“Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?” “Dear Diary: My teen angst bullshit now has a body count.” “Whether to kill yourself or not is one of the most important decisions a teenager can make.” No, these are not quotes from Ryan Murphy’s new hit Scream Queens.
But if these quotes sound familiar -- and they should, in my opinion -- then you will be happy to learn that they are from a totally awesome (but underappreciated) 1989 film. Heathers is one of the latest cult films to cross over from the silver screen to the Broadway stage with a big musical treatment.
Like Hairspray and Kinky Boots, a certain pre-hipster cachet is built in these films whose original offerings were rich with cinematic devices and language too radical for the mainstream at the time of their debut.
Now, with a generation of adults with kids old enough to have seen the film as a family unit, Heathers is landing at a great time and creating a new version of family fun.
Heathers the Musical is the kick-off to Actors’ 35th season. This new musical, paying tribute to the cult film of the same name, is packed full of plenty of inside jokes with a new depth being brought to the mix as the new musical numbers give the stage show wings to fly.
Fans of Actors’ family of talented creatives who take on such challenging projects will be happy to learn that Jolene Frankey is directing, with musical direction provided by stage veteran Scott Bell.
If you are not familiar with the story: Heathers the Musical tells the story of an outsider, Veronica Sawyer, a person too smart for her peers who knows she has to play to the clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers. But when she starts to grow bored of her life, Veronica meets a new kid, J.D., whose love of creating a diversionary body count is, well, beyond words for its delicious darkness.
“The extreme always seems to make an impression,” is a line from the film that pretty much explains why Heathers as a cult film deserves such a musical tribute as it builds its case for canonization. Totally.
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