Might feel a tiny bit bad, just a titch. But Damn! I’m going to do it anyway. Despite the slaughter, mental illness, sexual assault etc Macquarie Musical Society’s HEATHERS is deliciously good theatre-going. Slightly depraved, but delectable. There, I said it! Created with the excellence we have come to expect from this student company, HEATHERS crackles with energy, even the dead people, and fills the Lighthouse stage with a wonderful joy of living and performing and loving and killing. Ooops.
With music, lyrics and book by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, HEATHERS was created from the late 1980s film of the same name and it played off Broadway in 2014. The musical remains set in 1989 and we first meet Veronica making notes in her diary. It’s high school and the jocks rule. They bully Veronica and her bestie, Martha and anyone else they can find. But these jocks itch for a crack at the only good reason not to jig: the Heathers. 3 of them.
The Heathers hold the power over the boys with flirt and distain and they also thoroughly enjoy a good old fashioned oppression of other women because … like … who could ever be cool enough, rich enough or just plain, enough. Veronica will fall in with these terrors at the same time as she falls hard for a new boy to the school. The gloomy volatility of JD is Veronica-nip and she just can’t resist a nibble.
And what an exciting pairing we have in Elizabeth Gunther and Sean Van Vuuren as Veronica and JD. They are fantastic leads. Big voiced and with great rapport, they are terrific together especially when they occasionally do the puppy-eyed love thing. ‘Dead Girl Walkin’ is just good clean fun … hilarious but still with a beating heart of meaning and character.
Van Vuuren has a truly enjoyable voice. When he gets down to the lower part of his register in ‘Freeze Your Brain’ it’s very skilled work, as is his character creation. Even when at his most accessible to Veronica, the darkness is there, without being wearisome. As his unhinging creeps in, there is an entirely believable arc and we can definitely see what Veronica is drawn to. Gunther is really engaging as Veronica. Right from her first address direct to the audience, she is warm and charismatic. Her voice has a tremendous range and she can she sell a song? Can she ever. Plus she gives her character an intelligent underpinning of motivation and this allows the audience into an inner world which illuminates her conflicted behaviours. Because she sure makes some crappy choices.
All surface all the time, though, for the hilarious trio of Heathers. The uniformity they achieve is worth the price of admission alone and one could not ask for better dancing. Those highkicks are seriously impressive and every strut and totter is pinpoint movement.
As the bitch that guards hell, Heather Chandler, Ashley Roberts has some marvellous scenery chewing scenes and is obviously thoroughly enjoying herself in that death scene… Actually that might be a spoiler, forget I said that. She also has just the right pathos for ‘Me Inside of Me’. Heather McNamara, played by Holly Last, and Heather Duke, Jamie Lipshitz, are equally as impressive. Lipshitz has a killer solo with some well-done high notes and Last’s Cheerleader physicality is breathtakingly athletic. With the trio having such a thoroughly enjoyable vocal blend it binds the three characters together too, adding that extra layer of believability to their insufferable behaviour.
Just as obnoxious are those boys. Toxic masculinity delivered with flair and unfailing commitment. Max Seppelt’s Ram (seriously!) and Julian Coleman’s Kurt are unwavering in their detestable performances but with that seriously shameless way of being comically vile, one can’t take umbrage. Somehow they don’t get out of hand (cough). Just hide behind your program for ‘Blue’ and you’ll be ok. Whose idea was that song?
The direction from Daniel Hill really steadies the production when it could get triggering and unpleasant in the manky bits. Hill brings a wryness to the nastier themes and a light-hearted wave off when the show threatens to blow up with darkness. It’s very respectful work in the way it doesn’t dwell on the worst and strives to swing back to the positive. For example, in the splendid duo ‘My Dead Gay Son’ from Jack Maidment and Leo Tracy which was huge crowd favourite … life-affirming and jubilant. And it’s not just thematically, Hill has a fulsome way with the production numbers.
This is a very well-rehearsed ensemble and the choreo from Aarin Starkey is dynamic and excitingly conceived. In one sequence ‘Shine a Light’ they manage spiritual, docido, and disco all in the one song before a rousing skip- step offstage. In those showstopper numbers, this cast and director bring a strong storytelling element to the neatly constructed staging. The characters are so well created that when they are all on stage, the side action fizzes with life and detail. Look for the mourning fascinator and the 80’s eyeshadow.
In another example, take the moony guy with the glasses and bow tie … he is a sweet creation in the background, never stealing focus but adding depth to the whole. Also lovely is the lugubriousness of JD’s dad and the perky innocence of Veronica’s mom. Not forgetting the showstoppingly good solo from Lucy Taylor as Martha. Musically very difficult, with elements of the spoken in with the sung and contrapuntal keys behind, Taylor delivers genuine pathos and sadness.
That song is allied with some excellent audio mixing that really allows one to appreciate the piano and a lovely choice of lighting colour. (Technical Director: Marie Angela Echevarria) and Taylor’s final note is a cracker. Also entertaining is Renae Goodman as the airhead teacher and the whole ensemble shreds! (Aden Abeleda, Imogen Lees, Joshua Maher, Megan Robinson, Sarah Campbell)
There’s that kind of depth in the music as well. Under the baton of Aidan Brown and with vocal direction from Steven O’Mara, the music and singing has some really pure moments. Not just their extreme skill at filling the space while the set is changed … it’s a great set but does need a fair bit of person-handling that wasn’t quite smooth as it will be … but in the use of musical punctuation. Like the keyboard at the 7/11, and the bass guitar during the fathers/sons scene. And the music joins in the comedy and tragedy too with fun orchestrations for the kick drum and the wail of the violin, all very well mixed… not too loud but with the fine playing foregrounded.
Everything just works in tandem to bring a highly entertaining offering. It’s obviously a labour of love for Macquarie Musical Society and that shows through some quite bizarre content in places. Bizarre but enormous entertainment. So there, I’ve done it! I have highly recommended a show which hurls dastardly deeds your way with exciting performances, great music and excellent dancing. And youthful mayhem and murder as a side dish!
HEATHERS from Macquarie Musical Society [Facebook] continues until October 27.
