Typically, I don't review plays or musicals. Although the story told in one play and its characters are the same, different productions cast different people as its characters, and the way they portray their characters could affect the show as a whole. This goes double for musicals; those same actors have to show how well they can sing and dance, too. For this reason, I should clarify that this review of "Heathers: The Musical" is specifically for the Live Stage Recording that was recorded at The Other Palace theater and released on the Roku Channel in 2022. I was pretty excited to find out about the Live Stage Recording, given that I've had an interest in the Heathers musical (and specifically the musical, not so much the movie it was based on) since 2019 - I've listened to some of the musical numbers countless times at this point - but haven't had the chance to watch a production of it or take part in one. Now that I've seen it, I'd say that it was worth the watch.
So what is Heathers about, anyway? Well, it is set in Sherwood, Ohio in 1989 and follows Veronica Sawyer, a senior at Westerburg High School. This school is not a great place to be, with the nerds being relentlessly tormented by the jocks and the school being ruled by three girls known as the Heathers: Heather McNamara, Heather Duke, and Heather Chandler. One day, after Veronica gets the Heathers out of detention with a forged hall pass, they give her a makeover and include her in their group, drastically increasing her popularity at school. Furthermore, Veronica becomes attracted to the mysterious transfer student, Jason "JD" Dean, after he successfully fights off two jocks named Ram Sweeney and Kurt Kelly. When Veronica loses her popularity at a homecoming party, however, things start to take a dark turn in her school life....starting with the "accidental" death of Heather Chandler, which was staged as a suicide.
Now, I should probably start by addressing the elephant in the room: the musical's depiction of dark subject matter that includes sexual assault, bullying, and suicide. Topics like those can be pretty difficult to handle well, and I'm aware that this musical has been criticized for its depictions of those topics. I do understand where those critics are coming from, in a way; most of the songs are pretty bright and cheery for a story like this. The song "You're Welcome" comes to mind, as an example; although it's certainly better than the previously-used "Blue" in that it actually shows Veronica fighting off Kurt and Ram, but the lyrics of most of the song do feel uncomfortable to listen to with the whole date-rape situation going on. Another thing that comes to mind is Heather Duke's bulimia; eating disorders can be very serious, yet it's treated as a one-off joke here, which does raise a few eyebrows in hindsight. Still, I feel like there are times where a situation is taken as seriously as it should, and I also thought it was interesting how, in one scene, it was shown that people can advocate for suicide prevention, but when someone steps forward and reveals their vulnerabilities, they reveal their true colors and mock them for their feelings. Not an easy scene to watch, but similar things happen in real life, and the characters who do this do get called out on their behavior, even though it doesn't actually make a huge difference.
As I mentioned before, I've listened to the musical numbers numerous times over the past five years or so. Specifically, I've been listening to a mix of the Off-Broadway version of the songs from 2014 and the West End version from 2018. The cast for the filmed performance was completely different from both of these versions, so of course, the songs were sung in a way different from what I am used to. Still, I thought each musical number was very well done! Most - if not all - of the cast members sung the songs they sang really well. One example I can think of is "Candy Store", which was sung by the Heathers; all three of them have pretty good singing voices on their own, but their voices blend together very well in this song! Another example is "I Say No"; Alisa Davidson, who played Veronica, displayed some very powerful vocals throughout the show, and her singing definitely shines here, with the song itself being pretty emotional, to boot! (Also, this show's version of "Lifeboat" made me tear up in a way that the Off-Broadway version hadn't, so there's that.) The singing wasn't the only good part, though; the choreography had a lot of energy to it that the actors really brought forward. I feel like this is especially true in "Big Fun"; this is an upbeat song with an energetic beat to it, and the choreography matches that really well! Still, there were some songs that I'm not sure really needed to be included in the musical, such as "I Love My Dead Gay Son". Don't get me wrong, it's a fun song to listen to; I'm just not sure if it was a completely necessary inclusion to the musical.
Okay, so the singing and dancing are good, but what about the acting? There were times where I thought the characters' facial and body language were a little overexaggerated at times, but other than that, I thought the acting was pretty solid. There were also quite a few funny lines in the script that were delivered pretty well. For example, Veronica's mother and father have this short exchange at one point during the show:
Actually, during the scene where this exchange takes place, it's easy to see that while Veronica's father doesn't have a major role in the musical (although his actor does play multiple parts), it's easy to see that his actor, Andy Brady, is having a lot of fun with his role. In fact, it seems to me like the entire cast is having fun with their roles, and although the musical isn't necessarily the happiest one out there, I still think it's important that members of a cast for any theatrical production have fun with their roles, as not having fun with a role could lead to a lackluster performance and bring the play down. That's just what I think, though. (I do question why the actors didn't look at their co-stars when delivering most of their lines, though.)
I feel like I should also talk about the sets and lighting; I don't know too much about those aspects, since I've never done any technical work of that sort, but I'll try my best. The sets didn't look too bad, and I did feel like the 7-Eleven set, in particular, looked a little bit like an older 7-Eleven than the way it looks now. (How would I know, though? I wasn't even alive in 1989!) I did question the use of the Westerburg High set pieces during scenes that didn't seem like they took place at Westerburg High, but I guess that can be excused by the crew not having enough budget or materials for more set pieces and needing to recycle it. Now, the lighting. The lighting puts the spotlight on the characters when they need to be in colors appropriate for them, which is nice. I especially liked how at certain times during Act 1, such as during "Candy Store", the Heathers had spotlights put on them that matched their respective theme colors; I just thought that was a neat touch!
Overall, I enjoyed Heathers: The Musical (or at least, the Live Stage Version that I watched). It's definitely not for everyone, as the dark humor can be off-putting; however, those who can stomach dark subject matter and want to see a musical with witty lines and great music may get a kick out of it, regardless of what production they see. What's my damage in saying I recommend it? I don't know!
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