Heathers The Musical Review

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Have you heard of Heathers? It’s a 1988 cult film starring Winona Ryder & Christian Slater that I’d never heard anything about until now. And having spoken to a few people at the theatre, I wasn’t the only one.

The story follows a group of high schoolers at Westerberg High, a school full of dropouts all dreaming for better days ahead. When Veronica Sawyer, a socially-awkward student is taken under the wing of the popular girls, her dreams of popularity begin to happen. The Heathers don’t turn out to be everything that Veronica hoped for though.

Enter JD, a mysterious teen rebel who steals Veronica’s heart right away. He teaches Veronica to fear nobody, but despite his good looks, he hides a dark side.

One of the early lines are “If you want to f**k with the eagles, you better learn how to fly.” On hearing this, you suddenly realise that you need to strap in for the ride.

It’s a dark & colourful comedy classic with a razor-sharp lines and a wickedly funny dialogue. The show highlights the pitfalls & possibilities o high school life, the power of friendship, the importance of standing up for what you believe in, and the lengths that people will go to get what they want.

My wife Kerry said that it reminded her a little of Mean Girls at first. But with these girls, you don’t just get “mean”. You get to take a look inside their souls.

As you enter the auditorium, there are posters which inform us that the production contains haze, loud noises including gun shots, flashing lights & strobe effects, strong language & mature themes including murder, suicide, sexual violence & references to eating disorders.

“Heathers” doesn’t just deserve a warning because of the shooting though. I actually thought that the whole show seems to take sexual assault and suicide a lot more lightly than it probably should.

It tackles numerous heated topics such as bullying, violence, emotional abuse, sexual assault, and suicide — things that teenagers today know all too well. In discussing these topics the script manages to effectively portray these concepts with care even when humor is used to cover off something that would usually be seen as a disturbing subject.

On the flip side, I would imagine that some won’t feel the same. “Heathers” must be a very different experience for some now, considering that just a few weeks ago in Nashville USA, a 28 year old fatally shot three children and three adults at a private Christian elementary school, and More than

349,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine. Should we be making light of or glamorising the subject? It’s not for me to judge, but I would recommend care if the subject is a sensitive one for you personally.

Back to the production itself, the songs in the musical are catchy and will stay stuck in your head long after the show ends. And I haven’t said this for a long time in a review, but the cast is absolutely perfect, with each actor looking the part & portraying their character superbly. There wasn’t one cast member that I thought could have been better, and it’s refreshing to write. And the fact that a live orchestra provides the music for the production is also a big plus for me!

“Heathers” the musical manages to capture the stereotypical teen angst of high schoolers, why complex female characters still matter so much and the cheesy flair of the 80’s!

I now know what Heathers is, I fully enjoyed the show and I’ll certainly be watching the movie at some point. Go and see it, you won’t be disappointed.

My Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Heathers The Musical is playing at the Regent Theatre NOW but ONLY until Saturday 15th April, so get those tickets booked now and don’t miss it! Tickets are on sale from £22.50 and are available from the Box Office, by calling 0844 871 7649 or visiting www.atgtickets.com/stoke