The cast of “Heathers: The Musical” perform during a dress rehearsal at the Imig Music Building on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
“Heathers: The Musical,” presented by the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music, is a raunchy and entertaining production that takes the audience on an emotional roller coaster.
The musical, written by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, is based on the 1988 film by Daniel Waters, which starred Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer and Christian Slater as Jason Dean. First premiering in September of 2010, Heathers: The Musical has gained global popularity, with several adaptations on screen and stage. Notably, the series “Riverdale,” dedicated an episode to the musical, and in 2022, Roku released its own on-screen adaptation.
Director Kristel Jelinek Brown, assistant director Kyle Stockburger, and the cast, creative team and orchestra at CU Boulder worked passionately to bring their take on this classic story.
The plot of “Heathers” explores intense and difficult themes, including suicide, sexual assault and toxic relationships. The story centers on Veronica Sawyer, a seventeen-year-old high school senior living in a small town in Ohio, who yearns to escape the cliques and cruelty of Westerberg High School. Veronica joins the elite group of “Heathers” after impressing them by forging a hall pass. However, her friendship with the Heathers leads to bullying, especially against her former best friend, Martha Dunnstock.
Cammy Garcia performs the role of Martha Dunnstock during a dress rehearsal of “Heathers:The Musical” at the Imig Music Building on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
Veronica is also drawn to new student JD, whose troubled family history, including witnessing his mother’s death, fuels his anger and depression. Veronica and JD’s plan to end the regime of the Heathers at Westerberg High spirals into violence, leading to the death of Heather Chandler, Kurt Kelley and Ram Sweeney. Initially staged as suicides, the deaths spark a crisis of conscience for Veronica, who eventually breaks ties with JD when he plots to blow up the school gym during a pep rally. Veronica stops him, leading to his death in a self-detonated explosion.
Not only is the show difficult both physically and vocally, but it is also emotionally taxing. Bringing this dark and complex story to life took considerable effort from the cast and crew.
Adriana Ripley, a senior majoring in musical theatre, plays Veronica Sawyer.
Adriana Ripley, left, and Alex Mehigan perform during a dress rehearsal of “Heathers:The Musical” at the Imig Music Building on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
“The process of becoming Veronica mostly involves shifting the way that I view the world. I think Veronica is a more watchful, reactive creature than I am by nature, so I spent some time focusing on some of the things we have in common,” she said. “Our director … did a masterful job setting protective frameworks in place for us as creatives. Boundaries, intimacy check-ins, closed rehearsals and flexible blocking/storytelling really empowered me to explore these topics how I might at first, to gauge my own comfort levels and then explore them through the lens of the character.”
Isabel Harrison, a senior studying musical theatre who is Ripley’s understudy, describes how she personally connects to the character.
“Veronica is in high school and she’s the outcast, and that’s something I definitely related to, which is what drew me to Veronica in the first place,” Harrison said. “Her relationship with JD is very complex and I’ve been through something like that myself. Not nearly to the extent of the show, but through a bit of a toxic gaslighting boyfriend. Being able to tell Veronica’s story and what she’s gone through feels really good to me.”
Although the story is dark, the show portrays it in a light and humorous way. Cammy Garcia, a freshman studying musical theatre, portrays Martha, who is a target for most of the bullying done by the Heathers. Martha even experiences her own suicide attempt during her solo “Kindergarten Boyfriend.”
“My favorite part about this show is that it’s a really heavy show, but it plays lighter than it could,” Garcia said. “ I think the musical brings it alive more. . . I think that’s my favorite part, is just how accepting it is of the dark themes that it has.”
Heather Chandler is the leader of the Heathers, therefore making her the leader of Westerberg High. She is your stereotypical mean girl who is conceited, shallow, arrogant and is not afraid to ruin someone’s life. Mya Busch, a senior in the musical theatre program, portrays Heather Chandler. Busch explains how she brings the character to life in the most straightforward way she can.
Mya Busch performs the role of Heather Chandler during a dress rehearsal of “Heathers:The Musical” at the Imig Music Building on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
“I love the fact that [Heather Chandler] is the head bitch in charge, point blank period. There’s not much depth to her in how I portray her, because she’s just a bitch, then she dies, and then that’s it.” Busch said.
Busch has loved the musical for several years now and describes Heather Chandler as a “dream role.”
“This show came out when I was in sixth grade-ish, and it changed the whole trajectory of my life. I got completely obsessed with it, and it was a huge canon event for my musical theatre adolescence,” Busch said. “I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. I know every lyric, everything, and I have just been dying to play this role ever since.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alyssa Bucaro at Alyssa.bucaro@colorado.edu.
