"Heathers the Musical" Previews

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/11/14 at 9:19pm

First preview is this weekend. It's not having a long preview period but who knows they could change stuff. Is anyone going? I won't get to until September but would love early thoughts about it! I feel like it will be a hit.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 3/12/14 at 1:30am

I'm going on the 24th.

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/12/14 at 2:14am

I will be at the first preview. Can't wait to see it!!

[gleek4114]

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

Bump!

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/15/14 at 7:38pm

I'm wishing all of the Heatheretts a fantastic first preview!

Can't wait to hear about it!

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/15/14 at 11:57pm

Was anyone there tonight?

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 12:20am

Just came back. The director opened the show and announced that Heather Chandler had to be played by an understudy last minute but the way shed performed you'd never know. The crowd absolutely ate it up. The material is really close to the source material, they didn't cut any of the classic lines ("Why are you pulling my d***, F me gently with a chainsaw among others) and it actually manages to better characterize both Veronica and Martha better than the film, and even explains how Veronica got in with the Heathers and why Martha has such a crush on Ram. The score is fantastic, and heard numerous people singing "Seventeen" on their way out. The preview on BWW really doesn't do it justice, the score and ensemble were really fantastic. There were a few tech issues which is to be expected but they were played off well. Ill post more detailed thoughts later but get your tickets now- this is gonna be a real hit. Wouldn't be surprised if it transfers to Bway based on the buzz tonight. Also if anyone has any recordings of it please PM me :)

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 12:23am

I will say one thing that I didn't like was that they didn't change the ending. I'm a nihilist but I wish the school blew up. It sticks to the films ending to a T, and I really wish they'd change it. Also Heather Chandler, Kurt and Ram come back as a dead Greek chorus which is cute for some of Act I but the motif overstays its welcome by Act II. Are Greek choruses a staple in O'Keefes work? Lol.

Updated On: 3/16/14 at 12:23 AM

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 12:38am

Thank you so much for your review! I am going to be in town for the flea market and would love to catch it. I will message you in a second.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 10:48am

Can you post a picture of the Playbill cover an a song list? Also what was the under study's name?

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 12:01pm

[IMG]

[missthemountains]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 12:15pm

*Spoilers Ahead*

Ok a few more thoughts- Act One is really, really solid. Beautiful and Candy Store are terrific songs that are very, very catchy. After Beautiful it explains how Veronica got in with the Heathers which is actually really important. This adaptation made me realize how little Veronica is fleshed out as a character in the film, and she is given a much fuller backstory here. Freeze Brain was sung really well but I'm not sure it's the best song for JD in that moment, though I do remember some good lyrics in there. The Me of Me is really quite hilarious (it's a song about Heather reciting her suicide note). Blue is Kurt and Ram's song about having blue balls which sounds really crude, but it is actually hilarious--although I found the Blue (Reprise) to be even funnier. The entire chrous sings something to the effect of "there was a swordfight in her mouth" where I was legitmately cackling (the guys who play Kurt and Ram are really do an excellent job--although after they die, like Heather Chandler, they appear as ghosts...in their underwear, which is very distracting (though they ain't bad to look at...). The bookwriting for Kurt and Ram could definitely be tightened, it's assumed in this version that they are gay, but then in the afterlife they are the same bros they always were...and I was kindof hoping otherwise. The end of Act I is pretty horrifying, as JD makes Veronica his (obviously unwilling) accomplace and ends on a really solid note. Any sort of suspense is killed though during Act II with Dead Gay Son, which is fun but a little too OTT as it stands right now.

My favorite moment in Act II is definitely Kindergarten BF. It's changed a little bit since the Joe's Pub clip, and Kate Linder really brings down the house here. There were cheers even before her song is over. Act II is definitely, on the whole, not as engaging as Act I but I think that's just a flaw in the film as well--although Seventeen is a killer number, and seemed really sappy in the BWW preview but works really really well in the actual show and is very catchy.

The biggest problem the show has now is transitioning from those camp to the dark moments--there are some things the audience isn't sure if they should be laughing at or not, but I think that's just a flaw of the satirical nature of the piece. I was fully expecting this to get a Carrie treatment and be completely white washed, but they hold back no punches here and really "go there". It's a pretty flawless adaptation of the film, they don't leave anything out--they just expand, which is great.

I don't know if it will, but I really hope this transfers to Bway or at least gets an extension at NWS. All of the actors are really fantastic, there are no weak links whatsover. The lighting design and set are very impressive (although the set is very minimal--think the Carrie revival but with a bit more. It really works well here given the multiple locations) and they did a really fantastic job with the costumes. I hate half-assed period pieces but they got the 80's down pat here.

Go see it while you can. Seriously.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 9:03pm

I saw this today and had a fun time but it is the definition of a cult musical. It's almost a send up of the original film. I think it would be a huge mistake to try to move this to Broadway- that is not the place for this. Charissa Hogeland is the understudy going on for Heather Chandler and she did a terrific job.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 9:21pm

MB you must still be at the show unless you mean Saturday!

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 10:30pm

Sunday matinees...?

[getatme]

Posted: 3/16/14 at 10:58pm

I don't believe there was a matinee this afternoon. Just a 7:30 evening show.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 12:19am

Did they start rush yet?

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 7:42am

How do you think the show might hold up for someone who's not really a fan of the movie? I watched it a couple of times when I was younger and remember a handful of moments, some of the more famous lines, but that's about it.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 8:15am

I'm going tonight and am hopeful for it after these initial reports. I kind of love the movie and think it has held up amazingly well.

I think you should give it another chance Growl. I was less of fan when I was younger too, but now I see its appeal and think it's pretty hilarious.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 8:26am

Oh, I'd totally watch it again, Whizzer. I don't have a strong opinion about it, good or bad; I just haven't seen it in forever. Even if I watched it again before seeing the show, it wouldn't give me the level of familiarity with the material that people who've been watching it regularly for the past 30 years have.

But I really enjoyed the rehearsal video they released, and these reports are encouraging. I'm really looking forward to your review!

[tazber]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 8:37am

Thanks for the detailed reviews! I've been hoping this would get a good production for awhile.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 8:55am

The tone of the musical is pretty different from the original film. Rather than being a 'black' comedy, it veers more into satire - something more along the lines of say, LYSISTRATA JONES (another piece of evidence suggesting this really should just stay Off Broadway). The friend who I went with, who loves the film, called the score of the musical, "bubblegum pop" whereas the feel of the original film would be more Tears for Fears.

I think that was likely a valid direction to take the material for a stage musical, but the piece, as MisstheMountains says, pays for it a bit in navigating the line between a satirical tone and the darker aspects of the story. I personally felt the actor playing JD was part of that problem, because while possessing a beautiful voice and a cute baby face, he doesn't really have the dark, seductive charisma that I think is pivotal to what he represents to Veronica (and the plot of the story).

But the two best (and also most sophisticated) songs in the show "Kindergarden Boyfriend" and "Seventeen" do come late in the show and speak well that the writers of the musical are trying to bridge that gap in tone and are headed in the right direction.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 9:04am

I'll reserve judgment until I see it, but it disappointments me a little to hear you compare it in tone to Lysistrata Jones. What's so great about Heathers is the is dark comedy tone. It's the black leather jacket rebel to other teen comedies and if you take away that I fear the piece will lose what made it so special. I hope I'm proven wrong tonight!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 9:56am

The musical still hits the story beats of the dark comedy film, but what it has infused into the tone on stage is that pert sense of 'knowing' and 'being aware' of the film as a cult audience favorite. The actors seem aware of the performances of their film counterparts, the designers with the look of the film as 80s kitsch, and director aware that the classic lines will be met with campy bouts of laughter and applause by the audience. The director who came out before the show seemed almost encouraging of this.

The audience, naturally, was packed with die hard fans of the movie and they ate it up. And I don't think that the appeal of the musical is exclusively for those fans, but I would be wary of doing it in a bigger venue.

Updated On: 3/17/14 at 09:56 AM

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/17/14 at 9:58am

This sounds just like a performance of Rocky!