10 fun facts about 'Heathers' off Broadway

From real '80s props to the addition of a Winona Ryder-approved line from the movie, listen and look out for these tidbits in the revival at New World Stages.

Color us stoked, because Heathers is back with all the iconic movie lines, pitch-dark humor, and '80s nostalgia in tow. Adapted from the 1988 film starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, Heathers: The Musical follows high school outcast Veronica, whose normal high school adventures — her quest for popularity, a romance with bad-boy new kid J.D. — takes a deadly turn.

Between the original film, the show's 2014 Off-Broadway premiere, and a subsequent London premiere on which this revival is based (new songs and lines were added), Heathers has amassed a passionate fanbase. This production inserts numerous film-related Easter eggs, nostalgic '80s homages, and other subtle details audiences should look out for, no matter how familiar you are with the story (you don't need to be).

"[In] a lot of our numbers, there's so much going on," said Xavier McKinnon, who plays Ram. "I want people to be able to see Heathers multiple times so they can watch different pockets."

While you're taking in the colorful outfits and high-energy performances, keep your eyes out for these thoughtful tidbits and fun facts worked into the script, set, costumes, and more. Soon enough, you'll be a Heathers expert, and you'll be ready to have some big fun when you get your tickets.

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A Winona Ryder-approved movie line made it into the musical.

When Winona Ryder saw the Heathers musical in L.A. back in 2013, she loved it — with one reservation. Her favorite line from the movie had been cut: "I don't patronize bunny rabbits," exclaimed by guidance counselor Ms. Fleming.

So Ryder asked creators Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe to put it back in. Now it's "never leaving" the show, said ensemble member Devin Lewis. "What Winona Ryder wants, Winona Ryder gets."

Will Ryder visit the Off-Broadway production to hear her favorite line on stage? "I'm sure she will," said Lorna Courtney, who stars as Veronica, Ryder's film role.

Some film props are directly replicated on stage.

A key indicator that a scene is happening in Veronica's head instead of real life is that the ensemble appears in white robes and 3-D glasses like a retro gospel choir. That's a nod to a scene from the Heathers movie where she imagines all the attendees of a funeral in that exact look.

Another direct homage to the film requires you to look a bit closer. A pivotal scene involves a bottle of toxic drain cleaner, and according to Andy Fickman, the Off-Broadway production uses a bottle from the exact brand as on screen: "For those who know the movie, it's not just poison; it's Hull."

All the costumes and props stay true to the '80s.

"A ton of costume pieces are '80s vintage because we have the luxury of living in New York, and there are so many thrift shops," said ensemble member Cecilia Trippiedi. Credit set and costume designer David Shields for not only that, but for recreating the '80s throughout the scenery as well.

"There's a lot of really interesting homages back to the '80s, like a football phone," said swing Emma Benson. (Unsurprisingly, it belongs to jocks Kurt and Ram.) She also pointed out the 7-Eleven set, with large vending machines sporting the '80s-era logos for Slurpees and Big Gulps.

Casey Likes, who plays J.D., also enjoys how the set helps characterize minor players who don't get many lines. In a scene set at Ram's dad's house, look in the back cabinet: You'll see multiple books about fish, a vintage fishing brochure, a gold fish trophy, and a picture of a fish.

"That just makes me laugh. How do we characterize this man in five seconds? Make one of his walls all about fishing," Likes said.

Audience participation is involved.

Most productions of Heathers aren't interactive, but most productions don't have Kerry Butler as Ms. Fleming. During her big song, the Hair-inspired "Shine a Light," Butler hams it up for an invisible TV crew, and we're her live studio audience.

"The audience all knows when they're going to scream. There's yelling back. I improv with an audience member, and it's different every night," Butler said. At my performance, she invented a long-ago meet-cute she had with a man in the front row, and she even briefly gave him the mic.

Heathers references another cult classic film of the era.

Three years after the release of Heathers, fans of dark comedies about frenemies got another treat with the Meryl Streep/Goldie Hawn-led Death Becomes Her. Like Heathers, it achieved cult classic status years after its premiere — and a musical adaptation is now playing on Broadway a few blocks from Heathers.

McKenzie Kurtz, who primarily plays Heather Chandler, wanted to channel Death Becomes Her during a funeral scene where she steps into the ensemble. "I am wearing a black dress and a black head scarf that I specifically requested for the scene, with black sunglasses," she said. Madeline Ashton would approve.

The film's director gets a cameo of sorts.

One particularly mucky scene takes place in a cow pasture called "Lehmann's Farm." Blink and you'll miss Heather McNamara (played by Elizabeth Teeter) name-dropping it, but it's a subtle nod to Michael Lehmann, who directed the Heathers movie.

Madonna and Austin Powers fans, this choreography's for you.

In creating the dances in the Heathers musical, choreographer Gary Lloyd named Madonna as an inspiration for him and the show. As the queen of '80s music videos, how could she not be? But he also named another woman whose name you might not know, but whose work you definitely do.

"There's some [choreography] inspired by the original work of Marguerite Derricks, who I spoke closely with in the beginning, so her legacy is involved all the way through," he said. Derricks choreographed numerous fan-favorite films of the '90s and early 2000s: the Austin Powers series, 10 Things I Hate About You, Little Miss Sunshine, and Showgirls.

Sure, Derricks's work came out slightly after Heathers's time, but fusing sensibilities from different eras, not just replicating '80s moves, is key to the musical, said ensemble member Brian Martin.

"It definitely has some '80s nostalgia, but it definitely has some modern [moves] because the music is contemporary, so it matches the vibe of the sound," he said.

'80s hair is back for real.

It's common for stage actors to wear wigs, especially when they have complicated period hairstyles. But according to ensemble member Cecilia Trippiedi, nearly the whole cast is styling their real hair into '80s looks. That's commitment!

"Lorna's in a fierce wig, but the rest of us are teasing for the gods," Trippiedi said.

The high school got a long-overdue name change.

"We spell our high school, Westerberg, with a B-E-R-G, and if you look at the signage in the movie, it's spelled B-U-R-G," noted the musical's co-creator Kevin Murphy. According to Murphy, both Heathers screenwriter Dan Waters and Winona Ryder were fans of the '80s rock band The Replacements, and they named the school after lead singer Paul Westerberg.

"The producers asked Dan to change that because it appeared 'too Jewish' at the time," Murphy continued. "We are basically reclaiming [Dan's] original vision by using the original spelling."

There's a coincidental parallel between the film and musical.

Heathers was distributed by New World Pictures, and both Off-Broadway productions of the musical, in 2014 and 2025, have taken place at New World Stages. "It is a coincidence," Murphy clarified. Still, how very is that?

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Photo credit: Heathers off Broadway. (Photos by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)