What’s Your Damage Heather? Don’t Miss Cult Classic Musical At State Fair
In 1989, a cult classic comedy came to our movie screens, that dealt with some powerful issues that high school kids are still dealing with this today. That film was called 'Heathers' and it starred Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and a young Shannen Doherty. It has become a Broadway musical and State Fair Community College will be bringing it to their stage Oct 13-16. I got a sneak peak of a rehearsal and talked to the director Ryan Mahannah about the show.
If you are not familiar with the film or musical, the plot of the show has Veronica Sawyer (played by Ainsley McKellips) coming to a new school and getting involved with the 3 "Heathers" who pretty much run the school. That would be Heather Chandler (played by Amollie Stoermer), Heather McNamera (played by Annie Henson), and Heather Duke (played by Kaitlyn Wilson). Veronica's best friend Martha (played by Avory Nail) is bullied by the 'Heathers' and by Ram and Kurt (Walker Beaman and Quincy Wilson). Veronica strikes up a friendship with JD (Alex Knusden) and they become a couple who fight back against the 'Heathers'. You can click HERE for a more broken down synopsis of the musical.
I asked Ryan how this musical was selected. The show opens conversations about dark issues, including bullying, teen suicide, sexual assault, and school violence. He sighted excitement for the show, it deals with those dark themes that many high school students are still dealing with today, and he is a fan of the show. His joy talking about the show was very obvious to me.
I have seen this musical before. This is not a show for kids. It deals with topics that are severe and Ryan has enlisted the help of an intimacy designer, Dr. Kate Busselle. She was brought on to make sure the actors are comfortable in dealing with some of the more adult situations. You can check out the post below for more info.
When it came to casting the show, Ryan was blessed with a lot of talent. There were 3 days of auditions including dance, vocals, and cold readings. All of the cast had to be students of SFCC.
The version you will be seeing is the latest version (UK version). It will have some new songs that were not done in the original Broadway version. The running time of the show should be about 2 hours. Again, I remind you that this is a rock musical, based on a dark comedy, but it is for adults.
I am looking forward to the show and all of the info you need to reserve your tickets are in the post below. You can also click HERE for more information. Tickets are only $5!
I hope to bring in Ryan and some of the leads from the show, for a short interview next week. But this is a show that you do not want to miss. Reserve your tickets. It will be so "Very"