Heathers, the Musical

Dying to Come

Heathers the Musical

by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe

Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor-Mills, at the New Wimbledon Theatre until 28^th October

Review by Gill Martin

Beware, “Heathers the Musical contains haze, loud noises including gun shots, flashing lights and strobe as well as strong language and mature themes, including bullying, murder, suicide, physical and sexual violence and references to eating disorders.”   That’s the dire warning in the theatre programme but, hey, it is a musical so how upsetting can it be?

Way back in 2018 a re-release of Heathers the Musical, a bizarre and bloody story of teenage cruelty, hit the cinema screens with stars Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.  Even further back in the mists of time, i.e. 1988, it was cult satirical smash hit about vindictive and paranoid high-school kids who could score top marks in meanness.

Cyber-bullying and sexting circa 2023 have nothing on these American youngsters in this black comedy, now at the end of its first national UK tour at the New Wimbledon Theatre, following London West End runs, where fans in their Letterman varsity jackets, sequins and fake leopard-skin rocked up for a rollicking, rumbustious roller coaster of a ride.

Whooping and stamping were the order of the night for a high octane show with a plot based on a clique of four teenage girls, three called Heather, students attending an Ohio high school, and troubled teen misfit J.D., with murder on his mind.  Kill the most popular students and then stage their deaths as suicides seems to be his mission in life.

The three Heathers; Heather Chandler is the peroxide blonde and mythic bitch in scarlet (Verity Thompson), her sidekicks the bulimic Heather Duke (Elise Zavou) and Heather McNamara (Billie Bowman) ; allow the hapless Veronica Sawyer (Jemma Innes) to hang out with them and bask in their bubble of popularity.  But for a price: submitting to humiliations and slights handed out on an industrial scale.

Another of their victims is the lovable Martha Dunnstock (Kingsley Morton) mocked for her size and soft heart.

Enter the menacing, intense character of Jason J.D. Dean (Jacob Fowler), who cuts a creepy figure in his long black trench coat and addiction to iced Slushie drinks that helps freeze his brain against the horror of witnessing his mother’s death when he was just nine.  “Freeze the brain, shatter your skull, forget who you are when the voice in your head says you’re better off dead”, is this fellow student’s morbid mantra.

Veronica falls for J.D. who ensnares her in his murderous web in a production that boasts a talented and energetic cast who sing and dance their way through a score of numbers.

Standout dancers are the hunky quarter backs, Kurt Kelly (Alex Woodward) and Ram Sweeney (Morgan Jackson), who perform a cleverly choreographed slow-mo fight sequence with J.D.  Impressive pecs and biceps add to their allure.

Don’t be misled by their fathers’ (Conor MacFarlane and Jay Bryce) hilarious rendition of My Dead Gay Son at the teens’ funerals.  It’s not the sons but the dads who are gay, despite their homophobic protestations.

Heather the Musical is at times sentimental, schmaltzy and melancholic but despite its mix of silliness and shootings, murder and mayhem it fits the bill for a bright night out.  And for veteran producer Bill Kenwright, whose death was announced from the stage, it was a fitting final curtain.

Gill Martin, October 2023

Photography courtesy of Bill Kenwright