Based on the 1988 cult film Heathers, starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannen Doherty, this dark comedy musical about high school life is over-the-top and deliciously daring. Think Mean Girls, with a lot less pink and a lot more murder.
Veronica Sawyer (the hugely talented Christine Quintana) is a nerdy teenager with a middle-of-the-road social status. She dreams of having the power and untouchable quality of the Heathers, the three most popular and cruel girls at school — all named Heather. After they learn of her excellent forgery skills, they bring her into the group to use and abuse her.
Meanwhile, Jason “JD” Dean (Kamyar Pazandeh), the mysterious, trench coat-wearing new kid, has Veronica preoccupied. He notices that Veronica doesn’t really like her three new friends, and decides that a little justice is in order. Before she knows it, Veronica is an accomplice to murder and things get way out of hand.
I never thought a show with so much inappropriate, disturbing content, like suicide, sexual abuse, and brutal violence, could be so entertaining, but Heathers has catchy songs, sharp dance numbers, and a stellar cast that gave this little-known ’80s film a new life at the York Theatre.
Arts Club’s new production In a Blue Moon by Lucia Frangione is touring the Lower Mainland until January 30. This show is a much more serious family drama, and though I felt satisfied by its end, it took a while to pick up speed.
After being widowed by her diabetic husband, Ava (Anita Wittenberg) decides to move to a family cottage near Kamloops with her Vancouverite daughter. When they arrive, they find that her husband’s brother, Will (Brett Christopher), has been calling the place home. Frankie (Emma Tow) is only six, and she and Will develop a cute relationship while Ava struggles to find her feet and open her ayurvedic massage clinic.
All kinds of tensions between the three characters brew throughout the first half of the show, but are only hinted at; it is during the second half that the story picks up steam, conflicts come to a head, and we learn a bit more about each character. This is where I felt the show really came together.
Ava and Will develop an attraction for each other, but they both agree it’s probably best to avoid that complication. Not to mention the fact that Will has an on-again-off-again girlfriend, as well. My favourite scene features Ava chugging a bottle of wine and trying to calm down while she waited for his girlfriend to leave.
Although it took me a while to become invested in this story, it wasn’t any fault of these actors, who all gave very sincere performances. I was especially impressed with Emma Tow who played Frankie at both age six and 13, switching between the two with ease. The photos projected on the giant moon behind the cottage also added a nice, nostalgic feel to the show — they were used to fill in some plot details and were effective at shifting between scenes.
With strong writing and characters, In a Blue Moon is a complex, authentic story about three people learning how to live with each other after such a profound loss.
