"Heathers the Musical" Previews- Page 4

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 2:27pm

Basically we can all agree the tone is just a freaking mess. They should just scrape this and let O'keefe write for the Mean Girls musical.

[StickIt]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 2:31pm

Funny enough, Larry O'Keefe's wife, Nell Benjamin, is working on the Mean Girls musical.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 2:39pm

Every movie ever made, with the possible exception of maybe Koyaanisqatsi and The Human Centipede, is being made into a musical.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 2:55pm

I personally can not wait for Shoah: the Musical, or if we're lucky Tyler Perry Presents: Shoah-- the New Mel Brooks Musical.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 2:58pm

MB, "Centipede! The Musical" is coming to the Snapple Theatre this fall.

Most of the songs sound like Charlie Brown's teacher is singing them, but it still sounds promising.
Updated On: 3/21/14 at 02:58 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 5:00pm

Hopefully Wendy the Snapple lady is playing the girl in the middle. That's the Awards worthy role.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 5:16pm

Agreed. She can take it as good as she can give it.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/21/14 at 11:39pm

Jessica was in the show tonight as Heather Chandler. It was her first night on. I thought she was very good.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:42am

Better than the understudy or just different?

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/22/14 at 12:57am

I did not see the understudy but they are raving about her. I thought Jessica was fine. Embodied the role.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 12:22am

It's not even done with previews and a cast recording is now in progress. A recent tweet confirms:

"@HeathersMusical: (it is) RT @ChrisANegron: Now that I just got tickets to see @HeathersMusical I NEED to know that a cast album is on the way!!"

Great news!!

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 1:02am

RUSH TICKETS???????

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 1:17am

You can buy discounted tickets for $39 pretty easily, rush often costs $30ish for most shows, so... not sure why it would matter. A few extra bucks and you can pick your seat and sleep in that day.

[gstrus2]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 6:28am

Saw the show yesterday at 3pm as a backup from If/Then. Lost the If/Then lottery at 1:30 and ran over to New World Stages and at about 1:45 got a great orchestra rush ticket for $27, row k, center. I enjoyed the show very much, and thought it was a lot of fun. The audience ate it up!

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/24/14 at 11:30pm

Just saw it tonight, but I'm such a fan of the movie, they'd have to really mess it up for me to not relish seeing it as a musical, heh. Based on the posts I mainly skipped through in the past in this thread, I didn't have as many problems as others. I don't think a brooding, dark musical would work as well, and I think the audience nearly expects what is on offer here.

It is hard to tell about the appeal beyond Heathers fans, who seemed to be in abundance at the show tonight. I guess I can't dismiss people cheering egg drinking, meat punching and stair climbing over at the Winter Garden, if the group I associate with is going to cheer "F-ck me gently with a chainsaw" just as much.

I almost liked the weird juxtaposition of the bubblegum music and the dark subject matter. I do wonder if steering into a dark, brooding movie with dark, brooding music would be too... very. Whereas joyous songs in the midst of angst, bullying, and murder was almost its own form of subversive.

The guy behind me, who never saw the movie, said it had a very Mean Girls vibe, so that seems in keeping with previous remarks.

But, if you're really going to pick this apart, knowing full well what you're signing on for in advance... what's your damage, Heather?

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 3/25/14 at 10:14pm

I cannot speak to the NY Production but I did see the LA workshop. It sounds to me like none of the problems that were apparent in the LA production were fixed. On the plus side, the book does a good job of transferring the film to stage, keeping iconic dialogue but adjusting to the medium. I though the score was fantastic and actually better than Legally Blonde. My only issue with the score was the song "Kindergarden Boyfriend". It is the best song in the show but completely slows down the 2nd act.

My biggest concern with the show's LA production was the lack of directorial vision and the lame choreography. The director doesn't really GET musical theatre and instead stages the show as a tribute act to a beloved film. There is no identification with the lead characters, nothing is ever at stake, and the whole dark tone of the movie is lost.

[AlwaysLoveCompany]

Posted: 3/26/14 at 12:59pm

So, asked the gun-shy theatergoer, are there many gun shots in Heathers? From memory I recall only one in the movie.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/26/14 at 1:11pm

There are a few (gun shots), but no reason to skip this one. It's a great time.

[fallingawake]

Posted: 3/30/14 at 10:47pm

does anyone know if the opening of the second act changed? I saw the show on saturday, and in the playbill it lists a number by Veronica "Prom or Hell". As I'm remembering the act just starts with dialogue between Veronica and JD, and goes into the funeral. Was there something else going on that they cut?

I generally enjoyed it, but was surprised by the rather sparse set. The crowd was very enthusiastic, with the Heathers getting a HUGE entrance applause in the beginning of the show, and all the classic lines from the film getting cheers

[backtotheskies]

Posted: 3/31/14 at 1:05pm

The song in your playbill is the scene you're talking about, fallingawake.

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 3/31/14 at 1:20pm

The gun shots are from German "ich lüge" bullets - they're not real.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 6:58pm

I've finally seen this and I found it very middling. I enjoyed the score a lot but the rest of the show seemed like just a recitation of all the lines from the movie. The best parts of the book were when they had original thoughts like Veronica's discussion about date rape. I also preferred when classic lines were used in different context like when Heather says "fvck me gently with a chainsaw" in response to Martha. I HATED the expansion of Martha's character. Betty Finn was already a character in the movie who served as Veronica's former friend. I don't know why they had to blend the two into one for this show.

My favorite songs are pretty much the same as everyone else (Freeze Your Brain, Dead Girl Walking, Seventeen Again and Kindergarden Boyfriend). I think everyone knew these were the best songs in the show which is why they were the ones chosen to be recorded for the demo.

The cast was fine but Barrett Wilbert Weed was the highlight for me. I would like to mention that I could not STAND Heather Chandler. Something about her speaking voice sounded like an old woman and once she died I was not happy to see her return in the Greek chorus. I didn't care for the fact that during Act II all of the minor characters were given a song. Maybe if they were dispersed throughout I wouldn't have minded as much. It felt as though they were like "no one else has had their moment!"

The tonal issues were a big problem for me as well. You could tell they were trying to tone the show down like how JD didn't pull a gun out on Ram and Kurt during his introduction. This seems silly since they do end up being shot later in the show. Also lines have been changed from the demo such as "it's my cocaine" to "who needs cocaine" in "Freeze Your Brain."

The less that's said about that sorry excuse for a set the better.

I had high hopes for a musical based on one of my favorite movies and being a huge fan of LEGALLY BLONDE. I didn't hate HEATHERS but can't say I'm clamoring to see it again.

[DebraR]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 10:08pm

I had a great time at Heathers. Hadn't seen the movie so I had a very basic idea of the storyline. Funniest part was when the entire two rows of high school kids in front of us and their very "proper" chaperone, marched out during intermission. Whew was the chaperone miffed, probably very offended It was hilarious and the cast mentioned it after the final bows. Got rush tickets and the seats were terrific. About 5th row center.