Heathers the Musical – Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

Book, Music and Lyrics: Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe

Director: Andy Fickman

Heathers the Musical is never gone for long and it’s back on tour. Teen Veronica Sawyer is an outcast and she manages to make her way into the popular group, the Heathers, in an attempt to make it through high school. As she moves through life in the group and then falls in love with the mysterious and slightly sinister J.D., she discovers that popularity isn’t necessarily all it’s made out to be.

It’s not a surprise that Heathers has gained such a strong fanbase, particularly from younger generations. The score from Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe is excellent, packed full of catchy upbeat numbers and emotional angsty ballads. The production is energetic, due to Andy Fickman’s direction and Gary Lloyd’s choreography, and and incredibly slick, particularly thanks to David Shields innovative set design. However, this current tour seems to just be lacking that extra little spark that previous productions have had. In particular, the comedy doesn’t seem to land as naturally as it has done before.

Regardless, this tour does boast a very talented cast, led by rising musical theatre star Gerardine Sacdalan as Veronica. Sacadalan is likeable leading lady, whilst not shying away from showing Veronica’s flaws – it’s an incredibly human characterisation. She delivers powerhouse vocals, as audiences expect from this role in this show, but her softer vocal moments have a beautiful tenderness that this reviewer hasn’t seen before. This brings a lovely contrast to the predominantly high power vocals throughout the rest of the score. Louis Hearsey is wonderful opposite Sacdalan as J.D. He brings a youthfulness to the role that some of his predecessors haven’t done. Whilst he sings up a storm, it’s in his acting where he really shines. We buy into J.D.’s conviction that the awful acts he’s committing are genuinely making the world a better place. His intense love and adoration for Veronica is believable and Hearsey brings in just enough unhinged and sinister traits without feeling over the top.

Liberty Stottor’s slightly country, slightly rocky vocals adds a nice edge to Heather Chandler’s songs. At times, she could make her characterisation a little bigger though and really lean into the comedic side of this character. Lou Henry is a delight as Heather McNamara, the Heather who has wound up in the group but doesn’t particularly want to be there. Henry brings to life the conflict between wanting to fit in and wanting to stick to her morals very well. Jessica Ibadin is perfectly unpleasant as Heather Duke, who turns out to be the cruelest of the trio, whilst still being fully believable.

Sophie Manners makes an impressive professional debut as the truly lovely Martha Dunnstock, with a performance full of heart and a beautiful rendition of Kindergarten Boyfriend. Beau Jackson gives an equally strong professional debut as Ram Sweeney – his rapport with Markus Sodergren as Kurt Kelly is excellent and the duo definitely understand the comedic style of the production.

Heathers the Musical is brought to life by a talented cast in the same slick and energetic production that audiences across the country (and world!) have come to love. Whilst it may not quite hit the highs that some previous tours did, it is still a great afternoon or evening out at the theatre.

Runs until 24th October 2026