It’s a big day for the Heathers. Based on the 1989 film of the same name, Heathers: The Musical takes us into the life of the students of Westerberg High, where Veronica Sawyer starts to question her relationship with the Heathers after being taken under their wings. The dark comedy about the popular crowd (and murder) was a cult classic turned cult musical, and now the off-Broadway musical is heading to Roku!
Filmed at the Other Palace, where it began its U.K. journey, its cast includes Ailsa Davidson as Veronica Sawyer, Simon Gordon as J.D., Maddison Firth as Heather Chandler, Vivian Panka as Heather Duke, and Teleri Hughes as Heather McNamara.
The official synopsis from Roku is as follows: “Welcome to Westerberg High, where Veronica Sawyer is just another one of the nobodies dreaming of a better day. But when she’s unexpectedly taken under the wings of the three beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers, her dreams of popularity finally start to come true. Until JD shows up – the mysterious teen rebel who teaches her that everyone fears being a nobody, but its murder being a somebody…”
David Eilenberg, head of Roku’s Originals, spoke about bringing the musical to their platform, saying, “We are committed to finding a variety of great ways to bring premium programming to our audience, and there’s nothing like the thrill of a live performance. That’s why we can’t wait for viewers to experience the sights and sounds of ‘Heathers: The Musical.’ We’re thrilled to work with Village Roadshow Pictures and BKStudios to capture the on-stage magic and bring it to millions of households to enjoy free on The Roku Channel.”
Village Roadshow Pictures executive vice presidents Apfelbaum and Tuckfield also seem incredibly excited to be working with Roku to bring the musical to the platform, saying, “We’re ecstatic to work with BKStudios and The Roku Channel to directly bring the phenomenal performances in ‘Heathers: The Musical’ to such a massive U.S. audience. The story of ‘Heathers’ has continued to infatuate fans for decades, and we have no doubt that audiences will be utterly delighted by this live adaptation.”
Heathers: The Musical is adaptation done right
The 1989 movie is a classic for a reason, and the musical doesn’t change what makes Heathers so fascinating but instead gives the story a new life and gives fans songs to obsessively sing along to. “Dead Girl Walking” is on nearly all my musical playlists, and the musical is just another outlet for fans of the Winona Ryder and Christian Slater film.
The musical stays truthful to the movie but is also so completely its own that it just works as an adaptation, and moving to streaming makes it so more fans can appreciate the musical that never quite made it on the Great White Way.
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Heathers: The Musical is heading to the Roku Channel on September 16, 2022, and this is definitely a must-see musical.
(featured image: Roku)
Published: Aug 2, 2022 05:13 pm