Darkly Dreamy

Admittedly, “Heathers” is one of the last films I would ever dream of being made into a swinging musical. As a child of the ’80s, I adored the flick — it was stylish, mean, murderous and full of the best quotable lines. Perhaps a dark comedy of suicide, homicide, homophobia, bullying and a mass attack on a school didn’t seem that controversial in 1988.

The Castaway Players Theater Company has assembled an outstanding cast at the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck. These actors have excellent voices and looked confident as they moved around the sparsely outfitted stage. Credit must be given to the efforts of director/musical director/choreographer Sean Matthew Whiteford. 

The scenery took me aback, at first — the stage was outfitted only with a movable three-part platform with stairs. However, the film had many locations that are used to create the odd, hyper-stylized aesthetic. By stripping it down, and allowing the costumes to replicate the bright color palate, the effect seemed closer to that idea of over-the-top imagery. Kudos to costume designer Juda Leah. 

I am not certain, however, that the musical itself works for me as a whole, partially because of the film’s subject matter and the musical’s efforts to try to sanitize and reimagine the satirical nature in our post-Columbine/Orlando nightclub shooting world (the stage show premiered in 2014). 

“Heathers: The Musical” tells the story of Veronica Sawyer, a quirky, clever high school student who is a fringe member of the most popular and vicious clique, comprised of three beautiful girls all named Heather. The chance arrival at school of a mysterious and murderous young man, J.D. Dean, spells trouble for the Heathers and for two hyper-masculine, misogynistic football players, Kurt and Ram.

Olivia Rose Michaels stars as Veronica, the lead role played on screen by Winona Ryder. She is our heroine, and we’re certainly rooting for her, but I expected Veronica to still have a bite to her. While Michaels’ voice is clear as a bell, she offered too much winsome earnestness for me.

Wendell Scherer had a similar challenge as J.D., the sly, scheming sociopath (played by Christian Slater in the film) with whom Veronica becomes tragically infatuated. As a character, J.D. needs to balance charm with utter cold menace, and while Scherer did well with the sinister charisma, having the character break out into dance took me out of the moment.

Perhaps my favorite character was Martha, played by Kristen Schaeffer. As a kid, I don’t recall having much affection for the character — more like sincere sympathy, as she is the most bullied student at the high school where the Heathers reign supreme. Schaeffer brought a wonderful sense of humanity and sweetness to the role — in the musical, Martha seems to have more to do than she did in the movie. I found myself looking forward to her scenes and musical numbers. 

I would recommend this show purely on the truly excellent vocal and acting talents. Perhaps if I were not such a fan of the original film, I wouldn’t have found the alterations distracting. Certainly, it does retain some of the sharp social commentary and ends on a somewhat more uplifting note. 

“Heathers: The Musical” runs through Sept. 18 at the Center for the Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. Call 845-876-3080 or go to www.centerforperformingarts.org.