REVIEW | Heathers The Musical, The Other Palace
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| A Previous Production Photo by Pamela Raith |
Heathers
The Other Palace
★★★★
There's nothing more refreshing than experiencing a new cast transform a show and shine a new light on characters we thought we knew so well, even more so when that's especially true for the lead.
Erin Caldwell (Veronica Swayer) is a breath of fresh air for the main character and, consequently, the show itself. Her Veronica is subtle, delicate and caring but also determined, almost calculating, with a strength that comes from knowing exactly what she's looking for and what she believes in.
If you're not familiar with the plot of Heathers, the show is based on the 80s movie of the same name and follows Veronica Sawyer as she joins the most popular girls at school, the Heathers, in order to try and survive its cruelty. But it all turns into chaos when she meets the new boy in town, JD (Nathanael Landskroner), and ends up accidentally killing the leader of the Heathers and faking her suicide, thus originating a series of fake suicides in the school (and confessions to real attempts).
Sounds like a tough plot to lean in? Well, it really is, but the dark humour reinforcing the banality with which we deal with violence in a world where it's expected surprisingly works for two main reasons: the expansion of the plot through the songs and the way Veronica stands as the eyes of the audience, the sole representative of the "real world" where everyone else feels like parodies of themselves.
Caldwell connects Veronica to the audience through a tenacity that, from the very start, lends the character a humanity that contrasts with all the others, leaving her surrounded by caricatures of real people. The Heathers especially, with their bright colours and exaggerated mannerisms - and what incredible singers they have in this current cast by the way! - are clearly a representation of an idea. They are the unfair system they put in place where only the strong and beautiful survive, and they only truly become real people once things (quite literally) explode. That distinction sets the tone for the whole show, reinforcing how much clearer Veronica sees the "high school system", so much so that the development of the plot starts when she decides to play with that herself.
Veronica knows what she's doing, and so does this new cast! The energy was electric. From the hilarious ensemble numbers and naughty lyrics for the Heathers to JD's teenage angst and a challenging Veronica, there's an entire scope of this weird high school universe to explore. With a plot that is very faithful to the original material, the show's personality radiates from the songs - hmm it's a musical duh! But jokes aside, the music and lyrics allow the story to expand on serious subjects - frequently ironically - and give the characters depth of personality. And it's very interesting to see how that works at its own pace for each of them.
It's bonkers, a bit uncomfortable at times but surprisingly resourceful in terms of visuals for such a tiny stage - I mean, the smoke covering Veronica and JD at the end of "Our Love is God" culminating in lights off for the end of Act 1 is cinematic! And I'm glad to report Heathers remains that weird friend everyone loves.