Kate Rockwell to Step in for Kerry Butler in HEATHERS Off-Broadway in October
Rockwell will perform from Friday, October 10 through Monday, November 10.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Aug. 19, 2025
Kate Rockwell will join Heathers the Musical as Westerberg High’s guidance counselor Ms. Fleming, stepping in for Kerry Butler from Friday, October 10 through Monday, November 10, while Butler stars in the Encores! production of Bat Boy: The Musical at NY City Center. Butler will return to Heathers on Wednesday, November 12.
“It makes total sense to me—I’ve survived high school multiple times, so I feel totally qualified to graduate to staff!” says Rockwell. “I’m thrilled to join Heathers and keep Kerry’s desk warm for her. She’s an icon!”
Rockwell is best known for originating the starring role of Karen Smith in Broadway’s Mean Girls, which garnered her a Drama Desk nomination. A natural brunette, her previous Broadway blondes include originating the role of Skylar in Bring It On: The Musical, as well as roles in Rock of Ages, Hair, and Legally Blonde. World Premieres: Regency Girls (Old Globe), Love All (La Jolla Playhouse), and Hollywood (La Jolla Playhouse). Selected Television/Film: “Harlem” (Amazon), “Almost Family” (Fox), “Blue Bloods” (CBS), Tick…Tick… Boom!, “Deadbeat” (Hulu), “High Maintenance” (Max) and Sex and the City: The Movie.
Heathers features book, music and lyrics by Kevin Murphy (Reefer Madness The Musical) & Laurence O’Keefe (Legally Blonde The Musical, Bat Boy The Musical), based on the film by Daniel Waters. The production, directed by Andy Fickman, officially opened on July 10, 2025.
Welcome to Westerberg High, where popularity is a matter of life and death, and Veronica Sawyer is just another nobody dreaming of a better day. But when she's unexpectedly taken under the wings of The Heathers – three beautiful and impossibly cruel classmates all named Heather – her dreams of popularity finally start to come true. That is until J.D., the mysterious teen rebel, turns up and teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it’s murder being a somebody.
Heathers stars Tony Award nominee Lorna Courtney (Broadway: & Juliet, Dear Evan Hansen) as Veronica Sawyer, Casey Likes (Broadway: Almost Famous, Back to the Future) as Jason “J.D.” Dean, McKenzie Kurtz (Broadway: Frozen, The Heart of Rock and Roll, Wicked) as Heather Chandler, Olivia Hardy (Broadway: Kimberly Akimbo; National Tour: Summer: The Donna Summer Musical) as Heather Duke, Elizabeth Teeter (Broadway: Beetlejuice, The Crucible) as Heather McNamara, Tony Award nominee Kerry Butler (Broadway: Hairspray, Xanadu, Beetlejuice) as Ms. Fleming/Veronica’s Mom, Erin Morton as Martha Dunnstock, Xavier McKinnon (National Tours: Wicked, Disney’s Aladdin) as Ram Sweeney, Cade Ostermeyer as Kurt Kelly, Ben Davis (Broadway: Once Upon a Mattress, La Boheme) as Ram’s Dad/Big Bud Dean/Coach Ripper, and Cameron Loyal (Broadway: Bad Cinderella; National Tour: My Fair Lady) as Kurt’s Dad/Veronica’s Dad/Principal Gowan.
