Is it too soon to ask for a NYC revival of Heathers?

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 9:12pm

I never got to see Heathers when it was in NYC in 2014 and just love the music. I know it was more popular in the UK, but I would like to see an Off-Broadway revival in the future. Is it too soon? Just curious!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 9:22pm

They can revive it in 70 years when I am no longer on this earth or can hear any sounds. 

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 9:30pm

Sutton Ross said: "They can revive it in 70 years when I am no longer on this earth or can hear any sounds.

"

Took the words right out of my mouth, Sutton!

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 9:40pm

Sutton Ross said: "They can revive it in 70 years when I am no longer on this earth or can hear any sounds."

I take it that you did not care for the show.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 9:45pm

Haha. That is correct, Dylan. I'm glad you enjoy the music though! 

 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 9:49pm

Sutton Ross said: "Haha. That is correct, Dylan. I'm glad you enjoy the music though!"

I like most of the music, yeah. It's crazy though because I was in London the summer it was at The Other Palace and I did not go to see it. There were so many shows I wish I saw when I was in the UK all those years ago. At least I saw Hamilton though, lol. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 9:52pm

Absolutely! Hamilton is such a stunning show. I was lucky enough to see it at The Public when it was just starting. Witnessing what they were creating was so very special. Did you like the cast in London? 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 9:58pm

Sutton Ross said: "Absolutely! Hamilton is such a stunning show. I was lucky enough to see it at The Public when it was just starting. Witnessing what they were creating was so very special. Did you like the cast in London?"

OH YES! That was an XMAS present from my parents and I had the best time! It was the full OG London cast so it felt really special to see an "Original Cast" of a show. West End is a completely different experience from Broadway! Like I said, there were a bunch of good shows going on while I was there; OG Cast of Everybody's Talking About Jamie, OLC of Heathers, etc. I just LOVE London in general and plan to move there in the future!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 10:02pm

I haven't been in London in years but absolutely loved it and the food (!) when I went. What a special, exciting place to explore. I hope you have all the success in the world moving there. Have a good night, doll! 

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 10:10pm

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 10:17pm

The current production at The Other Palace was filmed for release so that the world can see what a truly horrendous piece of trash this show is. Ironically the same children who enjoy it also say how offensive and “triggering” the original film (which is arguably the greatest black comedy ever made) is. 
 

But to answer your question, I’m sure someone will revive it. Hell, weren’t they supposed to “transfer to Broadway real soon”?

[pmensky]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 10:30pm

It’s interesting how this show has a very different audience in London than it had in NYC. The off-Broadway production appealed to Gen X theatre goers like me who grew up in the 80’s and were fans of the movie. We went to see the lookalike actors and costumes and to hear the famous one-liners. It wasn’t really about the score, as the original cast recording didn’t get released until about six weeks before the show closed. In London, the show is mostly popular among teens and 20 somethings who love the score and think it’s a cool, R rated version of their Disney channel movie musicals. If they did see the movie, they could not have the same understanding or appreciation of the material as those of us who were suburban, American teenagers in the 1980s.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 10:35pm

I’m sorry I have to 1000% disagree with you. This was never made or marketed to Gen X. If it were, it wouldn’t have been this bubblegum “politically correct” tripe they wrote. This was written for Gen Z and those around that age that you still see dressing up as the characters and going to see it.  
 

I’ll give you that at first, a lot of us went to see it because we love the film but they never marketed it to us. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 10:45pm

I’m not sure why you’re saying you disagree. I never said it was marketed to Gen X, and you said you agree that a lot of us who went at first liked the movie. 

[CreatureKitchen]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 10:48pm

If you mention any show that's aimed at an audience under 40 on this forum, you'd better be prepared for a bunch of snark 

I do definitely think there was disparity in who the original production was aimed at vs. the West End production. The original definitely felt more geared towards those who had nostalgia for the movie, while the West End version embraces the younger fans that show ended up attracting. Although I'm not sure what "politically correct" stuff the show tries to add? I don't think the writing is particularly good, and I think they make a mistake attempting to "humanize" JD. But other than that I feel like most of the nastiness is intact?

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 10:49pm

I left at intermission when it was in New York.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 10:49pm

pmensky said: "I’m not sure why you’re saying you disagree. I never said it was marketed to Gen X, and you said you agree that a lot of us who went at first liked the movie."

You are 100% right. I was reading as I was brushing my teeth and totally misread what you wrote. <3

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 11:35pm

This reminds me of the age of the "top 4" teen musicals (be more chill, dear evan hansen, hamilton, and heathers" back in 2017-2018. Everybody wanted DEH and Hamilton tickets, and out of these 4 only 1 is still surviving. Children the target age of these shows can't survive it. Be More Chill had tickets below rush prices and didn't even get to perform at the Tony's, Evan Hansen lost it's sparkle mid-pandemic, Heathers arguably was less popular than Be More Chill and can't be sustained by being affiliated with the other 3, and Hamilton is the only one that lasted through it all. Heathers is great as a community production and should continue to be licensed, but it's not particularly something that needs to be in NYC again.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 11:36pm

I think it’s one of the best new scores of the past decade. Some really gorgeous melodies and love the orchestrations. The off Broadway show was trash design and direction wise.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/7/22 at 11:46pm

Loved the off-Broadway production. I doubt we will see a revival any time soon. But you never know.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/8/22 at 12:45am

Wow, it’s fascinating to read these takes.

I saw the original production during a trip to NY, back when I still lived on the west coast.

I really enjoyed the show, including the songs, but even at the time I did take issue with its handling of teen suicide. I particularly remember the scene where one of the heathers attempts suicide, and a bunch of pills spill out of her mouth, and it’s very much played for laughs. Made me uncomfortable. I later saw the movie, and thought it gets away with it much better because of its darker tone.

I’m technically a millennial but right on the low end, so I have a lots of “older Gen Z” friends. And yes, I can confirm that this became a bit of a sensation in my circles. It was performed in a lot of local theatres, everyone knew the songs, and there was always a trio of Heathers come Halloween. It entered the canon swiftly, more so than 99% of off-Broadway musicals.

Many of these older Gen Z / younger millennials HAD seen the film, while many hadn’t, and some (like me) only watched it after being exposed to the musical. But there’s no doubt that the musical struck a chord with that crowd.

I actually never knew that people on this board disliked it so much!

As for the OP’s question, my first thought was “yes, it’s too soon,” but I could actually see a viable model for a potential off-Broadway return. Seems like the original target audience (fans of the film) would be augmented by the throngs of theatre kids who have spent years listening to the cast album on repeat. Though I do wonder if current students resonate with the show as much as students 5-8 years ago did. I also wonder if there’s a way to do the show without playing up the goofy comedy quite as much.

Anyway, if we’re talking about Off-Broadway revival of O’Keefe musicals, I’d much rather get Bat Boy.

[CreatureKitchen]

Posted: 9/29/22 at 10:40pm

Kind of curious why not many of the comments here mention the show's success on the West End? I know it's not a 1:1 correlation, and West End and Broadway/off-Broadway audiences are incredibly different. But surely the West End run serves as some sort of proof of concept for a potential off-Broadway return or North American Tour? The show is in an extremely different position than when it opened off-Broadway, both in terms of the fandom behind it and the much more polished West End design/direction/etc.

Anyways, the main reason I dragged this thread back up is that I was wondering if we might start to see hints of any possible future this show has once the West End version closes in February. I also noticed that Mariah Rose Faith (from Starkid and the Mean Girls tour) recently posted another cover of a song from Heathers, and Laurence O'Keefe almost immediately liked it. Mariah has been circling this show for a while, and the covers she's been posting feel very much like the same strategy as when she posted Mean Girls covers and used her social media clout to land an audition for that.

I'm not implying Mariah has any inside info or anything. But I do think, if they were to give Heathers another shot in NY (or on tour), a smart way to go about it would be to cast people with at least a modest social media following that overlaps with the fandom surrounding Heathers

[Alex M]

Posted: 9/30/22 at 7:59am

I didn't think it was that bad when I saw it off broadway but the whole fandom has left a bad taste in my mouth and I really have no interest in seeing it ever agin lol. That being said, I could see a smaller tour doing pretty well across the US.

[inception]

Posted: 10/1/22 at 6:15am

Hasn't it already been licensed for regional productions?  

I just checked & it has, and there's also a PG14 High School version available. 

I don't know if there is a market for a tour when it has already had regional productions.

[CreatureKitchen]

Posted: 10/1/22 at 3:24pm

Yes, it is technically available for licensing. However, I know several people who have attempted to get rights in the US (both for college and regional productions), and they are quite difficult to get. I also was affiliated with a college organization that attempted to get rights, and we were basically laughed off by Concord and told we wouldn't get them. Some regional productions have happened, but they are notoriously stingy with who they allow to do the show. They do seem to be more lenient with letting high schools do the PG-13 version. So, for one reason or another, they are still keeping a tight grip on who gets to produce the show.

Also, countless shows have returned to off-Broadway and/or toured after rights have been released. Kinky Boots is a current example, as is Little Shop. While regional productions certainly put a dent in demand, there is a huge difference in quality and production value between an off-Broadway theatre and your average community or regional theatre. There's also the appeal of getting to see well-known actors perform the material.

Lastly, Heathers was available for licensing before the West End run came to fruition. At that point, after the show's short off-Broadway run, it didn't seem like it had any future, so it made sense for them to begin licensing it. But the creatives can clamp down on rights (or stop offering licenses altogether) if a tour or off-Broadway run happens, so that there is no competition. In fact, I'd say that is probably what they would do in that scenario.