BWW Preview: What's Your Damage? HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL Brings Back the 80s

The demon queens of high school have decreed it--Heathers: The Musical, Out of the Box Theatre Company's latest extravaganza, is a high-energy descent into the fishbowl ecosystem of high school culture. A comedic, cult-classic film from the late 80s, the stage adaptation of Heathers asks perceptive questions, like "what's your damage?" and "did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?" Lively performances by a young cast with a no-apologies attitude and a humor pallette that ranges from raunchy to erudite make Heathers an irreverent exhibition of people at their very worst.

Before Cher and Dion gave Brittany Murphy a Los Angeles makeover, and before Lindsey Lohan wore pink on Wednesdays, the name synonymous with high school royalty was Heather. At the apex of the Westerberg High School social hierarchy are the Heathers--they rise above it all. Solid Teflon. Nothing touches them. Best friends Heather Duke (no discernable personality, but her mom did pay for implants), Heather Macnamera (the wealthy, vapid cheerleader), and Heather Chandler, the mythic bitch herself, raise Veronica Sawyer, a bookish, monocle-wearing wannabe with forgery skills, to the ranks of demi-goddess with the awesome clout of their social endorsement.

But Heathers is more substantial than an artless tale of sow's-ear-to-silk-purse transformation. It's a twisted tale of kids so narcissistic and emotionally damaged that they verge on (or achieve) sociopathic behavior. Veronica's boyfriend, JD, whose anger management could use work, throws the Westerberg social hierarchy into disarray after he impulse-murders the school's most influential student: Heather Chandler. JD transitions from thrill-killer to premeditated-murderer, and Veronica forges suicide notes to throw the police off the trail. The situation spirals further out of control when the deceased students' high-profile "suicides" turn killing yourself into the next big trend. Heathers explores the power redistribution that occurs when a leader is deposed, and the troubling compulsions associated with herd mentality.

Out of the Box's mission is to bring contemporary, non-mainstream musicals to Santa Barbara audiences. Dark, feisty, and satisfyingly bawdy, Heathers: The Musical offers witty dialogue and clever lyrics that highlight the humor in both the invented melodrama and the disquieting realities of the American teen experience. Starring Samantha Eve as Veronica Sawyer; Katherine Bottoms as Heather Macnamera; Courtney Daniels as Heather Duke; and Madelyn Adams as the mythic bitch herself, Heather Chandler. Also featuring Alex Allen, Kailee Clover, Daniel Jared Hersh, Terry Li, Austin Robert Miller, Janelle Phaneuf, Timothy Reese, Julie Anne Ruggieri, Trevor Shor, Zachary Thompson, Todd Tickner, Sydney Wesson, and Jon Zuber. Directed by Jenny Mercein, Musical Direction by Kacey Link, and Stage Management by Katie Williams.

Heathers: The Musical
By Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy
Directed by Jenny Mercein

November 5-15th @ Center Stage Theater

Out of the box Theatre Company