Future on Broadway, Casey Likes is J.D., a hard-boiled bad boy carrying unhealed wounds and chilling entitlement beneath the surface. Likes disarms the audience with his gazes and smirks. These choices don’t just grab some of the musical’s biggest laughs; they also effectively reel the audience into complicity, falling for the rush of a toxic romance as Veronica does in the dissonant love duet “Our Love Is God.”
However, the sound mixing contributed to hit-and-miss audibility at my night, and show besides is tonally uneven. It’s not a positive sign when some of my audience sincerely laughed at an insult at the expense of the frequently bullied Martha (a charming Erin Morton). The recently added song “Never Shut Up Again” remains a puzzle (even as a bop for the steely Olivia Hardy’s Heather Duke), introducing a plot-relevant breakdown that becomes clunky and muted by the quick-paced pop.
But, boy, when Heathers takes flight, it punches a hole through the roof. “Candy Store” still grooves as a catchy paean to cruelty, and “The Me Inside of Me” is ingeniously ironic. Another highlight is “Shine a Light,” an inspiration-porn and ego trip for the hippie counselor Ms. Fleming (a pitch-perfect Kerry Butler). Then Heather McNamara’s (Elizabeth Teeter) trenchant “Lifeboat” turns the musical toward sobering introspection, followed by Martha’s “Kindergarten Boyfriend” (cementing Morton in the pantheon of Off-Broadway debuts to remember). These two ballads herald a final 30 minutes ratcheting to a nail-biting climax.
These highs and lows are told upon David Shields’ blasé, functional two-story set. What compensates is Shields and co-designer Siena Zoë Allen’s colorful costuming for each character. But the production’s most critical visual undoing is leaving the scenic design — and Veronica, for that matter — physically unblemished by a near-catastrophe after the smoke has passed. These incidents ought to leave a scar.
Heathers: The Musical summary
A darkly comic musical adaptation of Daniel Waters’s cult classic movie, Heathers is set in the dog-eat-dog Westerberg High School, ruled by the clique of Heathers: Heather Chandler, Heather Duke, and Heather McNamara. School geek Veronica strikes a Faustian bargain with the Heathers to be their lackey, buying herself immunity from social ostracization.
But as a newly anointed popular girl, Veronica puts her friendships and morals on the chopping block. To make things more complicated, she falls for the school’s bad boy, J.D., and gets swept up in his destructive tendencies that escalate into a body count.
Heathers: The Musical previously appeared off Broadway in 2014 at New World Stages, also its current venue.
What to expect at Heathers: The Musical
A 1980s high school brimming with slurs and name-calling, Heathers: The Musical makes Mean Girls feel like a declawed kitten. Transgressively comedic and colorfully electric (courtesy of Ben Cracknell’s lighting design), it’s merciless in tackling attempted date rape, homophobia, fatphobia, suicide, murder, and a thwarted bombing that may as well be a stand-in for a school shooting. When entering Heathers: The Musical, it contains a content warning of “haze, loud noises, including gunshots, flashing lights, and strobe, strong language and mature themes.” Expect cackles and pops of gunshots.
Many people attended my performance decked out in Heathers-inspired outfits and show paraphernalia. Anticipate rowdy levels of roaring and cheering. At my showing, one reactive audience member uttered loudly “that asshole” and a sympathetic “Oh, Martha.”
What audiences are saying about Heathers: The Musical
As of publication, the review aggregator Show-Score displays a 91% audience approval rating out of 15 member reviews.
- Show-Score user GirlFriday, a teacher, shared “mixed-feelings” and called it a “fun-yet-dark romp... uncomfortable at times.”
- Show-Score user Aka said, “I remember the movie as being edgy and brilliant, but this feels more mainstream despite the body count.”
- Show-Score user Lisa 35 called the show “a strong production, with a great cast.”
- “I love the movie and it was so amazing. Lorna Courtney makes so many interesting choices vocally. Casey Likes gets bad boy down. There were some sound mixing issues, the sound going over the singers.” - My +1 at the show
Read more audience reviews of Heathers: The Musical on Show-Score.
Who should see Heathers: The Musical
- & Juliet fans would want to watch Lorna Courtney, the Tony Award-nominated original star of that musical, take on Veronica Sawyer.
- From the original Generation X fans of the Heathers movie to the millennials and Gen Z-ers who quote all the one-liners, Heathers: The Musical ought to be a unifying bridge between multigenerational fans, whether they enjoyed the movie, previous musical productions, or the proshot of the West End production on Roku.
- Those who watched Casey Likes as William Miller in Almost Famous: The Musical and Marty McFly in Back to the Future: The Musical will want to witness his transformation into J.D.
- TikTokers may recognize Erin Morton from her viral “Creep” cover, and you'll still feel like you're rediscovering breakthrough talent. Morton is the stage presence you'll dream of encountering again in more musicals.
- Fans of stalwart actress Kerry Butler will admire how she captures both Veronica’s disapproving mother, helpless to her daughter’s choices, and the self-absorbed guidance counselor trying to rein in teenage impulses.
Learn more about Heathers: The Musical off Broadway
This Heathers: The Musical revival might struggle to bleed as the material requires. But it has staying power, and there are still plenty of temptations in that candy store.
Photo credit: Heathers off Broadway. (Photos by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
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