From left: Sunny Gay, Leah Sessa and Cristina Flores in Heathers. (Photo by Lisa Nalven)
If there is a quintessential Slow Burn Theatre show, it just might be Heathers: the Musical, the off-Broadway edgy romp based on the 1989 cult favorite film. But like so many Slow Burn shows, it never found a mainstream audience and never became a commercial success.
What’s more, the show is clearly aimed at young theatergoers, a demographic that the Broward Center’s resident company has been able to attract. Certainly that was the case at a recent Saturday night performance, where they whooped and hollered their approval of this jaundiced look at cliques, bullies and mean girls.
According to artistic director Patrick Fitzwater, Slow Burn is one of only three regional groups to gain the performance rights to Heathers, before its creators downsize it to a more manageable — and marketable — length and cast. And frankly, the musical does feel in need of a trim, even if Fitzwater has produced one of his most entertaining, on-target show in several years with it.
It takes place at Sherwood, Ohio’s Westerberg High, whose student body cowers under the thumbs of a trio of croquet-playing, ball-busting snobs, all named Heather. They date the football team’s heroes, their preppy manner of dress is the envy of all Heather wannabes, to whom an invitation to their lunch table is the ultimate in acceptance.
One student who has bought into the allure of the Heathers is Veronica Sawyer (slump-shouldered Abby Perkins, the owner of a great, insecure horsey laugh). Seeing a gullible victim, the Heathers pretend to befriend her, only to humiliate Veronica and her standard issue, overweight, socially inept sidekick, Martha Dunnstock, a/k/a “Dumptruck” (Stephanie Trull).
Abby Perkins and Bruno Faria in Heathers. (Photo by Lisa Nalven)
But Veronica’s world view is about to change with the arrival of trenchcoat-clad J.D. (Bruno Faria), a too-cool-for-school dude. The only problem is he is also a homicidal psychopath, as he demonstrates by snuffing out the Heathers’ ringleader (Leah Sessa, brimming with comic attitude and a great withering sneer). As with potato chips, J.D. finds that he cannot stop with just one, and the student body begins to shrink in size. Veronica, who retains a moral compass despite having lost her soul to the Heathers, has to face the consequences of the murders to which she is complicit.
All of this is set to a jaunty rock score by Laurence O’Keefe (Legally Blonde) and Kevin Murphy (Reefer Madness), and fueled by calisthenic choreography by Fitzwater. True, Slow Burn’s timing could not be worse, opening Heathers just as the Orlando mass shootings have devastated the nation. You have every right to be appalled by this show, but the cartoon tone goes a long way towards letting this cynical, snarky production off the hook.
Manny Schvartzman’s six-piece band sounds terrific, in part due to Rich Szczublewski’s crisp sound design. And the inventive Sean McClelland, Slow Burn’s resident scenic designer, has great fun with his high school unit set that features a motif of rows of lockers. As Slow Burn’s first season at the Broward Center comes to a close, the company looks increasingly polished and assured.
HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL, Slow Burn Theatre Co. at Amaturo Theater, Broward Center For The Performing Arts, 201 SW 5th Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Through Sunday, June 26. Tickets: $45. Call: 954-462-0222.