You know when someone says 'Never meet your heroes', I think it's possible to relate this to shows as well. A production can definitely be overhyped - and I am thrilled to say that this is not the case with Heathers. For around four years I have been waiting patiently to see this show performed live and it certainly did not disappoint. What I saw on Saturday 9th June was simply perfection.
Seven years prior to Clueless, and long before Mean Girls, there was Heathers - the ultimate exploration into fictional American high school. The show follows the life of Veronica Sawyer and what happens when she falls for J.D - the new boy in school and when she becomes entangled with the Holy Trinity of high school that is the Heathers.
Despite being a long-time fan of Carrie Hope Fletcher, I was somewhat unsure about her casting as Veronica. By the end of 'Beautiful' - the magnificent opening number, all doubts were cast aside because Carrie is phenomenal. Her voice is sublime, but it's her acting that blew me away. She takes the character of Veronica and adds her own touches that somehow make her even more relatable. Carrie was *SO* good during 'Dead Girl Walking' I really, really wanted to give a mid-show standing ovation. I felt that she was so in character that I truly believed every line she gave. She's extraordinary.
Jamie Muscato captures JD effortlessly. He manages to be intimidating, charming and mysterious all at the same time. His vocals were divine, and by far the most superior version of 'Freeze Your Brain' I have ever heard. All three Heathers were excellent and extremely entertaining. Jodie Steele is an absolute scene stealer in 'The Me Inside of Me' and is a pure joy to watch, perfectly capturing the mythic bitch that is the iconic Heather Chandler. T'Shan Williams takes the role of Heather Duke and is clearly enjoying taking on this show as much as I enjoyed watching her. She for me gives the best attitude of the three and certainly takes no prisoners, especially in the new song 'Never Shut Up Again', which is enormous fun to watch. Finally Sophie Isaacs who was great on stage, and had amazing stage presence. 'Lifeboat' was a stand out during the show and Sophie gave a pitch perfect performance which was simply beautiful. She was incredibly lovely afterwards as were the entirety of the cast, who stopped to talk to everyone.
The entirety of the cast were remarkable, and particular highlights were the on-stage bond between Chris Chung and Dominic Andersen, Rebecca Lock during 'Shine A Light' and the hilarious 'My Dead Gay Son' which was a perfect opportunity to show off the talents of Edward Baruwa and Jon Boydon. The ensemble were joyous to watch too and did a great job throughout the whole show. My highlight however has to be the superb Jenny O'Leary as Martha Dunnstock. Her performance was so perfect and you really felt for Martha all the way through, particularly during the harrowing 'Kindergarten Boyfriend'. I was lucky enough to catch Jenny go on as Joanne in 'Rent' when it came to the WMC last year so I knew she was going to be good, but I didn't expect her to completely steal the entire show in the way that she did. She is a very special performer with one of the greatest voices I have ever heard in theatre.
Huge compliments go to the creative team - especially David Shields who created the set. The set is intricate and bright and I bloody loved it. It perfectly matched the score in tone, and I loved the tiny details in each piece of set such as a copy of The Bell Jar in Heather Chandler's bedroom and the 7/11 store complete with fully stocked shelves.
Heathers has my favourite soundtrack of all time, and because of this I was really looking forward to hearing the new songs. 'You're Welcome' is the replacement for Ram and Kurt's 'Blue' - and for me it was the only part of the show that left me feeling a tiny bit underwhelmed. It gave the boys the chance to show off, and they were excellent, but I was a big fan of 'Blue' and despite understanding the sentiment behind the cut, I just don't think it was better than before. Heather Duke's brand new solo 'Never Shut Up Again', was loads of fun, very camp and T'Shan gave so much sass throughout it. We definitely need a cast recording by this lot, not just due to the new songs involved, but also because I think they might even top the off-Broadway cast. Jamie and Carrie in particular who really put their own stamp on their songs. I hope and pray that they will release a cast recording, it would be really great to get better acquainted with the new songs and also to re-live the magic of that night.
Seeing Heathers was everything I could have ever dreamed of and more. The atmosphere on opening night was like nothing I have ever witnessed, it was so thrilling to be a part of something so special and to be sat with other people who felt the exact same way. It's not often I find myself in conversation with those sat around me - it felt like we were all one big family coming together for something extremely precious. I would like to thank all those involved in bringing Heathers to London, specifically Paul Taylor-Mills, Bill Kenwright and Andy Fickman, this show was my form of escapism during my final years at school and some difficult times at home. I will forever be grateful for having the chance to see it live, and it being so bloody amazing. West End transfer anyone?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you can find any tickets go to:
https://theotherpalace.co.uk/whats-on/heathers-the-musical
Heathers plays until August 4.
Despite being a long-time fan of Carrie Hope Fletcher, I was somewhat unsure about her casting as Veronica. By the end of 'Beautiful' - the magnificent opening number, all doubts were cast aside because Carrie is phenomenal. Her voice is sublime, but it's her acting that blew me away. She takes the character of Veronica and adds her own touches that somehow make her even more relatable. Carrie was *SO* good during 'Dead Girl Walking' I really, really wanted to give a mid-show standing ovation. I felt that she was so in character that I truly believed every line she gave. She's extraordinary.
Jamie Muscato captures JD effortlessly. He manages to be intimidating, charming and mysterious all at the same time. His vocals were divine, and by far the most superior version of 'Freeze Your Brain' I have ever heard. All three Heathers were excellent and extremely entertaining. Jodie Steele is an absolute scene stealer in 'The Me Inside of Me' and is a pure joy to watch, perfectly capturing the mythic bitch that is the iconic Heather Chandler. T'Shan Williams takes the role of Heather Duke and is clearly enjoying taking on this show as much as I enjoyed watching her. She for me gives the best attitude of the three and certainly takes no prisoners, especially in the new song 'Never Shut Up Again', which is enormous fun to watch. Finally Sophie Isaacs who was great on stage, and had amazing stage presence. 'Lifeboat' was a stand out during the show and Sophie gave a pitch perfect performance which was simply beautiful. She was incredibly lovely afterwards as were the entirety of the cast, who stopped to talk to everyone.
The entirety of the cast were remarkable, and particular highlights were the on-stage bond between Chris Chung and Dominic Andersen, Rebecca Lock during 'Shine A Light' and the hilarious 'My Dead Gay Son' which was a perfect opportunity to show off the talents of Edward Baruwa and Jon Boydon. The ensemble were joyous to watch too and did a great job throughout the whole show. My highlight however has to be the superb Jenny O'Leary as Martha Dunnstock. Her performance was so perfect and you really felt for Martha all the way through, particularly during the harrowing 'Kindergarten Boyfriend'. I was lucky enough to catch Jenny go on as Joanne in 'Rent' when it came to the WMC last year so I knew she was going to be good, but I didn't expect her to completely steal the entire show in the way that she did. She is a very special performer with one of the greatest voices I have ever heard in theatre.
Huge compliments go to the creative team - especially David Shields who created the set. The set is intricate and bright and I bloody loved it. It perfectly matched the score in tone, and I loved the tiny details in each piece of set such as a copy of The Bell Jar in Heather Chandler's bedroom and the 7/11 store complete with fully stocked shelves.
Heathers has my favourite soundtrack of all time, and because of this I was really looking forward to hearing the new songs. 'You're Welcome' is the replacement for Ram and Kurt's 'Blue' - and for me it was the only part of the show that left me feeling a tiny bit underwhelmed. It gave the boys the chance to show off, and they were excellent, but I was a big fan of 'Blue' and despite understanding the sentiment behind the cut, I just don't think it was better than before. Heather Duke's brand new solo 'Never Shut Up Again', was loads of fun, very camp and T'Shan gave so much sass throughout it. We definitely need a cast recording by this lot, not just due to the new songs involved, but also because I think they might even top the off-Broadway cast. Jamie and Carrie in particular who really put their own stamp on their songs. I hope and pray that they will release a cast recording, it would be really great to get better acquainted with the new songs and also to re-live the magic of that night.
Seeing Heathers was everything I could have ever dreamed of and more. The atmosphere on opening night was like nothing I have ever witnessed, it was so thrilling to be a part of something so special and to be sat with other people who felt the exact same way. It's not often I find myself in conversation with those sat around me - it felt like we were all one big family coming together for something extremely precious. I would like to thank all those involved in bringing Heathers to London, specifically Paul Taylor-Mills, Bill Kenwright and Andy Fickman, this show was my form of escapism during my final years at school and some difficult times at home. I will forever be grateful for having the chance to see it live, and it being so bloody amazing. West End transfer anyone?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you can find any tickets go to:
https://theotherpalace.co.uk/whats-on/heathers-the-musical
Heathers plays until August 4.
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