Heathers the Musical Through April 30; Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m., $25. Onyx Theatre, 702-732-7225.
Well f*** me gently with a chainsaw, Heathers the Musical is an enjoyable musical. I mistrust musical re-treads of pop culture, because too often they rely on nostalgia to present a tepid show that exists only as a product of fandom—you bought a T-shirt, maybe you’ll buy a musical, too. But this reworking actually works.
It helps that director Troy Heard has drenched it in a hard candy shell of attitude. Todd+Bryan’s versatile set, Cari Byers’ stylized costumes and Heard’s staging create a heightened version of high school instantly recognizable to audiences and actors. This allows for bold choices in performance as well, and the actors take full advantage, with Brenna Folger’s earnest, searching Veronica using “freeze frames” of internal dialogue to find a flirtatious hug in the middle of a thrown punch. Or letting the Heathers (Kady Heard, teaching ice how to be cold as queen bitch; Lynnae Meyers, delightfully dopey as the third-stringer; and a grasping Amanda Kraft as the climber) lord it over the school, and lead around the oafish-yet-threatening Kurt and Ram (played with just the right amount of stupid and entitled by Jamar Thompson and Jonathan Anders). This attitude plays well with the arch language of the original movie—and yes, the musical does hit all the classic lines—as well as adding its own new lyrical jokes. While none of the new material is as memorable as the original stuff, they keep the tone tart.
Heathers the Musical at the Onyx.
In contrast to this artificiality, the presence of a live band immeasurably helps the performers. Under the superb direction of Halsey Harkens, the music provides an amazing organic energy. Harkens' work also shines through the cast. This is one of the best-sounding ensembles I’ve heard in a while. Individual singers had weak moments, but they were few and far between. This was a cast that, as a whole, felt good in their voices and knew exactly where they were in sound and tone throughout. Credit Heard’s direction for keeping them grounded as characters throughout the songs—important in a musical with as little book as this one has. Watching Maverick Hiu stay present as J.D. in a scene where he has nothing to do except watch added a lot to the creepiness of his character, and it was a moment that could have been lost. And Taylor Ann Powers channeled Joni Mitchell for a haunting “Kindergarten Boyfriend.”
Kady Heard’s choreography is fun and spry. She arranges bodies well in space, creating a sharp kinetic movement to best use sight lines and direct the ensemble throughout the space. Another element executed with skill in a show that was a surprise for me—and a delight.
