Research for reviewing Heathers: The Musical was handled backwards. I watched the 1988 movie on which it was based after seeing Ray of Light Theatre's production of the recent off-Broadway musical. So every plot twist, every bit of dialogue that has become iconic among fans of the movie, was new to me. That, I think, is a good thing with this particular piece of material. It's easier to exceed expectations when you have none.
This reverse research did produce some surprises. Often what seems outrageously sardonic in the musical, a hip snark retooled for contemporary audiences, actually derives directly from the movie. True, when a musical number is developed from a relatively brief spoken exchange the emphases are changed, but the musical's creators have not had to unduly camp up the material to make it a cool new thing.
When Heathers, the movie, was released in 1988, it fizzled at the box office. But it gained a cult status thanks to home video, no doubt helped by screenwriter Daniel Waters' highly quotable rude twists on teenspeak. You might expect to hear one of the girls of Westerburg High School say something like, "Gag me with a spoon," but when Heather Chandler must deal with a minor annoyance, she mutters, "Fuck me gently with a chainsaw." Many of these lines have been preserved in Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy's dialogue and lyrics in their musical adaptation. Like, "Grow up, Heather. Bulimia's so 1987." Or, "Dear Diary: My teen angst bullshit now has a body count."
Three girls named Heather rule Westerburg High, and they enlist the wannabe popular Veronica Sawyer to be an apprentice acolyte. But Veronica still has nice-girl instincts that the Heathers try to quash, and to the Heathers' horror, Veronica also has a thing for the loner who wears a trench coat to school and helps make Veronica's murderous fantasies come true. Hence, teen angst with a body count.
Even more so than the movie, the musical zigzags among tones, making jokes about teenage suicide, bullying, and homophobia, let alone the Columbine-type massacres that were still a decade away. But the writers have a way of turning the jokes inside of themselves, so it is the perpetrator, not the subject, that is being satirized. The needs of a musical can also bend the source material, as a sincere ballad appears here and an uplifting song of reconciliation appears there.
Ray of Light Theatre has a history of presenting the offbeat along with musicals from the traditional repertoire. A couple of years back, they staged Carrie the Musical, a historically famous Broadway flop, but Ray of Light had to present a revised version that took out all the fun bad stuff, leaving behind a fairly mediocre musical. Heathers: The Musical is the real thing, with all the conscious bad taste intact.
Ray of Light is a volunteer company that nevertheless has established high standards in productions and performances. Director Erik Scanlon has shrewdly maneuvered a large cast through the multi-scene show, eliciting performances that can be exaggerated, but usually in a good way.
Jessica Quarles, as the reluctantly homicidal Veronica, is a brashly commanding presence, with Jocelyn Pickett as the head Heather throwing off diva sparks with a vengeance. Laura Arthur as the overweight victim of the Heathers' practical jokes is sadly sympathetic as she mopes about, but then stuns with an angelic voice in a heartfelt but always slightly comic paean to her kindergarten sweetheart. As the psychopathic teen rebel known as J.D., Jordon Bridges gives a flatter performance than befits the spirit of the musical.
Choreographer Alex Rodriguez provides the cast with exuberant, imaginative steps that work for a group not primarily made up of dancers, and a six-piece band led by Ben Prince ably carries forth through a score with generic pop-rock melodies occasionally interrupted by a surprisingly effective ballad or a rousing gospel-type song.
Even among all the mean-girl behavior, date-raping jocks, and murders disguised as suicides �" and you'll have to trust me that the authors have a canny way of mocking the jokes on these matters �" there are pearls of wisdom amid the swinish behavior. "We're all damaged," says Veronica, "but that doesn't necessarily make us wise."
Ray of Light Theatre's production of Heathers: The Musical at the Victoria Theatre will run through June 13. Tickets are $20-$36. Go to rayoflighttheatre.com.