It Was Very*

My high school experience was probably more like Sixteen Candles (minus Jake Ryan) than any other 80s teen movie. But as much as I love it (and all from the John Hughes film canon), nothing compares to the brilliance of Heathers.

Dark. Satirical. Hilarious.

Christian Slater when he was hot. Winona Ryder when she had a career.

I loved it so much that I made my parents watch it. My mom, like my husband years later, didn't get the appeal. But my dad may like it more than I do. Which is why I emailed him an article a few months ago. The article described how a group of (possibly crazy) people were turning Heathers into an off-Broadway musical. My dad promptly got tickets for today.

I don't know how they managed to keep all the original dark sarcasm of the movie and still make me dance my way out of the theater, but they did it. The show officially opens tonight and I hope it gets good reviews.

The book is wonderful. It keeps many of the movie's greatest lines ("Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw") and adds some new ones, especially in songs like "Blue" (the "blue" is referring to balls) and "My Dead Gay Son". Coincidentally, the director's friends were sitting behind us and we got to hear his conversation with them during the intermission. One explained to us later that she'd known him since he was a child, which explained his first question to her: "Is it too offensive?"

I couldn't hear her reaction. It's totally offensive in the most wonderful, humorous way. Like high school itself, really. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and so did the everyone else; I have never heard such an enthusiastic audience. Did it hit me like Rent or Les Miserables? No. But you don't always need a gut punch; that's why Mamma Mia played for so long (I would rather watch this show that Mamma Mia, by the way. And I LOVE Abba.)

The cast is great. One of the Heathers looks EXACTLY like the movie character, but otherwise the casting doesn't follow the movie's, as far as types go. The leads were especially great; the actor playing Veronica has an amazing voice.

The only actual flaw - and I say this reluctantly - was the choreography. I get that they obviously hired singers who could move, as opposed to dancers who sing, but WOW. I think Ironflower has had more difficult - and interesting - choreography in her dance recitals.

The only flaw for a Heathers fan is that there was no song about the lunch time poll. I was really expecting that.

The staging was bare bones, there's no flashy stuff that so many shows have nowadays. But it didn't need it; the performances, the book and the score were captivating. At least to a Heathers fan. I'll be curious to see what people who've never seen the movie think about it.

*This is a line from the movie. And the show. I did not forget a word, even though that's what it looks like.