This brightly colored musical, currently touring Australia after its run at the Arts Centre Melbourne, boasts a bombastic pop-rock score and impressive stage design. However, it tends to smooth over the darker nuances that made the original film “Heathers” a uniquely compelling piece of work.
Long before “Mean Girls” arrived on the scene, “Heathers” set a benchmark for teen film satire. The 1989 black comedy remains a sharp, cutting critique of 80s high school culture. It starred a young Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer, an outsider who, despite her inner ideals, navigates the social hierarchy of Westerberg High by befriending the powerful clique of cool girls, all named Heather. Weary of their oppressive reign, Veronica finds herself drawn to a brooding, enigmatic new student, Jason “JD” Dean. Their relationship quickly plunges her into becoming an unintentional accomplice to a series of murders disguised as suicides.
The musical adaptation of “Heathers” debuted in 2014 and shares more in common aesthetically and tonally with the film’s more contemporary successors. It’s a high-energy spectacle bursting with color, propelled by a dynamic pop-rock score from Laurence O’Keefe (known for “Legally Blonde”) and Kevin Murphy. The musical has cultivated a dedicated following. The opening night performance felt akin to attending a pop concert, with the audience, many in costume, erupting in enthusiastic screams as soon as the cast took the stage.