Heathers the Musical – Future Cult-Classic Takes the Theater by Storm

Aug 25, 2025 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Sue Weston and Susan Rosenbluth – Two Sues On The Aisle

Heathers the Musical is a powerful, dark comic musical exploring the potential good in everyone. The show, based on the 1989 cult film, returns to the New World Stages, where it was first performed in 2014. The authors revised it, with a 2018 London premiere, incorporating several new songs and script changes. The book, music, and lyrics are by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe.

It is a coming-of-age story set in high school where sweet children change into mean and hateful teenagers filled with cynicism and apathy. Cliques and loners are just looking for acceptance and understanding.

Heathers is fast, flashy, and all too relatable, as the popular girls and jocks torment the student body, who just want to make it through high school.

Plot Summary

The social structure of Westerberg High School is dominated by three students, all named Heather: Heather Chandler (McKenzie Kurtz), Heather Duke (Olivia Hardy), and Heather McNamara (Elizabeth Teeter), known affectionately as the Heathers. They sit at the top of the food chain, maintaining order and control of the student body, who admire and wish they could be them.

The show opens with Veronica (Lorna Courtney), a geek, picked on by the jocks and shunned by almost everyone.

September 1st, 1989. Dear Diary: I believe I’m a good person. You know, I think that there’s good in everyone. But, uh, here we are. First day of senior year! And, uh, I look around at these kids that I’ve known all my life and I ask myself, “What happened?”

In the background, the insults fly. The cafeteria is chaotic, but settles down when the Heathers emerge.

Veronica’s goal is to survive until June graduation. She forges a Hall Pass that saves the Heathers from detention. This gets her noticed. The Heathers give Veronica a makeover, and their acceptance makes her instantly popular. Her newly found status dramatically changes her relationship with her best friend Martha ‘Dumptruck’ (Erin Morton), whose nickname reflects her size and makes her a target for ridicule.

Veronica might have been able to ride the tide if she had not fallen for the new student, JD (Casey Likes), a bad boy with destructive tendencies.

Heathers deals with sensitive topics, including date rape, homophobia, fatphobia, teen suicide, and murder. Add to the mix is the realization that the school administration is ineffective and clueless, and the adults are powerless.

Picture-Perfect Performances

Each and every one of the performers was picture-perfect. The audience applauded wildly after each song, creating more of a concert vibe than a Broadway show. This has a lot to do with the audience demographics; they were mostly young, many may have been high schoolers themselves, and this might have been their first exposure to Off-Broadway theater. Their reaction was authentic appreciation for the dialogue, the amazing voices, and a great performance, which left them wanting more (an encore, maybe?)

The show we attended was practically sold out, with an audience that ranged across all ages.

Heathers is timeless, striking a familiar chord. While the situation was exaggerated, the emotions they created resonated.

Connecting with your Inner High School

Heathers is explosive, with a cult-like following. At the performance we attended, there were many attendees dressed like Heathers, wearing short plaid skirts with matching hair ribbons. After the show, they rushed outside, standing ten-deep, waiting for autographs.

This show spoke to them. It showed the frustration of being in high school, where you are not seen or heard. Being seventeen should be about hope and friendship, believing that one day they will change the world for the better.

Finding Forgiveness and Friendship

Heathers shows that even the popular girls are not truly happy, facing insecurities. As young adults, they are exploring the world, discovering who they are, and finding their fit. Heather Chandler said, ‘I am more than shoulder pads and makeup. No one sees the me inside of me.’ We saw that even the adults had secrets hidden in their pasts.

Veronica suggests getting past the negativity and finding forgiveness. Instead of acting out and inflicting pain, they should hold hands in friendship, and instead of trying to eliminate those who inflicted pain, allow them to grow and mature.

We left feeling hopeful for the future, a high school where kids can be kids, where communities can unite to support each other, and live in harmony. Heathers makes sense of the confused feelings of adolescence by sharing and airing them; it is a loud, fast-paced show with quotable lines and lyrics, and ends with a silver lining.

Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs (1-5) it pays to buy (rather than make) to see the play, show, film, book, or exhibit being reviewed.

Heathers the Musical received 4 Challahs