Spokane Civic Theatre brings light to the dark in musical production ‘Heathers’

It’s not often that Spokane Civic Theatre has to list resources such as Child Protective Services, the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Hotline on its website, but it’s also not often that the theater produces a show like “Heathers.”

Co-directors Heather McHenry-Kroetch and Troy Nickerson understand any hesitation people might have about the musical, which covers a lot of heavy subject matter, including bullying, gun violence and sexual assault, but they assure audiences that their production finds a balance between both sides of the apt descriptor of dark comedy.

“There’s so much humor, and I think often it displays at a high level of camp,” Nickerson said. “I think our version is going to be a little more honest. It’ll still have all the fun and all the laughs and beautiful choreography by Delaney Kahler, but it’s got edge and it has something to say, and I think we both feel really good about getting a message out of what is happening in our schools.”

“Heathers” opens Friday, July 12, and runs through July 28 at Spokane Civic Theatre.

“Heathers” features music, lyrics and a book by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy. The musical is based on the 1989 movie of the same name written by Daniel Waters and starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater and Shannen Doherty.

The musical follows the Heathers – Heather Chandler (Karlin Kahler), Heather McNamara (Victoria Scribner) and Heather Duke (Torey Routson) – as they terrorize the halls of Westerberg High School, where jocks Ram Sweeney ({span}Rhead Shirley{/span}) and Kurt Kelly (Declan Sheehan) also do their fair share of tormenting.

When the unpopular Veronica Sawyer (Josian Brett) is able to get the Heathers out of detention, they boost her social status by bringing her into their group. But after Veronica removes herself from the clique, she soon realizes the full wrath of the Heathers as things go from bad to worse to absolutely awful.

“Heathers” also stars Jameson Elton as Jason “J.D.” Dean, Mackenzie Quinn as Martha Dunnstock, Jeremy Whittington as Mr. Sweeney, Tre Keough as Mr. Sawyer, and Tori Liezen as Mrs. Sawyer/Pauline Fleming.

Tori Diana, Noah Graybeal, Josephine Kahler, Lilah Roberts, Jesus Ruiz Jr., Mihret Washington, Ella Wissing and Zachary Zwanzig make up the ensemble. “Heathers” is music directed by Tonya Ballman and choreographed by Delaney Kahler.

It was practically inevitable that McHenry-Kroetch would be involved with a production of “Heathers” at some point in her career. Her name is Heather, and, around the time of the movie’s release, she had three other Heathers on her dorm floor in college. Her roommate’s name was Veronica.

McHenry-Kroetch and Nickerson selected “Heathers” not because of those coincidences, but because they wanted to direct another musical together, and “Heathers” had recently been reworked for the West End. Plus, they wanted to choose a summer production that young performers with open summer schedules would enjoy.

McHenry-Kroetch and Nickerson knew they had made the right choice when 110 performers showed up to auditions.

“The amount of talent and love for this show in particular, it surprised both of us,” McHenry-Kroetch said.

Because of their love for the musical, McHenry-Kroetch and Nickerson said many cast members were “pre-educated” about the intricacies of the 1980s references and the difficult subjects discussed in the show. Even then, the pair said they had lots of conversations with the cast alongside a consent-forward coach about things like bullying and suicide.

“It’s a fantastical show, but there are some real truths there that we always want to keep remembering and mentioning and being present to when they’re acting,” McHenry-Kroetch said.

Adding to the fantasy is the decision to use a unit set that plays every location in the musical, meaning the cast and crew didn’t have to focus so much on set changes.

The pair decided to add more realism to the costumes, as they didn’t want the audience to laugh at over-the-top shoulder pads just so it was clear the musical was set in the ‘80s.

Nickerson and McHenry-Kroetch praised set designer Denny Pham and costume designers Jamie Suter and Karlin Kahler for their work on “Heathers” while theater staff were also busy working on Civic’s most-recent production, “Cats.”

Audiences who have seen the movie “Heathers” might remember feeling, as McHenry-Kroetch and Nickerson did, as if the film was unrealistic in regard to the amount of violence and dark moments in its portrayal of the high school experience, but the pair said unfortunately those unrealistic elements have become reality for students today.

As a result, though “Heathers” might be a tough musical to watch, it’s also honest and relevant, using humor to bring a bit of light to those dark moments.

“It’s hard right now especially but we have always laughed and had to find humor in some of the things that we’re afraid of or hurt us,” Nickerson said. “Sometimes bringing humor to them can shed more light than other ways to approach them.”