So you, the reader, are probably wondering why I have decided to create a post about "Heathers"? Well, I discovered this musical back in March and have been listening to the original broadway cast recording ever since. I was lucky enough to discover a video of the full performance on youtube so I have had the chance to see the West End performance. I LOVE THIS MUSICAL. A part of me is writing this as a fangirl and the other part is writing this in the hopes that this musical returns to the West End.
Side note: Last night an announcement was made (after I originally wrote this post) that next year they are going to come back and do a UK tour. Locations have been confirmed but dates, times, tickets and cast are yet to be announced. Keep an eye on "What's on stage" for further information.
Now we have addressed all the admin stuff, let's actually begin the discussion. Warning, spoilers!!! This musical is crazily ironic as it was more popular when it left broadway than when it was actually on broadway, this reminds me of Heather Chandler as she is even more popular when she dies than she is when she is alive.
Heather Chandler I must say, through life and death you will forever be "a mythic b*****", however I have to give you credit for saying the most hilarious line in the whole musical, "F**** me gently with a chainsaw!". Now let's discuss where you went wrong. I hate you for picking on poor, innocent Martha Dunnstock. So what if she has a different body type? So what if she stands out for her cute choices in clothes? She is fabulous and adorable and didn't deserve to be treated the way you treated her! It would be one thing if she was horrible back to you but she treated you and all the other "popular" people with kindness and respect. Not to mention it was absolutely despicable of you to dress up a pig pinata like her! Sure, you didn't deserve to die but you certainly didn't deserve to get away with what you did. You should have been suspended for bullying.
This brings me onto the teachers in the musical. They are just as messed up as some of the pupils! How the heck did they not notice the way that Martha was being treated? If they did notice and chose to ignore it, they shouldn't even be allowed to be teachers because that is a clear sign of neglect. I am really concerned about Mrs Fleming, she says "This is the loveliest suicide note I have ever read!". How many has she seen? I don't think that calling the suicide note "lovely" was the right response. I also don't think that screaming "Our children are dying!" is the right response either. I don't understand how she is the school's guidance counselor, she really shouldn't be as she clearly has no idea what she is doing.
Let's talk about JD (Jason Dean) and Veronica (Sawyer) as a couple. It was so innocent at the very beginning, especially during "Freeze your brain", it absolutely sucks that it went so, so, so wrong. Side note: as much as I know that this relationship was very wrong for obvious reasons, I still think that they were a good couple to watch purely because the actors who portrayed them did it very well. Veronica, you should have broken up with him when he switched out the prairie oyster you were going to give to Heather Chandler for drain cleaner. Veronica, you should not have let him persuade you to fake Heather's suicide note. The fact that he was putting "Ichlug" bullets in real guns should have been a definite sign that he was dangerous and that you should have broken up with him. When he lied to you about the bullets, you should have broken up with him!. There were so many warning signs and you ignored them or justified them! Veronica, it took you 11 songs to tell him that what he was doing wasn't right and even then, you didn't break up with him until 5 songs later! The moment you began to feel scared by him, you should have broken up with him!!
JD's parents shouldn't have been allowed to be parents, there's nothing more to say about that.
There is one thing that truly annoys me about the West End version of "Heathers". They changed the hilarious song called "Blue", which I suggest listening to with headphones in and refrain from singing out loud unless you are home alone, to the dark song called "You're welcome". Don't get me wrong this song is really well written but I have to be honest, it belongs in a different musical. "Blue" made the audience cry with laughter and made JD and Veronica's murder of Ram and Kurt incredibly evil as it made the boys look young, immature and unthreatening. However "You're welcome" made the audience feel uncomfortable due to the dark undertone and implications that the boys were going to rape Veronica. This makes me annoyed as it seems to justify JD and Veronica's murder of them, which is not the intention of the scene at all. JD at this point is developing a serious blood lust and need to murder, using a song like "Blue" makes it clearer to the audience that JD is becoming seriously dangerous and shows that he is manipulating Veronica by lying to her.
On a more positive note, the rest of the songs! I love them, they are amazing!! They tell the story so well that it's easy to follow along just by listening. They take you on the best emotional rollercoaster! "Beautiful" introduces the audience to the various characters, "Candy store" shows us how b**** the Heathers really are, "Freeze your brain" sends a subtle warning to the audience about JD's true character, "Big Fun" feels very realistic and is built to shock the adults in the audience, "Dead girl walking" there are no words, its sexy and freaky at the same time, "Me inside of me" is very confusing as it is such a sad song but has funny elements to it, "Our love is God" is one of my absolute favourite songs even though it hints at JD's dark side, I can't listen to "My dead gay son" without both cheering and crying with laughter, "Seventeen" is another one of my absolute favourite songs because Veronica finally openly states that what they are doing is wrong and the harmonies give me chills they are so perfect, "Shine a light" is incredibly upbeat but it left me thinking wtf, "Lifeboat" is just utterly miserable, "Kindergarten boyfriend" is heartwarming but the ending is so abrupt and "Meant to be yours" is really powerful but uncomfortable to listen to. Click on the video below to find the full original broadway cast recording on youtube.
I decided not to mention reprises because they vary depending on which production you see and as much as I think they are necessary, they are very short as they are mainly used for transitions.
The only reprise I will be talking about is "Seventeen" purely because it confuses and frustrates me. This reprise comes just after JD has been blown up and Veronica has claimed the red scrunchie of power. Veronica, we need to talk. I will never understand the way your mind works or even how you survived! You were literally standing in a corner when the bomb went off! How did you come out alive with your hair messed up, smoke all over your face and a missing shoe? The fact that you survived a bomb isn't the only thing that completely boggles my mind, most people would be in shock or traumatised by watching their boyfriend be blown up by a bomb but not you. You've literally killed three people and watched your abusive boyfriend die but sure let's sing about being "Seventeen"!
What are your thoughts about "Heathers"? What's your favourite line/song in the show? What do you think of Veronica and JD as a couple? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments and we can all geek out about this amazing production.
That's all for this week, thank you for reading and stay tuned as next week I'll be discussing "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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