“I just killed my best friend!”
“And your worst enemy.”
“Same difference.”
If you ever wanted to kill your friends (or enemies) while navigating—as Riverdale’s Archie Andrews astutely puts it—“the epic highs and lows of high school,” then Heathers is the perfect production for you.
Dear Diary: We attended the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club’s (HRDC) performance of Heathers: The Musical, directed by Ava Pallotta ’25. Our expectations were high, and the production of the cult classic here on campus did not disappoint. The musical sold out on three different nights with over 600 people in attendance, including the original show’s co-writer, Laurence O’Keefe ’91.
Heathers draws inspiration from the iconic 1988 film starring Christian Slater and Winona Ryder. This musical masterpiece is a dark comedy that explores the tumultuous and uncomfortable aspects of high school life. By incorporating dark humor, a compelling teenage love story, and a portrayal of the twisted power dynamics within a high school, this production tackles challenging topics such as suicide and gun violence.
As Pallotta explains in her Director’s Note, “the important thing about Heathers at Harvard, is that it talks about suicide. If seeing Heathers encourages one person to check in on a friend, to have a conversation over dinner about the role suicide played in the show, or just be more empathetic to those around them—then Heathers will have been a success.”
The story takes place in the fictional world of Westerberg High School, a place where bullying runs rampant and a strict social hierarchy reigns. At the top of this hierarchy are the Heathers: Heather Chandler, the “mythic bitch” played by American Idol phenom Isa Peña ’24, Heather Duke, the minion with a lackluster personality (but a great boob job!) as portrayed by the charismatic Caron Kim ’24, and Heather McNamara, the meekest yet kindest of them all, played by the incredibly talented Gabrielle Greene ’27. In the HRDC’s version, the Heathers’ traditional plaid color-coordinated suit sets are traded for a more modern and unconventional look—Heather Duke even sports a trendy green denim skirt.
The musical follows Veronica Sawyer, played by Berklee College of Music dual enrolled student Shannon Harrington ’26, as she tries to survive high school. While attempting to avoid the relentless bullying and snide comments constantly thrown her way, Veronica devises a plan to associate herself with the Heathers and offers her unique forgery abilities in exchange for a place within the popular clique. The Heathers sing the iconic song “Candy Store,” incorporating a heavy amount of sultry dancing choreographed by Adrienne Chan ’25. Kim’s moves especially stood out, with multiple anonymous Sidechatters praising her performance and later attempting to capture her romantic affections.
As Veronica realizes that being part of the Heathers does not live up to the excitement she had hoped for, she encounters the new kid, Jason “J.D.” Dean (Max Allison ’25), who is properly introduced to the audience during the crowd’s favorite song of the night, “Fight For Me.” The theater erupted into laughter throughout the slo-mo fight and emphatically applauded each of Kurt Kelly’s (Will Jevon ’27) and Ram Sweeney’s (Julian Wagner-Carena ’24) carefully coordinated moves.
J.D.’s mysterious aura and charm eventually manage to convince Veronica to seek revenge on Heather Chandler for her cruel treatment of Veronica and her old best friend, leading to a harrowing sequence of events where Veronica accidentally poisons Heather Chandler and then makes it appear as a suicide. Fueled with love and revenge, the couple embark on a chilling killing spree driven by the twisted goal of transforming their school into a so-called “better place,” and ultimately eliminating the social hierarchy that was once in place. At the end of the musical, J.D. dies in an explosion of his own creation, and Veronica brings the school and her friends together in a reprise of the teenhood encapsulating song, “Seventeen.”
Undoubtedly, our favorite part of the performance was when Will Jevon ’27, as Kurt Kelly, an obnoxious football player, attempted to escape J.D. in the cemetery. Jevon ran through the aisles in tight blue boxers, coming within inches of the front row balcony audience members, eliciting great excitement from many of the musical enjoyers.
Another moment of great fanfare came at the conclusion of the song “My Dead Gay Son,” where Alvin Adjei ’24 and Fresh off the Boat actor Hudson Yang ’26 celebrated their characters’ secret love affair with a steamy kiss.
While this production of Heathers stuck to a mostly conventional interpretation of the musical, it unexpectedly included the outdated song “Blue,” a controversial choice. In the original script of the Musical, the song, named for its countless references to “blue balls” on the part of Kurt and Ram, was included, but in 2018 it was replaced in the official show by the song “You’re Welcome” instead.
According to an interview published in Playbill, “Blue” was taken out by the co-writers, Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy because it had been perceived by audiences as “treating date rape as a laughing matter” and trivializing the issues by presenting it as comical, “boyish antics.” In all subsequent official productions (in London and elsewhere), “Blue” was taken out.
The theater group had only one month to prepare for the show, an impressive feat. The crowd evidently enjoyed the production and we can confidently say that every second of the standing ovation for this musical was well deserved. Look out for more HRDC Performances happening soon, like White House Princess, Hamlet and Jekyll & Hyde!
Chidimma Adinna ’25 (cadinna@college.harvard.edu) had a majority of the soundtrack memorized–thanks to TikTok! Mia Tavares ’27 (miatavares@college.harvard.edu) dragged her mom to watch the West End production of Heathers: The Musical last summer in London.