Heathers the Musical at Sunderland Empire: Breathtaking vocals and Westerberg drama as smash-hit show comes to city

No, not that one. That’s the wrong show.

What I mean, is that we’ve all heard a version of the story which sees the unpopular and displaced nobody become part of the in-crowd, à la Mean Girls, She’s All That and the rest.

But what Heathers does – as all good shows should – is take a story we think we may know or have heard before, and flip it into something unexpected and thought-provoking.

Now, audiences the world over can relate to (at least one of) the feelings of angst, insecurity and love (unrequited or otherwise) at the heart of this high school comedy. After all, we were all teenagers once. But nestled between the high-energy musical numbers and laugh-out-loud jokes are serious issues.

For those who haven’t seen Heathers and plan to catch it during the Empire run, don’t worry; this is a spoiler-free zone. We keep the secrets here at Echo HQ – but let me assure you, you’re in for a night of superb music, risqué one-liners and HUGE relief that you didn’t spend your formative years at Westerberg High School …

Enter Veronica Sawyer (Jenna Innes), our protagonist on this journey from anonymity, through popularity, via trauma, to some sort of normality (whatever that is) by the time the curtain drops. Innes’ songbook in Heathers really is something to behold; her range was truly incredible in every setting, from solo ballads to group numbers and duets with her sparring partner and scene mate Jason ‘JD’ Dean (Jacob Fowler).

The chemistry between the two is undeniable and at some points, you almost feel like an intruder watching their private moments and declarations of love play out onstage. For me, Innes is a leading lady with the chops to take on many more of musical theatre’s greatest numbers.

While Heathers features a cast packed full of absolute stars, I need to make special mention of the comedy back-and-forth between jocks Kurt and Ram (Alex Woodward, Morgan Jackson), accessible sadness of Martha Dunnstock (Kingsley Morton) and dance moves of Katie Paine’s Ms. Fleming (you’ll see).

Now, to our three titular characters – the Heathers. To say they put my back up is the biggest compliment I can give them – the very presence of Verity Thompson (Heather Chandler), Elise Zayou (Heather Duke) and Billie Bowman (Heather McNamara) onstage gave me the fear of being tripped in the hallway, sitting alone at lunch or being Carrie-d at the prom. They were giving everything you’d expect from the most popular girls in school.

The company’s final number really stuck in my head on the way out, with one last significant message from our leading lady Veronica: “We're all damaged, we're all frightened. We're all freaks, but that's alright.”

A reminder – should we need one – that we’re all works in progress with space to change, learn and grow at any time of life. There’s nothing like a musical’s ‘moral of the story’ to send you off into the Sunderland summer night.

Heathers the Musical is at Sunderland Empire from June 20-24. Tickets are available from ATGtickets.com/sunderland