Heathers is a musical with a level of cult following that very few in musical theatre have, with a level of fandom that transcends the stage and takes the theatre almost into that of a pop concert. Even from the moment the opening night crowd began arriving, the merch stand lines were absolutely huge, spanning almost the length of the foyer as the crowd began to be decked out in every type of Heathers attire imaginable to create a unique fervour and atmosphere.

Although the musical is more of a modern pop musical, with Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe writing the music, book and lyrics based on the classic dark coming-of-age movie, there is a substance and a power to this show that very few others of its class have, with layers of subtlety in amongst the exceptionally catchy pop music score. 

This is also a very front-loaded score, with arguably the biggest hit of the show in “Candy Store” appearing in the first 10 minutes and it was a highlight of this production. The level of fervour that that song brought, with the crowd screaming louder than much I’ve ever heard before when the three Heathers took to the stage to perform the number. The rendition of “Candy Store” has already gone viral all around the world on TikTok and it’s easy to see why, with Calista Nelmes as Heather Chandler being perfectly cast in the role. With her height and presence, she dominates the stage, with Amélia Rojas as Heather Duke and Abigail Sharp as Heather McNamara doing a fine job as second fiddle.

At first, this feels like it’s going to be a show somewhere in between High School Musical and Mean Girls but things take a very dark turn when the lead character Veronica becomes involved with the mysterious new kid, Jason “J.D.” Dean, whose dark perspective quickly changes Veronica from very much a girl-next-door vibe into a co-conspiring mass murderer (to put it generously). As the show progresses, the schemes of J.D. and Veronica become even more dastardly before Veronica eventually pulls back, leading to a culmination of a crisis that could ultimately lead to her downfall.

The roles of Veronica and J.D. are extremely difficult to play, requiring an immense degree of acting skill that can easily fall into caricature if not done right, as well as dealing with the incredibly demanding vocal lines, especially for Veronica’s part. While the two leads did seem to be nursing colds, they did extraordinary jobs of pulling off these very difficult parts, with Emma Caporaso in particular doing an exceptional job of managing Veronica’s incredibly difficult vocal lines while also bringing an innocence and dastardliness to the role. Conor Beaumont, as J.D. perhaps did not have the same vocal dexterity as Caporaso but brought an incredible darkness to his character, which really reverberated through the whole venue.

There is a legitimate question about whether this show glorifies domestic violence and, given my comments about The Book of Everything in the last couple of weeks, it would perhaps be hypocritical not to raise the same criticisms in this show. But, unlike that show, there is a real darkness to J.D. in this production which unsettles the crowd, and Beaumont deserves immense credit for his acting in this regard, bringing a real degree of psychopathy to the role that resonates throughout the audience.

But while Caporaso and Beaumont are definitely the highlights of this production, it really is a very strong ensemble cast, as although the cast is relatively inexperienced, they all performed exceptionally well, with Nic Van Lits and David Cuny playing Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney very well, bringing a very queer energy to the parts, while Mel O’Brien was perhaps the surprise of the whole show with a beautiful performance as Martha Dunnstock, showing off an exceptional vocal range in the second act.

Set and costume designer David Shields has done a great job of creating costuming and set design that feels very much like an ’80s US high school, while Gary Lloyd’s choreography was also sharp and precise. The band led by musical director Martine Wengrow was also excellent, although it did feel like there were times when the cast was a little bit behind the beat throughout the whole show. The show received a richly deserved standing ovation, even though that was never in doubt with the fandom in this production but there was such a joyous atmosphere in the audience, with the crowd appreciating the extraordinary cast and great music in this show.

Overall, this was a fantastic production, which really has injected a breath of fresh air into Australia’s musical theatre scene at the moment. This cast is an extraordinarily promising cast and it is a show that clearly connects with many people, as evidenced by the amazing crowd in attendance and the extraordinary stage door line after the show, which I don’t think the Roslyn Packer Theatre has ever seen. While there are some legitimate concerns about what this production represents and while there did seem to be some illness going around the cast on opening night, this is a super fun production and one that any fan of musical theatre in this country cannot miss. It’s a short season so get your tickets now!

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Heathers plays at the Roslyn Packer Theatre until 19 September. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: Cameron Grant, Parenthesy