Heathers the Musical review
An eager new cast makes this revival of the black comedy musical throb with adrenaline
The demon queen of high school has decreed it: after what seems like an improbably short time away (and two years officially), Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe’s musical, based on Daniel Waters and Michael Lehmann’s 1989 film, returns to the London stage before embarking on a 10-month UK tour.
Since Andy Fickman’s production first wielded its croquet mallets and unleashed a perverse black humour charting teenage suicide, bulimia, murder and more on its audience, it’s built a Rocky Horror-like cult following, with its audience often donning tartan skirts, knee-high socks and blazers – the uniform of the Heathers clique – to watch it.
The initial appearance of the three Heathers – Chandler (Liberty Stottor), Duke (Jessica Ibadin, in a fluid stage debut) and McNamara (Lou Henry) – is now an anticipated highlight met with squeals as they emerge, frozen in their poses like a trio of evil Greek goddesses.
This vicious, judgy threesome rule the roost at their fictional Ohio high school, the claustrophobia-inducing brick walls of which form the basis of David Shields’ agile, two-tier set – the first to fill all-new, airy venue the Arts at Marble Arch. They’re every oddball’s fear, and under their watch, the canteen is an arena in which non-conformity can have you strung up and attacked.
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The nerdy Veronica (Gerardine Sacdalan) strikes a bargain with the Heathers, hoping an appearance in their company will get the bullies off her back. They by turn spot her potential for a glow-up, and soon she’s the blue to their red, green and yellow, although she promises her sweetly naive best pal Martha (Sophie Manners), it’s just for show.
At the same time, Veronica has fallen for the anarchic new boy in the class, JD (Louis Hearsey). Under his corrupting influence, they start toppling the school pecking order by coordinating a deadly, Jenga-style removal of its ringleaders.
This revival features additional direction and choreography from Gary Lloyd as well as a cast of fresh faces, the most prominent among whom is Sacdalan, whose beaming smile makes her an unusually peppy Veronica. The character doesn’t need to slot into the goth-chic mould carved by Wynona Ryder in the film, but here it’s a stretch to imagine she’d shack up with Hearsey’s brooding JD, even though he, too, is more charming and less unnerving than previous portrayals.
Both appear to make light work of their vocally demanding parts, and add their own flourishes to the characters. Sacdalan’s Veronica is noticeably tipsy singing Dead Girl Walking – which makes sense of her last-hurrah logic – and Hearsey erupts impressively in Meant to Be Yours.
Markus Södergren and Beau Jackson do a commendable job, too, as the ill-fated jocks Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney, performing full throttle and largely in their boxers. And an eager chorus flesh out the school ecosystem, with each character leaning into their dominant trait, be that preciously clutching their rucksack or shaking their cheerleading pom-poms. After a couple of hours inside this candy store of teenage angst, you leave glad you’re no longer 17.
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