September 1, 1989.
Dear diary…
“Heathers” is once again swinging by the Big Apple in 2025, after playing off-Broadway at the New World Stages in 2014. The musical, which is based on the 1988 film, has stunned audiences worldwide since its first engagement in Los Angeles in 2013 to its run across the West End.
In London, “Heathers” has experienced several revivals, running from June 9 to Aug. 4, 2018 off-West End at The Other Palace and transferred in 2021 at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, which ran from June 21 to Sept. 11, 2021. Another revival came back to the Other Palace in 2022 and closed on Sep. 3, 2023.
Meanwhile, “Heathers” only ran for less than four months at New World Stages, from March 31 to Aug. 4 in 2014.
Despite its short run off-Broadway, “Heathers” has gained a cult following and gained much appreciation, which potentially gave it a bookmark to come back in the future.
“And although its Off-Broadway stage is coming to an end, we are so thrilled to have established our brand with this solid New York run, opening many doors for the future of this piece, which we look forward to announcing very soon,” director Andy Fickman said.
Two concert presentations of the 2014 off-Broadway show played at the 54 Below cabaret club. Since then, it has laid dormant on the shores of Broadway, until the tide reels back in 2025. With that knowledge, it’s time to take a ride into the story behind the show.
Before it was a musical, “Heathers” was a movie debut for two people: writer Daniel Waters and director Michael Lehmann. Waters’ initial perception was that he wanted to make “the greatest ever teen film” akin to Stanley Kubrick.
“Stanley Kubrick did his science fiction movie,” Waters said in an interview from Go Into The Story. “He did his horror movie. He did his war movie. Well, what if he did his teen film?”
While not getting the legendary director to direct the movie, Waters wanted the movie to be satirical, contrasting the optimism most teen movies had during the 80s. The cast starred Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer, who greatly wanted the role. Director Lehmann later realized that Ryder set the tone for the other actors, all of whom were teenagers themselves. Members like Shannen Doherty (Heather Duke) and Christian Slater (Jason “J.D.” Dean) were 17 and 19, respectively, while Ryder was initially 15 herself, before turning 16 during production.
“There’s something particularly disturbing about seeing something as hard-edged as ‘Heathers’ being played by actual teenagers,” Lehmann said.
In the story, Veronica joins the popular – almost controlling – group of Heathers before running into J.D. The two quickly form a bond over their dislike of the Heathers, who behaved unforgivably at a frat party they attend. The duo kill the initial leader, Heather Chandler, after J.D. pours drain cleaner into a mug mixed with orange juice and milk and Veronica mistakenly brings the cup to her.
With reality setting in, J.D. makes Veronica forge a suicide note for Chandler using her handwriting. The community idolizes her memory in death, giving Heather Duke the opportunity to step up as leader. Meanwhile, Heather McNamara gets Veronica and two other boys (Kurt and Ram) to go on a double date, with J.D. trailing behind. This leads to a false rumor about Veronica being spread, and the duo end up shooting the boys, but J.D. takes both killing blows after Veronica misses her shot with Kurt.
Just like with Heather Chandler, Kurt and Ram are perceived as martyrs and this ends up being the last straw for Veronica, who breaks up with J.D.. In turn, he coerces Duke to sign a petition intending to become a mass suicide note. This power dynamic affects a certain girl, Martha, who tries to take her own life walking into traffic. She survives, but is ridiculed; McNamara almost suffers the same fate discussing her depression over the radio. Duke bullies her, but Veronica stops her from her life-ending attempt in the bathroom.
J.D. is still active, visiting Veronica’s parents to tell them she might take her own life. Realizing the plan, Veronica beats him to the punch. This gives J.D. the urge to blow up the school pep rally, imagining it as a mass suicide. He prepares the explosives in the gym and boiler room before Veronica confronts and shoots him. However, J.D. survives long enough to give some final words before blowing himself up.
Veronica assumes control over Duke and in the end invites the badly injured Martha to spend time watching movies.
The movie never met initial expectations, but it hit the ground running on the stage. Writers Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe handled the task of the adaptation, with the guidance of Waters. The two kept Waters’ faithful characterization, while adding their own gritty, dark comedic spin and emotionally complex musical numbers. When it premiered in 2014, both fans of the film and newcomers loved how the musical brought a fresh spring into the original tale while still staying true to the original.
The musical gained widespread popularity and acclaim, with worldwide productions opening in the West End, as well as Australia. Popular numbers from the show include “Candy Store,” “Dead Girl Walking” and “Meant to Be Yours.”
The 2025 New York revival retains some of the team behind the West End production, including producer Paul Taylor-Mills. Dark humor, iconic characters and relatable themes of teenage pressure are waiting to be unfolded back onto Broadway yet again, and “Heathers: The Musical” is sure to deliver soon enough.