Heathers the Musical – Darlington Hippodrome

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

Director: Andy Fickman

Heathers the Musical has built up a loyal following amongst younger audiences, attaining a similar cult status as the somewhat darker teen satirical film from1989. The film boasted Winona Ryder and Christian Slater and looked and felt incredibly of its time. Heathers the Musical has ditched some of that darkness and replaced it with more generic costuming and heightened caricatures, meaning that it is less teen satire and more exaggerated comedy – but it still works both narratively and at a performance level.

For anyone who hasn’t encountered Heathers, a group of seventeen-year-olds on the cusp of adulthood are at Westerberg High, where middle of the road Veronica Sawyer finds herself taken under the perfectly manicured wing of the school’s terrifying ruling trio: Heather Chandler, Heather Duke and Heather McNamara (hence the name). Popularity comes quickly, but so does the realisation that her new friends are fairly dreadful people. Enter mysterious new boy JD, and what starts as teenage rebellion soon escalates into murder, cover-ups and some increasingly questionable life choices. It’s incredibly dark stuff dressed up in bright colours, big songs and slick choreography – a strangely successful combo.

Gerardine Sacdalan is superb as Veronica. Funny, awkward and immensely likeable, she makes the character feel like an actual teenager rather than a musical-theatre version of one. Vocally she’s exceptional too, with I Say No a real highlight. Louis Hearsey is equally good as JD, finding enough charm to make Veronica’s attraction to him believable before gradually revealing something altogether more unsettling. He has a cracking voice too, and the pair work brilliantly together.

Liberty Stottor is everything Heather Chandler needs to be: intimidating, ridiculous, incredibly funny and completely convinced of her own magnificence. She dominates every scene she’s in without overdoing it, and Candy Store is predictably a belter.

Sophie Manners gives unpopular geek Martha Dunnstock real warmth and vulnerability, with Kindergarten Boyfriend being one of the evening’s quieter and more affecting moments. Meanwhile Markus Södergren and Beau Jackson are hilariously awful – in the best possible way – as Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney. Jackson is making his professional debut and certainly doesn’t look like it; he and Södergren make a terrific double act and squeeze every possible laugh from two boys who really are spectacularly oafish and unpleasant.

Gary Lloyd’s choreography is another big win. It’s clever, knowing and occasionally almost cartoonish, full of exaggerated movements and little visual gags that suit the heightened world of Westerberg perfectly. The whole thing rattles along at a cracking pace and, across the board, the vocals are excellent.

There are just a couple of niggles. Jessica Ibadin didn’t quite click as Heather Duke, with some dialogue and lyrics getting lost and the character never feeling as clearly defined as the others. Lou Henry sounds wonderful, Lifeboat proves that, but the styling of Heather McNamara’s hair and make up is an odd choice. Something about it makes her look considerably older than the other pupils and, once noticed, it’s surprisingly difficult to unsee.

Still, these are fairly minor grumbles in a show where there is an infectious energy running through the whole company. Dark, silly, sharp and enormously entertaining, this is Heathers at its best. Big Fun indeed.

Runs until 26th September.