Inclined to Opine

I must confess my expectations were low coming into this musical. I’m always wary of spin-offs, sequels, prequels, and the rest of the potential money grabs that come with a success, as few of them ever live up to the quality of the original. But I was curious and keen to be back in the theatre, so decided to take a gamble. Alas, it still managed to disappoint, even though I wasn’t expecting much to begin with. This show is very much a tale of two musicals: the material versus the performers. I have to say, there are few musicals I have been to where the vocal quality was so good across the board. All the main characters and solo singing parts had amazing voices and there was barely a note out of place. True, I was at times left with the suspicion that there may have been a degree of lip-syncing, but I’m sure that was due to my sky high seats; this is the West End after all! The dancing was solid, particularly the immensely funny if inexplicable tango; however, the acting didn’t quite ...

I came to Heathers with not much insight into the musical other than a very vague idea of some of the plot and having worked on “Seventeen” with students. As a show, it is a delicious contradiction: a comedy full of drama, a fluff piece ripe with social commentary, teenage angst turned profound meaning, all in one. The most interesting contradiction of all, for me, is the music itself. In most other contexts, I would have found it a tad repetitive and overly “bouncy” but, when coupled with the wickedly witty writing, it becomes self-awareness incarnate, a great use and subversion of tropes. And can I just say how refreshing it is to watch a musical that isn’t PG? From sung orgasms to the funniest striptease ever to all the swearing, it felt liberating! The cast was solid across the board, though the acting wasn’t always topnotch. From a vocal perspective, it was clear that a choice had been made in terms of sound with everyone singing in the most nasal of mixes, often to the detriment ...