"Bat Boy" and "Heathers"
I had an unusually busy weekend of theatergoing that included four productions in four days. It felt nonstop, often exciting, and altogether exhausting—a sort of showmosexual equivalent of attending back-to-back circuit parties.
To get the word out on these shows sooner rather than later, especially because a few of them are limited runs, I’m going to make like a queen at that proverbial circuit party and take ’em in pairs.
To start, I’ll discuss two shows with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe (Legally Blonde), one a commercial hit and one a cult classic, but both previously known to me solely by reputation. I left the latter understanding why it has cultivated such love in its niche fanbase, and the former questioning the future of musical theatre.
Heathers: The Musical
I started my weekend binge with the commercial hit: Heathers, O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy’s adaptation of the 1989 film of the same name, which, after disappointing at the box office, became a cult classic itself. The black comedy starred peak Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer, a shrewd teenager with a conscience whose strategy for navigating the brutality of high school—much of which is perpetrated by a clique of popular girls who are all named Heather—is upended by the arrival of Christian Slater’s Jason “JD” Dean, a nonconformist who’s even more dangerous than his rebel-without-a-cause (note the character’s name) persona suggests. After a short stint off-Broadway in 2014, the musical enjoyed a long run in London. A live capture of that production’s return engagement, along with the popularity of a sanitized version available for high schools, has created a massive following for the musical, which is now being revived back at New World Stages.
HERE COME THE SPOILERS. So, if you want to be surprised at the musical and you continue reading…what’s your damage?
While I was growing up, the movie was in my regular rotation until the Columbine shooting. As a high school student myself at the time of the tragedy, I could no longer find humor in the killing spree that Veronica unexpectedly embarks on with JD, who manipulates her into offing the most callous of the in-crowd before trying to take out their entire school. When I last tried to watch the movie, in the late 1990s, I was so uncomfortable I had to turn it off. However, I headed into the musical thinking that time, the shift in genre, or, sadly, even desensitization might allow me to laugh at the story again.
Lord, was I wrong—but for all sorts of reasons. I hated Heathers: The Musical with an extreme violence that perhaps only JD could understand. In fact, I might have hated Heathers more than any other musical I’ve ever seen. It makes Redwood look like Gypsy.
Let’s start with some positives…because it’s what my therapist would want me to do.
The cast is full of very talented people.
Costume designers David Shields and Siena Zoë Allen have created one of the most satisfying onstage quick changes I’ve ever seen.
As pigheaded jocks Ram and Kurt, Xavier McKinnon and Cade Ostermeyer spend roughly half the show stripped down to their briefs, and they look sensational.
That’s it. Sorry, Dr. Williams. Those are the only nice things I can say. And the first bullet comes with the emphatic asterisk that Andy Fickman’s broad and strident direction often prevents the cast from applying their talents effectively.
Take Lorna Courtney, for example, the original star of Broadway’s & Juliet1 who has inherited the role of Veronica, but lacks Ryder’s intelligence, wryness, cynicism, and pathos. Her performance is reflective of the entire adaptation. The story’s outline gives her an arc. She does not play it. From the very start, she shines with such beauty and aplomb, she is indistinguishable from the Heathers, who are, in turn, indistinguishable from each other.
Murphy and O’Keefe’s score does nothing to differentiate their voices until act two, at which point two characters get solos that sound somewhat different from the rest of the music. Otherwise, it seems like AI composed the show based on the prompt “showtunes that will thrill the average teenage girl.” It’s all screlting all the time (and, truthfully, even the two solos I mentioned can’t resist forays into the American Idolsphere). Courtney’s rangy instrument can do it, but, at a certain point, it stops impressing and you long for something other than forte Elpha-notes.2
Murphy and O’Keefe’s book keeps the action set in the 1980s, maybe to avoid more direct comparisons to the epidemic of school violence we face today. It’s a safe choice that deprives the show of an opportunity to say something powerful and specific, but—hey!—it also allows for lots of period references, so…THAT’S FUN! Every major laugh line in the musical is lifted directly from the movie (except for some token audience participation, which feels as cheap as Shields’s set design looks). I suppose I should be glad Murphy and O’Keefe didn’t try to fix what’s unbroken, but if you’re not adding anything of value, then aren’t you just reinventing the wheel?
As JD, Casey Likes is sweet voiced and baby faced rather than sinister and titillating. During the first act, I thought to myself that his performance is what moviegoers would have gotten had Michael J. Fox been cast instead of Slater. Lo and behold, my reading of the program at intermission revealed that Likes played Fox’s role in the musicalization of Back to the Future (which I skipped for reasons that should be entirely obvious). Courtney and Likes are profoundly promising talents, but they are less well served by this vehicle than they are run over by it.
In the significantly expanded role of Heather Chandler, the ringleader of the Heathers, newly arrived replacement Jodie Steele looks…hmmm…how do I say this delicately?...like Stockard Channing did in Grease. Her comic timing isn’t awful, but it also doesn’t feel particularly inventive. Again, my intermission reading was illuminative: I discovered that she originated the role in London seven years ago; it feels like she has been on autopilot ever since. Olivia Hardy has the most dramatic arc of the trio as Heather Duke, but doesn’t summon the requisite vulnerability or ruthlessness to nail it, both of which came effortlessly to Shannen Doherty in the film. Elizabeth Teeter mostly plays Heather McNamara’s fragility for laughs, though she at least does it well. The likable Erin Morton gave a sweet performance as social outcast Martha Dunnstock during act one, but was replaced by her understudy for act two after leaving during intermission; I wish she’d taken me with her.
I should admit, though, that the audience reaction was rapturous. Everyone else in the theater seemed to love this show as much as the teenagers on social media who turned it into a hit. Which is exactly why I left concerned: if they think this is good, what sort of musicals can we expect in the future?
Bat Boy: The Musical
I ended my weekend with the musical that arguably began O’Keefe’s career—Bat Boy: The Musical, presented in a(n extensively) staged concert through Nov. 9 as New York City Center’s annual gala presentation. In the nearly 25 years since it debuted off-Broadway, the musical has become a veritable cult classic. And yet I was somehow never really exposed to it.
Alex Timbers’s revival makes it abundantly clear why the show has developed such a devoted following. Inspired by a Weekly World News tabloid story, it tells the story of Edgar, a half-man/half-bat (Taylor Trensch), who is discovered living in a cave and soon domesticated by housewife Meredith Parker (Kerry Butler); her veterinarian husband (Christopher Sieber); and their daughter Shelley (Gabi Carrubba). When the Parkers’ neighbors begin to fear Edgar, everyone’s safety is threatened.
Narratively, Bat Boy explores many of the themes that recur in cult classics: the pain and ecstasy of being an outsider; the prejudices of small towns; non-normative sexuality; the hypocrisy of religion; and the importance of chosen family. Moreover, it does so with a tonal elasticity that is catnip to their fanbases, luxuriating in camp but unafraid to make detours into darker territory and even earnestness. Does Bat Boy navigate all of these transitions flawlessly? No, but its ambition and sometimes even the dissonance caused by its failures make it more endearing.3
These hallmarks of niche content are elevated by O’Keefe’s propulsive score. He demonstrates impressive versatility as a composer, invoking elements of traditional musical theatre, rock, gospel, and even smooth jazz without ever losing a consistency of sound that makes every song identifiably Bat Boy. It is as interesting and surprising as the score of Heathers is generic and obvious. Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming’s book, while often very funny, is less consistent and in need of some streamlining. It would also benefit from having a more original point-of-view in its moments of sincerity.
Timbers’s work as a director is often so conceptual, it sacrifices humanity. However, the limited resources and timeline of a concert staging (even one as elaborate as this) may have actually worked in his favor, forcing him to edit in such a way that his ideas here never overshadow the characters. Which is good because it’s hard to imagine that he could have found a better cast to bring those characters to life. There may be no role that capitalizes on Trensch’s unique skillset as well as Edgar. One moment, he gets to show off the delightfully weird comic lunacy that he has put to such brilliant use in shows like Hello, Dolly!; the next, the aching openheartedness that earned him a Tony nomination for Floyd Collins; and all throughout, the gorgeous singing that got him cast as Evan Hansen.4 Special mention must be made of how specific and fully realized his physicality is, which is downright remarkable when you think of how abbreviated his rehearsal period must have been.
The level of excellence Trensch sets is matched, perhaps even exceeded, by Butler. Having originated the role of Shelley in 2001, she is a confident and charismatic counter-anchor for the piece. As my friend Steven said, she seems “biologically attuned to camp,” nailing every laugh line she’s given and unearthing several more, all the while simultaneously evoking genuine maternal warmth. It’s the best use of her talents, including her perfectly placed vocals, since her Tony nominated turn in Xanadu. Sieber, on leave from Death Becomes Her (which looks like West Side Story in comparison to Heathers), expertly navigates the tonal shifts in his especially tricky role, proving again to be one of Broadway’s most reliable yet underrated stars. Carrubba ably holds her own as the straight man in the piece. In a cameo role that could never attract a star of their caliber during an open-ended run, Alex Newell understands the assignment and accordingly brings down the house in their one song. Original Hairspray star Marissa Jaret Winokur mostly spends the evening shouting in a thankless role that’s also a reminder Bernadette Peters should have won the Tony for Gypsy.
This revisal, which includes some new songs and omits others, may not have transformed Bat Boy into genuinely great musical theatre, but it’s still a very good time. Are there some funnier campy musicals out there? Definitely. Are there richer explorations of being othered? Yes. But Bat Boy is, for the most part, a satisfying blend of the two, and it’s hard not to admire a show that takes such big swings. To paraphrase JD, the extreme always makes an impression.
the not-a-bottom line
Heathers: The Musical
0 rainbows (out of five)
Bat Boy: The Musical
🌈🌈🌈 (out of five)
a guide to ticket-buying
Heathers: The Musical
Don’t.
If you must, be aware that it’s a wide stage and a loud show. Center and farther back is better than sides and closer.
But, really, don’t.
Bat Boy: The Musical
With my TDF membership, I paid $62/ticket and was seated in Center Orchestra Row U.
This is a pretty intimate show for a pretty large space, so I’d recommend being closer, even if it means sitting to the sides.
a key to the pictures
Heathers: The Musical
The pro-shot version of Heathers used to be available for streaming exclusively on The Roku Channel, but it now does not seem to be available on any platform. I’d like to think it’s an act of mercy; it’s likelier because the show has returned to off-Broadway.
The original film is available to stream on multiple platforms, including for free on Tubi and Pluto.
The current production has released an official music video of “Freeze Your Brain.” Their YouTube channel includes additional clips.
Bat Boy: The Musical
City Center has released a sizzle reel as a sort of trailer.
RuPaul might describe Courtney as having played “&,” but it was actually Juliet.
Heathers and Mean Girls—both the films and their musical adaptations—are often compared because of their similar subjects. However, the score of the Mean Girls musicalization is infinitely superior, not just because it’s catchier, but because it’s fitted to character and situation. Compare, for example, the Bond villain sound of Regina’s songs and punk rock vocabulary of Janis’s to the musical theatre flamboyance of Damian’s and childlike simplicity of Karen’s. Here, nearly all of the music sounds interchangeable.
It’s worth nothing that all of these qualities are ratcheted up to the extreme in the ultimate cult classic musical, Carrie.
Or, as RuPaul would say, “Dear.”
Bernadette was robbed
Heathers is such a Gen X jewel it cannot exist outside of those parameters. It's a perfect evisceration of my generational cohorts, it cannot be properly filtered through a current lens, I read that the parents in this adaptation actually show up.....just no.