Heathers The Musical

Heathers deliciously turns the whole genre of high school musicals on its head. Along with Carrie, seen here 18 months ago, a new, darker sub-genre has emerged, where the bullies get their comeuppance in no uncertain terms? Disney’s it ain’t, while Grease feels like a friendly playground romp by comparison.

Minimal spoilers here, though if you’ve seen the 1988 ‘cult’ movie, the musical’s plot stays very true to the original. The Heathers reign as the school’s three viciously nasty cool girls, while Ram and Kurt are the equally nasty meat-head footy jocks. Veronica is included in the Heathers ‘in’ circle, after proving useful in forging notes, but that gets complicated when she falls for the handsome, brooding newcomer J.D., while also retaining loyalties to her social outcast friend Martha.

Black musical comedy ensues with a mostly catchy rock-musical score (I could pass on the overly long musical gag of ‘Blue’), vibrantly pumped out by a splendid young triple threat cast.

Lucy Maunder is no stranger to tough high school ‘in’ girls, after touring Australia in Grease, but next to cool crowd leader Heather Chandler, Rizzo’s almost a sweetheart. Lucy’s brutally charismatic performance matches wonderful comic timing with the wonderful vocals we’ve come to expect.

Also previously a transformed teenager in Hairspray, Jaz Flowers teams with Lucy Maunder to drive this production. She dives into the complexities of the heroine, Veronica, with zest, complementing the blend of comedy, humanity, darkness and pathos of the role, with her gdynamic musical theatre voice.

The production is helmed by Jaz’s Hairspray ‘mom’, versatile Trevor Ashley, who ensures the entire evening is a tongue-in-cheek, inventive and, of course, regularly high-camp celebration, where the balance between the light and dark sides feels perfect, while Cameron Mitchel’s snappy, witty choreography blends in seamlessly.

Steven Madsen nails the brooding new boy outsider J.D. perfectly.

As brutally bullied, overweight outcast Martha, and deliciously alternate teacher Ms Fleming, Lauren McKenna shines. Martha’s song “Kindergarten Boyfriend” is heart-wrenching contrast with her zany comedy as educational new-ager Ms Fleming, marking her down as a performer of great range, and a considerable talent to watch out for.

Erin Clare and Libby Asciak ensure that all three in girls have their own brands and degrees of nastiness. There’s something goofy and engaging about Erin Clare’s Heather McNamara from the outset, which makes her redemptive turn later in the show all the more engaging, while Libby Asciak’s Heather Duke is infused a genuine mean-streak throughout.

If you ever encountered a meathead high school jock or two, you’ll instinctively want to duck behind the person in front of you, to avoid Vincent Hooper’s Ram Sweeney and Jakob Ambrose’s Kurt Kelly, who land their comic-malicious stereotypes splendidly.

Exceptional ensemble members Michelle Barr, Rebecca Hetherington, Stephen McDowell and Stephen Sleightholme are further proof of deep pool of musical theatre talent in this country.

Angela White's Bright, vibrant costuming and hair for the girls are eyecatching against the fairly basic settings, with extra eye-candy aplenty for audience members of various persuasion when the boys got down to their bulging BVDs.

The intimate Hayes Theatre will never be the perfect venue for rock musicals, with variable success of the sound mix, but in a wonderful production like this, it does little to lessen the enjoyment

Ever dream of exacting revenge on an evil school bully? Or were you inside that cruel ‘in’ crowd? Will Heathers The Musical simply entertain you, or is it your personal cautionary musical comedy?

No playground was ever this much fun!

Neil Litchfield

Photographer: Kurt Sneddon