"Heathers the Musical" Previews- Page 2

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 10:55am

This sounds like it's got the Laurence O'Keefe standard style- a blending of serious black comedy and fun campy stylings.

A little bit of Bat Boy with a little bit of Legally Blonde.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 1:33pm

I think at times its a little 'too' reminiscent of LEGALLY BLONDE, but it's still one of the stronger scores of a new musical this season.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 1:41pm

So, is this going for a Silence The Musical vibe, or not quite that far?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 1:47pm

No, it's not a parody the way SILENCE! is. It more takes the dark and non-blinking movie HEATHERS and gives it a musical adaptation you would expect of a stage production of CLUELESS (with a touch of SPRING AWAKENING in the end of ACT 2).

And on those terms it mostly works.

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 2:45pm

I was hoping,and had heard buzz that it would have been, as gleefully, unblinkingly macabre as the film was.

I almost wonder if the change in tone is due to the passage of time. School murders were an absurdist fantasy back then, and even in the early nineties I remember kids singing playground songs about blowing up schools and killing teachers, because we were little kids being "rebellious," and that was just part of kid culture, much like songs and chants about decapitating Barney the Dinosaur were. Any kid who sang a song like that twenty years ago would have gotten either chewed out or a slap on the wrist. These days, even joking about such matters would put you on a list.

By the end of the decade and the start of the new millennium, things had changed. Columbine had happened, and it was not the last. These days, there's not a single year that a troubled young person with a gun or a bomb doesn't do damage to a school or a mall or a movie theatre. People who see Heathers (the movie) for the first time today react differently to it than people who saw it when the premise was still obviously satirical.

Could the softening of tone have things to do with the fact that a musical starring two gleeful schoolyard murderers just doesn't work the way the movie did twenty years ago? Much like you couldn't do Rambo III the way you did before, due to the hindsight of what Al Quaeda and the war in the Middle East became.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 3:10pm

I think that's part of the reason. Looking at the film again today, I was surprised to see how dark and scary it actually is, and yes, it does eerily seem to forecast Columbine (has anyone else noticed that the coat Christian Slater wears in the film is nearly identical to the trench coats the two killers wore to school the day of the Columbine shootings?)

But I think too that the writers of the musical were interested in visiting the piece from the vantage point of where it sits now in pop culture as a 'cult movie' -- which by nature, is something that is celebrated as a sort of 'event' despite whatever tone the original film actually has.

So while the musical is not a parody of the film, it's definitely embracing with tongue-in-cheek relish the place the movie now holds in pop culture as a time piece of the 1980s, and steers away from anything that might bring to mind memories of more serious events that came later.

Which of course makes for a better evening for cheering, beer-drinking audiences. At the end of the day, I think by their design and encouragement, this musical was crafted by the creative team to be a sort of ROCK OF AGES for the cine-geeks.




Updated On: 3/17/14 at 03:10 PM

[BwayTday]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 3:24pm

I believe that it was actually produced by the same people who produced Rock of Ages so that's a fair assessment. I'm so excited to see this!

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 3:29pm

I'm seeing this Thursday and am now excited. And shallow of me, sure, but I hope they keep the ghosts in underwear until then. I assume they'll realize it's distracting and give them ghost-i-fied white football jerseys or whatever.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 3:37pm

I think Missthemountains is missing the point when he calls that choice 'distracting.' It's perfectly in keeping with the tone the writers have created for the musical to keep the ghosts of the dead jocks in their underwear the entire time - its campy-titillating and that is exactly what they are going for the entire evening. They won't change it.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 3:57pm

Oh good. I felt lecherous and dirty (and I'm only 2 saying that and I meant it half as a joke. I'm the one gay man (seemingly) that finds gogo boys/bares strips awkward and unsexy, but that idea oddly excited me. Thanks MB!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 11:32pm

I guess I'll have to be the dissenting opinion on this one because I thought it approached awful most of the time, saved only by a wonderful leading performance by Barrett Wilbert Weed.

Everything that made the movie so wonderful has been stripped away. Sure, most of the plot and memorable lines remain, but the tone set by the film is what made them funny. This is running on the fumes of nostalgia that they are counting on the cult fanbase to bring to the proceedings.

I know Heathers is often lumped together with Mean Girls and the like, but the film I think it has much more in common with is Carrie. There's more dark humor, but it FEELS like that film. I think it was a big mistake to not even attempt to capture the absolute weirdness of the film. Think of that fantastic opening sequence where the Heathers are playing croquet and it turns out they aiming the balls at Winona's head! It's so trippy and world-building.

The musical isn't quite a parody, but it winks so hard at the material that it verges on it. I think the comparison made to Lysistrata Jones is unfair- to Lysistrata Jones. This is more in line with The Toxic Avenger and Evil Dead, making it a good fit for New World Stages at least.

The thing that is so lamentable is that I think Heathers could make an excellent musical. Dark comedy/the macabre is one of the hardest genres to adapt, but I think it can be done.

The score was so disappointing. If you're going to go the bubblegum route you might as well make your tunes catchy. As my friend remarked upon leaving the theater, "It wasn't really bubblegum- just sticky!" There was a cringeworthy song about Blue Balls that made one long for "We've Got Girls (By the Balls)!" JD was musicalized poorly, but even so the actor was able to rise about his song about brain freezes from 7-11 slushies.

I don't know why the expanded Martha's role so much. I didn't really think they made it work, and her big ballad did nothing for me. What was hysterical about Martha (other than her hilarious BIG FUN t-shirt) was that she didn't speak for the entire film until the final scene.

There stage was mostly bare and I don't think they utilized the second layer upstage enough.

It's sad for me not to like this more because of my affection for the movie, and this will now be my go to example for "missed opportunity" until something equally disappointing comes along.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 11:59pm

Oh no... that review is so very.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:01am

What's your damage Jeff? Why do you have to be such a mega-bitch?

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 11:21am

I know I was not the only one who found Kurt and Ram only being in their underwear in the afterlife to be incredibly distracting. Mostly because they are hot.

Maybe I'm being too forgiving, but I thought this was a pretty perfect adaptation from the film. It took everything from the film, all the classic campy lines, obscure dream sequences and expanded upon it. I will agree that to me it reminded me of Carrie more than say, Legally Blonde, and while yes it is campy - so is the original film, to a large extent. As I said, I really think the biggest problem currently is the ending. I really think Veronica needs to die with that bomb in her hands. I also agree with JD being problematic, because his character is hard to musicalize...however, I thought "Our Love Is God" was absolutely bone-chilling. I think it's just weird to see JD sing and dance, lol.

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 11:36am

I will be seeing this in June, but haven’t seen the movie. Should I watch the movie before seeing the musical or no?

[broadwayworldreader]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 11:45am

Overall, I thought it was a cute show.

I will say, the night I saw it I was sitting near part of the production team. How do I know? Because they were wearing merch from the show and sitting in a group next to a man taking notes. Now this is strictly my own opinion, but I find it remarkably tacky (not to mention distracting) when those involved in production are the ones catcalling during the show, laughing the hardest at all the jokes, first ones to jump to their feet at the end. I get it; if you enjoy something, by all means show it, but you are doing your show a disservice when you don't allow the jokes to land on their own, etc.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 11:57am

GilmoreGirl- You should absolutely see the movie!

Missthemountains-

(spoilers I guess)


Why do you think Veronica should die at the end? We need her to put an end to the evil regime at school. I think the ending sequence in the film is just amazing, and the cigarette gag is one of its funniest jokes. She needs to steal that red scrunchie and say there's a new sheriff in town. Veronica is a badass and needs to dethrone the Heathers, IMO.

I thought a big mistake these creators made was giving Veronica too much backstory. We don't need to see how she joined the group or make us think she is best friends with Martha. It makes her character more wishy-washy by joining the group, instantly turning on all her old loser friends/acquaintances and then instantly turning against the Heathers.

I also didn't understand the opening number where all the of the students in the cafeteria were worshiping the Heathers and wanting to be just like them. The joke is that they tolerate the Heathers and respect their place at the top of the social food chain, but under the surface they all HATE the Heathers. This is what makes the school turning Heather Chandler into a saint after her "suicide" hilarious. They hated the bitch all along! If they all secretly were worshiping her and wanting to be her then the joke is lost and the creators missed the point.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:26pm

Saw it this weekend. I definitely recommend seeing (and, if possible - getting familiar with) the movie! I personally loved it but I think if I had seen the movie it would have been even better, understanding even the smallest jokes and references. Highly enjoyable, dark and twisted comedy with some great and memorable songs I'm still humming three days later; and with some incredible voices. The lead Heather cover was fantastic, as well.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:30pm

What I'm reading here is what I was worried about when I head this was going to be a musical. I don't get to go to the theater as much as I used to but this was something I was really looking forward to. And now after hearing comparisons to LEGALLY BLONDE and it being a "bubble gum" score and "cute", I'm going to pass. If that's how it's coming off, than the creators 100% missed the mark on this and even from what Whizzer says about the opening number, it sounds like they don't get or care to understand the film.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:41pm

I'm seeing it on Thursday, but that poster design is terrible. Makes it looks like a children's show.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:42pm

You may be right, Jordan. I have never seen the film and enjoyed the show… and I'm sure some people are not partial to this adaptation; but from what I collected from the audience in attendance the night that I was there was that they were eating it up, going wild for the jokes and references from the movie. Interesting to see from an outside perspective having not seen the movie the two sides of this. I'm sorry you're going to pass!

Updated On: 3/18/14 at 12:42 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:43pm

As an extension to what Whizzer writes above, I thought it was kind of a missed opportunity to not musical the "survey" sequance in the lunch room at the beginning of the film which brilliantly (and quickly) gives an overview of the archetypes/class structure of that high school world and how they all fit together. And the Heathers aren't adored - they simply control the survey. That says everything.

[Hackasaurus_Rex]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:46pm

Updated On: 3/18/14 at 12:46 PM

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:48pm

^ Again, as someone who has never seen the film, I understood the opening scene/song as less of a portrayal of how the students saw the Heather's and more of how Veronica/the Heather's… saw.. the Heather's. #heathers Given their entrance and all, I thought it was more of an introduction/well done way to put that onto the stage. It also doesn't help that there's really only so many students; Veronica, the two Jocks who clearly are infatuated, Veronica's first friend, two or three teachers and maybe three or four (maybe not even) ensemble students… probably made it hard to really introduce them any other way. JD was not in the opening scene when I saw it.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/18/14 at 12:56pm

MB, I completely agree that the survey should have been musicalized. It would be easy to turn that question into different verses the Heathers sing as the travel from group to group.

What's great about that survey is that before Heather Chandler approaches the table all the students are like, "God, I hate that bitch. She's so evil!" But then they realize their place and bow down to her power, indulging her with her stupid question and taking her insults about clothing, etc. The Heathers have all the power, but no actual love from the masses. They are dictators.

The opening number did have the students commenting on how much they loved the Heathers- one guy even wanted to tie one of them up in a warehouse and do things to her.

Updated On: 3/18/14 at 12:56 PM