Every now and again, the perfect cast is put together and something close to magic happens on stage. Heathers the Musical arrived in Nottingham last night with one of those casts. Frankly, I’m not entirely sure how the stage supported the sheer amount of talent standing on it.
This was an outstanding night of musical theatre.
Based on the cult 1989 film, Heathers takes us into the vicious social hierarchy of Westerberg High, where popularity is currency and the three Heathers sit firmly at the top of the economy. Veronica Sawyer is smart enough to recognise the absurdity of it all, but not quite immune to the attraction of finally being invited inside. Then she meets the mysterious JD, and teenage rebellion takes a considerably darker turn.
It is a story that really shouldn’t be as funny as it is.
Death, bullying, suicide, sexual violence and the cruelty of adolescence hardly sound like ingredients for an enormously entertaining musical, yet that uncomfortable contradiction is precisely where Heathers thrives. The show is wickedly funny, frequently outrageous and occasionally surprisingly tender. Beneath all the heightened characters and pitch-black comedy, there is something recognisable about wanting to belong and the compromises people make to achieve it.
The score is a huge part of why it works. Songs such as Candy Store, Dead Girl Walking and Seventeen have long since escaped the confines of the show and developed lives of their own, but hearing them within the story reminds you just how cleverly the music moves between comedy, anger, vulnerability and genuine emotional weight.
And then there is this cast.
There isn’t a weak link. Not one.
Gerardine Sacdalan leads the company as Veronica Sawyer, opposite Louis Hearsey as Jason ‘J.D.’ Dean. The formidable trio at the centre of Westerberg’s social order is completed by Liberty Stottor as Heather Chandler, Jessica Ibadin as Heather Duke and Lou Henry as Heather McNamara. Sophie Manners plays Martha Dunnstock, while Markus Södergren and Beau Jackson take on Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney respectively. Veronica Carabai appears as Ms Fleming and Veronica’s mum, with John Gurdían and Reuben Browne taking on the production’s other adult roles.
The wider company features Christian De-Gallerie, Ellouise Delooze, Caitlin Garcia, Alexander Howarth, Charlotte O’Rourke, Thomas Oxley, Tola Sokoya and Carys Taylor – and the strength running throughout this ensemble is quite remarkable.
That matters enormously in Heathers, because despite the title roles and obvious leads, this is a production that depends upon its entire company. The comedy only works when the timing is exact. The bigger musical numbers need voices capable of filling the theatre without losing character. The darker moments require performers who can suddenly strip away all the exaggeration and make us care.
This company manages all three.
The vocal standard is phenomenal. The harmonies are enormous, the ensemble numbers have extraordinary energy and, when individual performers are given their moment in the spotlight, they seize it. Yet perhaps more impressive is how rarely any of it feels like showing off. These are exceptional singers serving characters rather than simply waiting for their next big note.
The result is a production with remarkable momentum. It moves quickly, looks terrific and understands exactly when to push the absurdity and when to allow the darkness underneath to surface. The humour can be gloriously silly one moment before the mood shifts completely, and the cast handles those changes with confidence.
It would be easy for a musical this loud, colourful and quotable to become little more than a collection of crowd-pleasing moments. Instead, this production finds the heart beneath the shoulder pads.
By the time Seventeen arrives, the satire has given way to something much simpler: two young people wishing life could just be ordinary. That emotional contrast is what gives Heathers its staying power. For all the murder, croquet mallets and spectacularly awful teenagers, it ultimately has something sincere to say about kindness, acceptance and choosing to be better.
There are nights at the theatre when you admire the staging, enjoy the songs and head home perfectly satisfied.
Then there are nights when a company seems to catch fire together.
Last night in Nottingham was one of those nights.
Heathers is already a brilliantly entertaining musical, but with a cast this talented, energetic and completely committed, it becomes something more. Funny, dark, exhilarating and performed with astonishing confidence, this was one of the best musical theatre productions I have seen.
Big Fun indeed.
