So killer: ‘Heathers: The Musical’ coming to Unicorn Theatre

Croquet, a red scrunchy and broad-shoulder blazers, plus a wealth of quotable f-bomb-laced one-liners, adorn the 1988 dark comedy “Heathers,” a tale of popularity, murder and murky ethical boundaries that became a cult classic of social criticism.

The Unicorn Theatre closes its 2015-16 season with “Heathers: The Musical,” an off-Broadway pop-rock hit based on the film saturated in 1980s teenage angst.

Cynthia Levin, the Unicorn’s producing artistic director, sums it up: “What do you do, what do you give up, what do you compromise about yourself to become popular?”

The Unicorn typically puts on a musical once a season, but finding one that fits its vision and audience expectations for edgy and boundary-pushing can be a challenge.

“Very often musicals are a little too commercial, they’re a little too silly, just too traditional,” Levin said. “Boy, when I even had heard about the creation of this musical I was excited about it.” The musical is by the creative team of Laurence O’Keefe (“Bat Boy: The Musical,” “Legally Blonde: The Musical”) and Kevin Murphy (“Reefer Madness,” “Desperate Housewives”), based on Daniel Waters’ screenplay.

“I actually ended up liking the script to the musical tons more than I had liked the movie,” she said.

Levin loved the music, too, with its dark lyrics, defiant undertones and tuneful, offbeat melodies.

She co-directs the show with Missy Koonce, a partnership that worked well during their 2002 production of O’Keefe’s “Bat Boy.” Frequent collaborator Angie Benson is music director.

“Heathers” is about the powerful high school clique of Heather Chandler, Heather Duke, Heather McNamara and their newest recruit, nerd-turned-popular girl Veronica Sawyer (played by Winona Ryder in the film).

But Veronica, who really just wants everybody to be nice to one another, starts to challenge the Heathers’ power when she meets a dangerously sexy new guy (Christian Slater). He turns out to be a psychopath. The body count adds up in staged suicides and poses the question: “What’s your damage?”

But it’s not just a guilty pleasure. The satire examines various societal traumas: suicide, homophobia, pressure to perform, bullying, emotional and sexual abuse and physical violence.

“It’s such a fantastic combination of subject matter and music that makes it more approachable and acceptable, because you’re singing about it,” Levin said.

“I’ve realized that if you sing it, people will come. If you take any subject, a subject that people do not normally sit down and watch a drama about, they will listen to a musical about it. It’s just something crazy that happens when you sing it.”

Because of this unorthodox approach to important topics, it has a wide appeal, even to those not familiar with the movie.

“It takes place in a really specific era, but I think what really drew me to the story is that it’s about being a teenager in high school. I mean, everybody had a niche that they fell into and, hopefully, got out of.

“It’s a really specific and very turbulent time in our lives. I don’t know a ton of people who had a great time and tons of friends and no problems and everybody liked them. There’s always crap attached to high school.”

There are some tweaks, because of society’s altered sensibilities since 1988. “Certain things have changed because we wouldn’t stand for that now. It doesn’t change the story; I think it makes it more relatable.”

There’s also the issue of adapting a hefty off-Broadway production to the spatial realities of the Levin Stage. The show is huge by Unicorn standards. Typically, a Unicorn show involves six to eight people; this show has 26.

“It’s the greats of the young actors in Kansas City,” said Levin. Katie Karel is Veronica, with Molly Denninghoff, Colleen Grate and Chioma Anyanwu as the Heathers. Thomas Delgado plays the homicidal J.D. Football players, clueless adults, nerdy friends and an indefatigable ensemble in nearly every scene complete the cast.

Another challenge for the production team is that the musical mimics the flow of the movie, requiring multiple, fast changing scenes.

“Every other page we’re in different locations. You’re moving, you’re moving, you’re moving from the school to the cemetery to the bathroom to the backyard playing croquet … so without stopping and taking a blackout you have to figure out how it can move quickly and smoothly,” Levin said. “But it’s a musical, so it’s not mired in realism.”

It helps to have two directors both digging deep into their creative resources.

“When you have such a big company and so many decisions to make every single day it’s great to have two brains going at it,” Levin said. “Each of us has different strengths. I may want to go more dramatic, she’s able to go more comedic, and we cover the whole spectrum of emotion and depth and nuance because we have different approaches.

“I can’t say that there are many people that I know that I would really work with and co-direct with like this, but Missy and I have found a way to do it and it works great. And it’s fun.”

Levin also appreciates the prominence of the female protagonist, the focus on young women and their struggle to find positive, healthy relationships. “There’s just so many levels that this show appealed to me,” she said.

“This show, this story, is about fitting in, being popular and the incredible stress that’s attached to that.”

It’s dark, deadly and hummable, magnifying the serious issues with songs and dance numbers.

Though the film’s commentary was aimed at the 1980s, the issues are relevant today. Levin hopes the Unicorn’s production will help continue the conversation.

“Look at these terrible things that happened. We’d better learn from this, shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t we become better people and all have better consciences?”

This story was originally published May 29, 2016 at 8:12 AM with the headline "So killer: ‘Heathers: The Musical’ coming to Unicorn Theatre."