PUBLISHED 26 September 2023
‘September 12th, 2023. Dear Diary,’ AKS drama students embarked on a trip to see Heathers: The Musical at Winter Gardens and it was “totally tubular!” From laughter to complete shock, this is a musical you do not want to miss!
The musical tells the story of Veronica Sawyer (Jenna Innes) and her rocky journey through senior year at Westerberg High. To make it through her last year of high school, Veronica becomes friends with the three most popular girls in school, ‘Heather, Heather and (the Queen of Westerberg High) Heather’ Chandler (Verity Thompson). From there, it all goes downhill. Especially when she meets the mysterious new boy, Jason Dean, her soon-to-be partner in crime. Their ‘Love is God’ until it’s revealed JD isn’t who she thought he was.
The musical had an array of powerful to comedic songs. From the party song ‘Big Fun’ to the emotional ballad ‘Lifeboat,’ sang by Heather McNamara (Billie Bowman), the soundtrack is sure to delight everyone in the audience, with my favourite being ‘Meant to Be Yours,’ which includes the iconic line, “Veronica open the, open the door please. Veronica open the door.” The incredible talent from the cast made this musical a joy to watch. Each character had their moment to ‘Shine a Light’ on their talent and everyone made me laugh. The entire cast had a mesmerising stage presence making the audience eager to see what happens next.
As a student, who is interested in having a career in acting, it was truly inspiring to experience the connection between the actors and how well they work together on stage.
My favourite character in the musical was Jason Dean (Jacob Fowler) because he is an overly complex character, with many layers and emotions that would be interesting to explore as an actor. The way his character develops throughout the performance was captivating.
I will ‘Never Shut Up Again’ about this musical and I would recommend it to anyone who loved the classic film from 1989.
Watching this great show makes me even more excited to be back on stage at The Lowther Pavillion theatre, when the Performing Arts department will debut our production of Little Shop of Horrors in January!
Write up by Ellie, Year 10