For their spring 2025 musical, the Barnstormers are putting on a production of Heathers: the cult classic musical based on the 1989 film with the same name. I attended the April 12 evening performance, and the theater was packed to the brim with excited audience members, although I was able to claim a coveted front row seat.
Heathers centers around a fictional high school in Sherwood, Ohio, where senior outcast Veronica Sawyer (Liesel Arauz Vallecillo) is attempting to survive her final year amidst the trials and tribulations of high school, including cliques, bullies and incompetent adults. The titular Heathers are the three “queen bees” (yes, they’re all named “Heather”) who — led by Heather Chandler (Amelia Blackman) — have instituted a reign of terror.
Veronica aspires to be one of the Heathers and somehow manages to earn her way into their group, although she quickly has second thoughts after seeing the way they treat others, namely her close friend Martha Dunnstock (Rory Li). She meets new kid J.D. (Leo Sandoval) and is immediately drawn to his mysterious aura as well as his hatred for the Heathers and the jocks. Veronica and J.D. begin a relationship, and a coffee cup mishap leads Veronica to accidentally kill Chandler with drain cleaner (poured by yours truly, J.D.). In a panic, J.D. convinces Veronica to forge Chandler’s suicide note, setting off the rest of the musical in which J.D. and Veronica argue over the ethics of killing bad people, kill a couple more and observe the rippling effects on their community. The plot culminates in Veronica acting on her conscience and thwarting J.D. 's attempts to blow up the school.
All the students performing were absolutely amazing. Freshman Amelia Blackman, who played Chandler, was a standout and had an exceptional stage presence that truly embodied the power and authority of a high school “queen bee.” Blackman’s Heather was definitely not a good person and downright scary at times, but despite this, you couldn’t help but love her iconic one-liners (“Fuck me gently with a chainsaw”). Even better than alive Chandler was “ghost” Chandler, who haunted the narrative in the second act still donning her death-bed pajamas, providing clever quips and eye-rolls.
Sandoval also did a great job of showcasing a gradual downward spiral that culminated in an absolute dissociation from reality. It is central to J.D. 's character that he truly believes that he is a vigilante and doing the “right” thing. As the show progressed, Sandoval perfectly captured J.D.’s growing indignation, anger and righteousness with the Heathers, the school and then society as a whole.
Beyond the Heathers, Veronica and J.D., the supporting cast members were all exceptional and enhanced the performance. Ram Sweeney (Finnigan Keane) and Kurt Kelly (Kenneth Elsman) were two jocks with deeply concerning morals to put it mildly, but their interactions with each other and their fight scenes with J.D. — one of which was executed in super slow-mo — were downright hilarious and had the whole theater laughing.
I loved the dance numbers and choreography, specifically “Big Fun.” The ensemble truly did an amazing job bringing the show to life: Whenever I looked at someone different in a scene, I would see something new or amusing!
In an interview with The News-Letter, Elena Echavarria, the producer of Heathers, shared that although they tried to stick to the classical interpretation of the script, she thought the amazing cast set this production apart from others (which I can affirm).
“I think what makes it really special is the people that we got,” she stated. “For a lot of the students that we have, being in Heathers is their first production or they are freshmen or they’ve never done theater before. It’s unique to have so many people who this is their first time doing a production and it still turned out so great. I think that added a spark to our show.”
Echavarria also shared that they first held auditions for the production in February, marking a quick eight-week turnaround to the opening weekend. Before they got access to the Arellano Theater for rehearsals, Echavarria described that they had to block numbers and scenes in regular classrooms, offering a unique challenge. It seemed they readily overcame this challenge, as the show used the whole stage to its fullest potential. Characters moved from side to side across the stage, dancing (or fighting) their way through all available space.
I also want to shout out the prop department, which Echavarria told me was headed by freshman Leah Woodward for this production. The party scene featured a HomeSlyce pizza box, Jell-O shots and (dare I say) bottles of Titos, representing a typical high school party experience. Props like these really helped immerse the audience throughout the performance.
I had never watched Heathers and had no knowledge of the plot going in other than there were three school girls. Judging by the widespread gasps when Veronica accidentally gave Heather Chandler the coffee cup with drain cleaner and the unexpected laughs during the performance of “My Dead Gay Son,” I was far from the only one. It was really amazing to learn what was unfolding along with the audience and the reactions alone reminded me of the connection and shared experience that makes theatrical productions so amazing to attend.
Ultimately, the strength of the musical lies in its ability to weave together humor and more touching and meaningful themes. The high school in Heathers is a timeless microcosm of society that is still as relevant today as it was in 1989. We all have a desire to fit in and will go to great lengths to do so, but Heathers encourages us to reflect on the perils of conformity and the ethics of vigilante justice in a world of hatred.
“We leaned into the story’s contradictions — tragedy turned into spectacle, violence masked as justice — embracing surreal elements to reflect the absurd paradoxes of Veronica’s world,” director Elizabeth Katz wrote in the Director’s Note.
If you didn’t have the chance to see Heathers this past weekend (or you saw it and want to experience it again), I highly recommend attending one of the upcoming performances on Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m., or the final show on Sunday April 20 at 3 p.m. Tickets for Hopkins affiliates are $8 and $13 for other audiences and can be purchased online through the Barnstormers Instagram.
