Jamie Muscato and Carrie Hope Fletcher in Heathers The Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
The record-breaking Heathers – The Musical is coming to the end of its strictly limited run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket this week, so we thought it was a good time to revisit Tal Fox’s interview with the show’s stars CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER (Veronica Sawyer) and JAMIE MUSCATO (Jason JD Dean).
Based on the cult classic 1980s film Heathers which starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, Heathers – The Musical was the highest-grossing show in history at The Other Palace – where it moved from the studio to the main house – and the first musical production from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s newest theatre to celebrate a West End transfer.
The show has music, lyrics and book by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, based on Daniel Waters’ original screenplay for Michael Lehmann’s dark tale of murderous teenage angst. New material was exclusively written for the London production.
Credited with attracting a new generation of theatregoers, the majority of the audience (70%) for The Other Palace run was found to be under the age of 30. The show’s transfer season aimed to develop its younger and more diverse audience-base by offering more than 15,000 seats priced at £25 across the run.
What has it been like seeing the reaction of the audiences especially those who come dressed up?
Carrie Hope Fletcher: It’s crazy, it’s very intense and it’s very emotional actually at the end of the show to see everyone, especially teenagers getting emotional, clutching each other and crying and really connecting with the show and its story and the message. It makes you realise how many people you’re reaching.
How familiar were you with the story before joining the show?
CHF: I found out about the musical three years ago when a friend of mine sent me the songs and said: “This is amazing, you’ve got to hear it, it’s so good.” I covered one of the songs on my YouTube channel and became obsessed with the show. I watched the film a few years ago but I had never heard of it before then so the show was my way into learning about it. So when I heard it was coming to London I really wanted to be a part of it.
Jamie Muscato: I didn’t really know much about it but I did the workshop back in the day and then from doing that I learnt quite a lot, I saw the film after too.
What drew you to these roles?
JM: Getting the role happened quite organically through the workshop and then just carrying on with them, but I stuck with it because it’s amazing. There’s so much to do for this part and it’s an interesting person to play, I could never get bored. It’s fun and hard work which I like.
CHF: Veronica is a massive challenge and I knew it was going to be the biggest role I’ve ever played to date and maybe will ever play. Could I have peaked too early? I don’t think I’m going to find anything like Veronica or like Heathers, because it’s just such a perfect mix of an amazing score, story and character to play, a brilliant creative team, an alright leading man…
It’s an amazing amalgamation of just so many amazing things and I think we all feel very lucky to be part of this cast and this show. I knew Veronica was just going to be a big challenge and I was just excited to sink my teeth into it because it’s the biggest sing I’ve ever had. She’s a really interesting fleshed-out character, a good person who makes bad decisions. I think that is way more interesting than just playing a good person who makes good decisions all the time or a villain who plays bad decisions, because there’s no backstory or no reason to why they make those decisions.
Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
What’s the biggest challenge that comes with that?
JM: I find it very easy working with Carrie because when we’re acting on stage together, we’re just talking to each other, it’s very natural back and forth, so that is like a blessing because we can focus on other things. I guess the biggest challenge is keeping the consistency for 12 weeks, keeping that intensity.
CHF: I feel like there’s a big challenge for so many of us in the show that make bad decisions within the story and still having to get the audience to feel for you. I think that’s such a big challenge, to kill off well-loved characters in the show and still get the audience to cheer for you at the end. You [JM] do it very well, but I think it’s a challenge to still have people on your side even when you’re doing terrible things.
JM: Well I’ve got to be on JD’s side, I have to be able to sympathise with him, otherwise no one else can, so that’s what I try to get across.
CHF: I think we’ve lived with these characters for so long now, we’ve gone through every decision they make and the reasons why they do everything. Now it feels very natural on stage every night and you don’t have to think too much about it.
How do you find the balance between acknowledging the dark parts and still making people laugh?
JM: We take our lead from our creative leads, we trust their notes, we trust their changes because they’re the ones watching it.
CHF: They’re all so amazing at just making things work like they hear something and they’re like that worked with a previous incarnation of this show but it doesn’t quite translate here. Kevin [Murphy] will literally go away and ten minutes later come back with a new line that works even better than the last one did. Our creative team is definitely responsible for how well it’s working.
There have been quite a few changes, how do you cope with that?
CHF: Every change benefits the show and the story and is there for a reason, but when the new song was added in the final week of The Other Palace run, that was a little bit terrifying for me. It’s a big song, it’s a big sing to add to what’s already a massive score for Veronica, but also it’s such a poignant moment that I feel it’s really weird to think when the show didn’t have ‘I Say No’.
Back then it didn’t feel like anything was missing but now they’ve added it, it feels really strange to look back on the show without it, because it’s so important that Veronica get that moment to say no and stick her middle finger up at JD and say no more, this is the end.
JM: That helps JD’s descent.
Carrie Hope Fletcher and Jamie Muscato at West End Live. Picture: Roy Tan
Have you had audience members tell you how the story has affected them?
CHF: Every night there’s like a hundred-plus people stood at the stage door in their cosplays, throwing scrunchies on stage, still crying, still upset from the experience they’ve just had and it’s all very emotional.
JM: I think it really just resonates with so many people because everyone has had crap experiences at school so it’s quite a universal story that people can come and see a bit of themselves in.
Do you think JD and Veronica are served the ultimate justice at the end?
JM: Yes and no, I mean in real life no one should die, JD should have been stopped, his parents should have been better to him, but again he’s a 17-year-old kid and justice isn’t blowing him up, it’s not justice but in this world it is.
CHF: In the realm of this exaggerated universe, this stylised, romanticised story, yeah that’s as much justice as JD is ever going to get in this world.
JM: Otherwise it would be four hours long and you’d see his trial. He comes to terms with it as well, it’s a tricky decision.
CHF: In this version of the show she doesn’t actually shoot anyone but in the movie she does. She actually murders someone in the movie whereas in this show it’s all JD. That responsibility is taken away from her because we wanted people to actually feel for Veronica, to feel she was roped into these decisions that she was sort of forced to make. She was forced into a lot of these situations in the show by JD, by Heather Chandler.
Veronica is always trying to do the best that she can with the situation she’s been given, it’s just very unfortunate that those she finds herself in are terrible ones. So at the end of the show, I don’t think she deserves any kind of justice because she’s been forced into being an accomplice in something she doesn’t even know is happening. JD is fully aware that he’s murdering these children but she doesn’t know, she thinks they’re playing a game. She doesn’t get it, she doesn’t know that is what has happened, so I don’t think there’s any kind of justice to be served for Veronica and she gets the ending she deserves.
Tickets for Heathers – The Musical are available HERE
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