| 'HEATHERS, The Musical' last night ... (long, and probably some spoilers) ... | |
| Posted by: | flaguy 09:00 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| I thought the day of the big 'LITTLE MARY SUNSHINE' kind of Off-Broadway musical was over because, financially, they just can't pay off anymore. Well, last night I saw the new Off-Broadway show 'HEATHERS, The Musical,' based on the Winona Ryder-Christian Slater cult movie of the same name. And there was a cast of seventeen on that stage! Wow! If you've never seen the 1988 film 'HEATHERS,' it was (to the best of my knowledge) the first of the truly mean, popular school girl comedies. Except this one was a black comedy, set at a cliquish high school in Ohio, where the most exclusive of those cliques is the 'Heathers,' comprised of the three prettiest and most popular girls in town -- all named Heather. And they rule that school. A girl named Veronica (Winona Ryder) manages to join their clique, but can't keep up with their meanness. Especially after she meets a new (weird) boy in town named J.D. (Christian Slater), and falls for him. Several MURDERS follow, starting with Heather #1, who is the meanest of all the Heathers, and is the leader of the pack. So, ... what we have here is kind of a blend of 'LEGALLY BLONDE,' 'GREASE,' 'MEAN GIRLS' and 'CARRIE.' It helps to be a cult follower of the film, I guess, to really have a great time with this material. And last night the place seemed to be packed to the rafters with 'HEATHER'-heads. (They even applauded after famous lines from the film were spoken, most notably "F**k me gently with a buzz saw, please!") Anyway, the evening began when the director of this piece, Andy Fickman (whose background is in FILM), came out on stage and gave one of the worst curtain speeches in the history of the theatre. He explained that this was only the second preview!, and then he begged and pleaded for the audience to be kind, and proceeded - at great length - to whip the crowd up into a frenzy for what was to follow. It worked. The audience whooped it up big time through the entire evening, especially at the conclusion of every song (and at the delivery of some of those famous lines.) As for the show itself: it's staged nicely, the choreography will do, the costumes are fun, the set is spare and only adequate, and the cast -- all twenty-somethings playing teenagers, of course -- is excellent. Especially Barrett Wilbert Weed (God, whatever happened to "stage names"?!) and Ryan McCartan, in the Ryder-Slater roles. Heather #1 was out sick (on the second night? FIRE HER!), so I saw her understudy, Charissa Hogeland, who was perfection in the part (HIRE HER!) Book, music and lyrics are by Kevin ('REEFER MADNESS') Murphy & Laurence ('LEGALLY BLONDE,' 'BAT BOY') O'Keefe, so these guys know what they're doing. And, like their previous shows, this one has some very clever, funny lyrics, plus music that just misses being truly tuneful, and a book that pretty much gets the job done. It becomes a little too dark and muddled (and long) in the last half of Act Two, but then so does the film, I suppose. (Or maybe I was just tired, by then.) And, though there's no happy, romantic ending, there IS a sweet, hopeful one that instantly brought this audience to their feet, screaming, with that final blackout! Oy. Did I enjoy it? Yeah. Will it be a hit? Probably. If it can survive the financial woes of a large Off-Broadway musical today. I certainly don't see it moving to Broadway. It's just right, right where it is, at New World Stages. Can't imagine it'll be a critic's favorite, but it certainly was a crowd-pleaser last night. So, as long as they can keep drawing the cult movie crowd that adores this piece into a legitimate theatre, I imagine they've got a winner. Bravo! television's Andy Cohen, a film/TV producer and first time theatre producer, is the lead producer here, by the way. And apparently it was his idea to turn this movie into a stage musical. I kept thinking, while watching it, "My God. Every high school across the country is going to want to do this show." And then it got kinda raunchy, and more than a little vulgar (with a song called "Blue," sung by high school jocks, referring to body parts of theirs that get "blue" when they're horny.) But maybe they'll clean it up for high school productions? Still, when the cast album is released (and surely there'll be a cast recording), and kids hear that song, that's the one they'll all want to sing. On the other hand, maybe high schools are more sophisticated these days than I think they are. In MY day we did operettas! ('RUDDIGORE,' etc.) Whatever. I had a good time. | |
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| The movie IS dark... | |
| Posted by: | Maguire75 01:20 pm EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | 'HEATHERS, The Musical' last night ... (long, and probably some spoilers) ... - flaguy 09:00 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| I saw the show over the weekend and agree with a lot of what you right, except I would point out that the movie is in fact MUCH darker than the musical (the movie is definitely not a cousin to GREASE) which is as much a parody (homage?) to the movie and to the time period of the 80s as it is anything else. I actually thought the musical could have been edgier and less LEGALLY BLONDE. Thought the actor playing JD was miscast but loved the actress playing Veronica and agree that the understudy covering Heather was terrific. It's a fun night. | |
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| re: 'HEATHERS, The Musical' last night ... (long, and probably some spoilers) ... | |
| Posted by: | theaterisok 10:53 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | 'HEATHERS, The Musical' last night ... (long, and probably some spoilers) ... - flaguy 09:00 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| Ah...Andy Cohen from Bravo is not the producer involved in Heathers. Read the bio. It's a different Andy Cohen. He's someone from LA with no theater experience. Saw this Sunday, second preview, I guess. Am probably one of the biggest Heathers fans out there. Was really impressed how well the opened up the movie. (The correct line is, "F- K me gently with a chainsaw..." The directors speech at the beginning was so off-putting, I couldn't get into the show for a while. I was able to see the show in LA at the Hudson, and he pulled the same stunt there. Almost word for word. As for the show itself, I was disappointed so many of the songs sounded like they were cut from "Legally Blond." I guess this could be attributed to the O'Keefe having a certain style, but it just felt like a cop out here. "Freeze Your Brain" has so much in common with "Chip Off Your Shoulder" it's almost plagiarism. The young girl playing Veronica was great in LA, she's even better here. Sorry I don't have my Playbill. But why they brought from LA the guy playing JD I will never know. He's sexless and not intriguing at all. He's a Disney guy, literally. I guess from a Disney channel show? Does anyone know if this is true? Regardless, he's so boring and there is no reason why Veronica would be attracted to him. I really like how the show gets dark in the second act. But I questioned whether to songs were necessary at that point. I'm not sure they found the right mix. Maybe they will work on it. But sad to say, they have done very, very little work since LA- which is shocking considering how much work needed to be done. I agree, every high school will probably do this show. So, break a leg to all involved. A much better experience that "IF/Then." But I'm still hoping for something that really knocks me off my feet this season (and ROCKY was NOT it- I refrained from posting about that piece of junk) | |
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| re: Andy Cohen ... | |
| Posted by: | flaguy 11:04 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: 'HEATHERS, The Musical' last night ... (long, and probably some spoilers) ... - theaterisok 10:53 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| "Ah...Andy Cohen from Bravo is not the producer involved in Heathers. Read the bio. It's a different Andy Cohen. He's someone from LA with no theater experience." Yeah, I DID read the program, and ALL it says is he's had "25 years as a film/television producer." So I googled "Andy Cohen," and this film/television producer - from Bravo! - popped up. Hmmm. | |
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| re: Andy Cohen ... | |
| Posted by: | theaterisok 11:19 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Andy Cohen ... - flaguy 11:04 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| If it was Andy Cohen from Bravo he would be on every talk show, like Rosie, telling everyone about the show. It's a different Andy Cohen. | |
| Link | Andy Cohen |
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| PS -- Anthony Crivello's in it, too! ... | |
| Posted by: | flaguy 09:26 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | 'HEATHERS, The Musical' last night ... (long, and probably some spoilers) ... - flaguy 09:00 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| In several parts, but chiefly as one of the jock's dads. How could I forget that?! | |
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| re: PS -- Anthony Crivello's in it, too! ... | |
| Posted by: | mamaleh 09:58 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | PS -- Anthony Crivello's in it, too! ... - flaguy 09:26 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| Flaguy, I've posted a related question on the rush board; hope you can answer. | |
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| Huh?! ... | |
| Posted by: | flaguy 10:11 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: PS -- Anthony Crivello's in it, too! ... - mamaleh 09:58 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| "Flaguy, I've posted a related question on the rush board; hope you can answer." I don't see it there!? Or anything related to 'HEATHERS.' The only post from you seems to be about 'ALADDIN.' But if your question concerns "rush" tickets, that's a subject I know nothing about. Sorry. | |
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| re: Huh?! ... | |
| Posted by: | mamaleh 11:29 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | Huh?! ... - flaguy 10:11 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| It's under the OB (not B) section in Rush. But you answered it anyway. Thanks. | |
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| re: Huh?! ... | |
| Posted by: | Ann 10:25 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | Huh?! ... - flaguy 10:11 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| Heathers is there in the Off Broadway section. | |
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| Found it! ... | |
| Posted by: | flaguy 10:57 am EDT 03/17/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Huh?! ... - Ann 10:25 am EDT 03/17/14 |
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| But I still don't know the answer. However, the audience seemed pretty "young" last night. And the guy behind me said he got in for half price, so I suspect their ARE bargains to be had at 'HEATHERS.' My ticket price was $75. Can't remember if that was a "deal" or simply their regular price. Anyway, I was in row B Center, and it was a great seat. | |
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