Casey Likes as outcast J.D. in Heathers the Musical, with (left to right) Cade Ostermeyer, McKenzie Kurtz, and Xavier McKinnon as Kurt Kelly, Heather Chandler, and Ram Sweeney, looking on in the background.
For at least two decades, musical theater has been adapting existing intellectual properties that have had cultural impact with teen audiences, such as Hairspray, Mean Girls, and the recent production of Beetlejuice. Heathers the Musical, a 2014 iteration of Daniel Waters’s 1988 film, is one of those that found new life through song. With book, music, and lyrics written by Kevin Murphy and Lawrence O’Keefe, the musical took the film’s signature sardonic humor to new heights during its original Off-Broadway run.
Casey Likes and Lorna Courtney as J.D. and Veronica, as they take in the consequences of their actions.
Rewinding to the original film, Waters’s crude and macabre take on the teen coming-of-age genre was a box-office flop. For a time the failure seemed well-deserved: a film about a high school in Ohio (here known as good ol’ Westerberg High), a popular clique (the eponymous Heathers), and the pair of social oddballs who accidentally set off a series of murders dressed as suicides at their high school? Yet the film gradually rose to cult classic in the intervening years, signaling a change in satirical sensibilities.
Director Andy Fickman’s revival provides evidence of both the film’s and the musical’s role as a cultural touchstone: before the show, a young attendee walks to her seat in full Veronica Sawyer garb, while 1980s radio hits of the era play. As soon as the lights go down and three of the show’s stars—McKenzie Kurtz, Olivia Hardy, and Elizabeth Teeter, as Heathers Chandler, Duke, and McNamara, respectively—launch into “Candy Store,” it suddenly feels like 2014 again.
Elizabeth Teeter’s Heather McNamara has an introspective moment as Kerry Butler’s teacher Ms. Fleming looks on.
Veronica (Lorna Courtney) is low on the Westerberg social ladder, along with her best friend, the overweight Martha Dunnstock (Erin Morton). They are constantly hassled by football players and school bullies Ram Sweeney and Kurt Kelly, but Veronica becomes an insider with a unique talent: her uncanny ability to forge notes. After Veronica comes to the rescue of the Heathers with a forged hall pass, they take her under their wing until a misstep at a homecoming party forces Heather Chandler to send Veronica to social Siberia. In a panic, Veronica tells J.D. (Casey Likes), a troubled teen who wears black and has taken a shine to her; he suggests she apologize to the lead Heather with a spiked drink. From there, Veronica’s dreams of a smooth-sailing high school life are over.
Murphy and O’Keefe’s score takes on the original film’s satire, balancing its dark tone with songs such as “You’re Welcome” and “My Dead Gay Son” that serve up slapstick in spades (cue Xavier McKinnon and Cade Ostermeyer as Sweeney and Kelly, respectively, comically slap-fighting over Veronica in the former number: “I’ll be lovin’ her well!”). Other songs, such as “Seventeen” and “Lifeboat,” offer some insight into the teenage psyche in a way that pinpoints their complexity (“They were just seventeen / They still had room / They could have turned out good, / But I guess we’ll never know”).
One number in particular, “The Me Inside of Me,” helps drive this idea home. As a suicide note forged by Veronica is read aloud by the police, it paints a sentimental, angelic picture of the lead Heather, whose ghostly figure listens in (“Jesus, you’re making me sound like Air Supply”).
Veronica and J.D. have a moment to themselves after the Homecoming party.
Helping ground these feelings are members of the ensemble, each of whom not only gets a chance to shine, but also taps into the dualities of being a teenager and all the complexities therein. It is a tightrope act of both camp and contempt, one that Kurtz, Hardy, and Teeter manage to traverse with ease. As Veronica and J.D., Courtney and Likes build some great chemistry (and harmonies) with their rendition of “Our Love Is God,” while Erin Morton as Dunnstock, Westerberg’s resident punching bag, expands on her need for connection with “Kindergarten Boyfriend.” (“Certain boys are just for kindergarten, / Certain girls are meant to be alone.”)
As a whole, the revival of Heathers the Musical exceeds expectations with its commitment to the source material and to its initial fan base, as well as to the numerous aficionados who have come on board since its decade off the stage. What endures over time can offer something new for each generation, and this current production is sure to keep fans both old and new back for more.
Heathers the Musical runs through Jan. 25, 2026, at New World Stages (340 West 50th St.) Evening performances are at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; matinees are at 2 p.m. on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. For tickets and more information, visit heathersthemusical.com.
Book, Music & Lyrics: Kevin Murphy & Laurence O’Keefe
Director: Andy Fickman
Choreographer: Gary Lloyd
Music Director: Mona Seyed-Bolorforosh
Scenic & Costume Design: David Shields
Co-Costume Design: Siena Zoe Allen
Lighting Design: Ben Cracknell
Sound Design: Dan Samson
