Review: Heathers the Musical at The Arts at Marble Arch
Cast of Heathers the Musical, © Pamela Raith
London has a brand-new pop-up theatre: The Arts Theatre at Marble Arch, which was the opening venue for the highly anticipated return of Heathers The Musical for a limited run of only 52 performances before heading on a UK & Ireland tour!
This isn't the classic West End theatre audiences might be used to; you won't find the crystal chandeliers or that traditional, historic aesthetic theatre vibe. Instead, this temporary venue has a modern, industrial look that perfectly sets a fresh, edgy vibe. Based on the iconic 1980s film written by Daniel Waters, this production is once again directed by the brilliant Andy Fickman, who also directed Heathers during its massive London runs in 2018 and 2022.
Welcome to Westerberg High, where the popular, ruthless mean girls, the Heathers, rule the school. This iconic trio is brought to life by Liberty Stottor as the red-blazer-wearing queen bee Heather Chandler, Jessica Ibadin as the fiercely ambitious Heather Duke, and Lou Henry as the deceptively sweet Heather McNamara.
"Stepping into the spotlight as our sarcastic heroine is Geraldiene Sacdalan as Veronica Sawyer, starring alongside Louis Hearsey as the dark and dangerous outcast, J.D."
Liberty Stottor, Gerardine Sacdalan, Lou Henry and Jessica Ibadin in Heathers the Musical, © Pamela Raith
Sometimes, the downside of bringing beloved musicals back is that you are already familiar with the older versions, so when they add new changes to them, you just don’t really connect with them anymore. Thankfully, with this production, they stayed close to the original version and gave fans their ultimate comfort show back. The set design is exactly like we are used to, a classic high school hallway lined with lockers, which, together with the iconic, colour-coded costumes, is visually stunning. They have also cleverly improved the set, upgrading some of the props to make them even bigger and more detailed, especially the iconic 7-Eleven set piece!
The songs, written by Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy, are incredibly upbeat, and everyone in the crowd seemed to know the classics like "Candy Store" and "Dead Girl Walking". The show includes comedy, but on the other hand, it also has a lot of darkness, which makes it such an interesting combination and really makes it stand out from other musicals.
A lot of the comedy scenes come from Markus Södergren as Kurt Kelly and Beau Jackson as Ram Sweeney, who make an absolutely hilarious, high-energy duo. Sophie Manners also shines beautifully, bringing a wonderful, heartbreaking vulnerability to the role of Martha Dunnstock. The adult roles are brilliantly performed too, with Veronica Carabai delivering fantastic vocals as Ms. Fleming and Veronica's Mom, alongside John Gurdían as Ram's Dad, Big Bud Dean, and Coach Ripper, and Reuben Browne as Kurt's Dad, Veronica's Dad, and Principal Gowan.
Geraldiene Sacdalan gives a riveting performance as Veronica Sawyer, and her singing range is absolutely show-stopping. However, the downside of it was the location of the theatre itself. Even though it is brand-new and shiny, it isn't soundproofed well enough. We were able to hear almost everything from the outside street while the performance was happening, which was quite disruptive. Still, the cast's incredible energy made it a night to remember!
Heathers the Musical is playing until the 22nd of August before going on a UK & Ireland tour. More info can be found at: https://heathersthemusical.com/
Star rating: ★★★★
