Heathers: The Musical
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Heathers: The Musical

High school can be an absolute killer, especially if it is ruled by a shoulder-padded, scrunch-wearing threesome who are both the hottest and the cruelest girls at school. Heathers, a cult comedy exploring the pitfalls of adolescence and the dark side of teenage cliques, will be making its Geelong stage debut this October when GSODA Inc performs Heathers: The Musical.

The musical is a fresh take on the ’80s cult movie of the same name that starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, and is quickly becoming a favourite among audiences for its wit, soundtrack and biting social commentary.

It follows high school student Veronica who simply longs to be accepted into the school ‘it crowd’ – a trio of pretty power players all named Heather. However she soon learns that acceptance by the Heathers comes with a high price, and when she falls for mysterious bad boy JD, she discovers that people are paying with their lives.

While the dark subject matter is handled with humour in the musical, GSODA has worked to help the cast prepare to tackle some of the more difficult issues through activities such as inviting guest speakers to talk about gun violence, hosting discussions about how cast members are coping with the issues raised in the show, and providing information on how best to leave your character behind after rehearsal.

Director, Christian Cavallo, said while the biting satire covered confronting themes faced by many teenagers, the message of the show was ultimately one of friendship, acceptance and self-love.

He said the show had become popular for its clever and poignant look at the dark side of adolescence, as well as its ‘raw, edgy and culturally relevant musical numbers’, including Candy Store, Beautiful and Freeze Your Brain.

With Cavallo behind the scenes, alongside musical director Phil Kearney, vocal director Tania Spence and choreographer Nikki Lenaghan, the all-star team are leading a cast of some of Geelong’s most talented musical theatre performers.

This one is not to be missed. Tackling topics such as murder, suicide, homophobia, bullying, sexual assault gun violence and mental health. Despite all this, it ultimately exhibits messages of love, respect friendship and acceptance and remains a story that should be told.

Performances will be held at GPAC’s Playhouse Theatre on October 6 – 7 and October 12 – 14 at 7.30pm, with a 2pm matinee performance on Saturday, October 14. Please note the show is suitable for mature audiences only and contains explicit language.

Tickets are currently on sale via the GPAC website or by phoning 5225 1200.