It’s been a while since I’ve been to a show on this epic scale and I definitely had high expectations, even though I knew little of the show itself.
The original 1980’s cult film of ‘Heathers’ with the classic, brooding pairing of Winona Ryder and Christian Slater was a favourite of mine as a teenager: it took the traditional ‘outsider turned cool’ high school story to a darkly humorous new slant. In an age today where it’s more cool to be the outsider, and Netflix is flooded with stories of serial killers, it was only a matter of time before this story dropped onto Broadway.
‘Heathers’ is set in a typical American high school where three girls, all named Heather, basically rule the roost and are nasty and sassy whilst doing it. On the outside, dreaming of being popular, is Veronica. As the typical story goes, she suddenly finds herself vaulted into the ‘cool’ group. However, with the help of a new, mysterious, steamy and troubled guy in town, she soon figures out that as hard as it is to be a nobody, it’s murder to be a somebody.
The main thing about this show is it’s FUN. Unlike the original, there’s an element of pantomime in some of the highly stylised comedic moments. At first I found it a little bit grating, but once I accepted it as part of the style of this show I could appreciate the comedy more. In this version, Veronica, played by Rebecca Wickes, misses out the angsty goth persona from the film and plays it more as a ‘desperate to be popular’ nerd. It does make her foray into murder a bit less believable (not that it’s exactly realistic in the film) but this interpretation lends itself better to the stage and to the bigger, gesticulating character she has created.
After the first half of the show, she really comes into her own and her newfound confidence and strength shows it, not just in her attitude but with some belting songs. I think those who loved the original film and the cult that Winona Ryder created as Veronica by actually being pretty unique, and in the end proud to be different, maybe somewhat disappointed as the character doesn’t have that dark edge to it anymore. If you go in accepting that then you’ll appreciate the show more for what it is.
There were quite a few cast members who excelled, in particular Maddison Firth, who plays Queen Bee and chief bitch Heather Chandler. She had genuine comic timing and sass that went beyond the usual high school prom queen: this was real attitude with a great belting voice to match. The comedy duo of Kurt and Ram, played by Liam Doyle and Rory Phelan respectively, created a golden moment each time they appeared. I was especially impressed with their commitment to the cause by appearing in only their underpants and socks for the whole second half!
The real showstopper, though, was the overlooked, bullied victim of the story Martha Dunnstock, played by the charming Mhairi Angus. Out of nowhere in the second half, she stunned the audience with her beautifully sung and heart-breaking song ‘Kindergarten Boyfriend’, making the audience really sympathise with her situation and character. This song allowed the fast pace to pause, which in turn allowed the audience to reflect on some of the hard-hitting issues the story was actually addressing.
The directing by award-winning Andy Fickman was slick and upbeat and at no point in the show was I ever bored. The songs were catchy, especially the malicious ‘Candy Store’ in the first half, and some of the one-liners had me in absolute hysterics.
There were times when I felt I was watching a student production, a good one albeit. This was an extremely young cast and the few older cast members looked like they were teachers who’d been asked to do a cameo. It just lacked a bit of finesse and umph to really give it that fully convincing feel of a top touring production. I felt that a few of the cast members needed to be more animated – they seemed to lack the energy and facial expression needed for the more stylised way the show had been directed.
Don’t let this put you off going, because I enjoyed myself throughout the whole evening. Older audience members will love the nostalgia of this classic film and the 80’s backdrop, and teenagers especially will relate to many of the characters and issues found in the production. Though this show is littered with some sassy dark comedy, it also covers sensitive topics such as suicide, bullying and sexual assault. This is ‘Mean Girls’ on a much darker level. It’s challenging for a show to deal sensitively with such difficult messages. However, this production faced them head on, and overall it really does manage to make an impact. In many ways, it’s sad that a story created over 30 years ago can have themes which are even more prevalent in today’s society than was the case back then.
It was so good to be back at the wonderful Leeds Grand Theatre again, where we’re always made to feel welcome.
Photographs by Pamela Raith.
