I love musical theatre, but it doesn’t seem like the nation as a whole embraces my enthusiasm. More often than not, major theatre promoters seem unwilling to try anything new. They give us the same old hits or jukebox musicals they know will fill seats. And I don’t blame them. When they do take a risk, as Michael Cassel Group did recently staging Dear Evan Hansen, the reception is so lukewarm that whole runs outside Eora/Sydney and Naarm/Melbourne get cancelled. But I learned a couple of years ago that musical theatre nerds like me have options. There are passionate community theatre groups all over the country committed to bringing a greater variety of productions to fans. I’ve raved about the Hayes Theatre in Eora/Sydney before, but I’m lucky to have a fantastic community theatre group closer to my home in Darkinjung Country/Central Coast. On Sunday I headed to the Art House to see Curtain Bounce’s production of Heathers: The Musical.
The Art House has staged major concerts by everyone from Macy Gray to Anthony Callea in their main 500-seat theatre, but they also have a smaller studio that’s ideal for productions like Heathers. It holds just 130, but every one of those seats was occupied on Sunday, as they had been all weekend. I love being a part of audiences like this, a small group where you know that everyone cares. They’re attentive, they radiate warmth and the players feed off it.
Those actors and actresses are not household names … yet … but they’re every bit as talented as the stars I’ve seen in major local productions. I worried that they may pale a little bit in comparison to the actors from the original 80s film I fell in love with as a teenager. Christian Slater was one of my big crushes of the period, largely due to his turn as JD, but I was impressed at the way Kane McCarthy made it his own. Winona Ryder was the It girl at the time, but Teaghan Thompson’s Veronica was perhaps even more compelling. I appreciated the way the musical made more of the character of Heather Chandler, and Jacqui Grunden rose to the challenge of playing the ultimate queen bee. Every time she stepped on stage I could barely take my eyes off her. What a superstar she is. But the entire ensemble never put a foot wrong. Everyone was right in their performances, and it was a joy to watch.
Looking around at audience members with their plaid skirts, blazers, and bows in hair, it was clear that many were already fans of the musical. But I appreciated discovering it for the first time on the stage with this incredible production. Curtain Bounce presents Heathers: The Musical until February 8. There are still some tickets left for the February 6 evening performance and February 8 matinee, but they won’t last long once word spread. Snap them up at the Art House website.