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Regional Reviews: San Francisco Heathers: The Musical Also see Richard's review of Trouble Cometh
Veronica (Jessica Quarles) narrates and sings while making her diary entries. She is a 17-year-old nerd at Westerburg High School in Ohio and she starts to develop a shaky friendship with three of the most popular girls, all of whom happen to be named Heather (Jocelyn Pickett, Samantha Rose Cardenas, Lizzie Moss). They all look alike with their matching skirts and knee socks. Veronica commits a serious faux pas with the lead Heather Chandler (Jocelyn Pickett) and becomes a "mythic bitch." Heather threatens the poor girl with high school social exile. So Veronica goes to Heather to ask for forgiveness, but her strange boyfriend Jason, who wears a dark, full-length trenchcoat, urges her toward murder instead. There are multiple killings ahead but I won't go into the details. As Veronica, Jessica Quarles certainly has a dynamic voice singing O'Keefe and Murphy's songs. She is pitch perfect singing "Fight for Me", "Dead Girl Walking," and "Seventeen." Jordon Bridges makes the role of Jason his own. He reminds me of James Dean with terrific vocal cords singing "Freeze Your Brain," "Dead Girl Walking," and "Seventeen". Jocelyn Pickett is properly bitchy in the role of Heather Chandler and has a strong, vivacious voice singing "Candy Store." She gets great back up in the vocal department from Samantha Rose Cardenas and Lizzie Moss as the other two Heathers. Alex Rodriguez' high-energy choreography is fast paced. Costumes by Katie Dowse have that bright '80s feel and the set by Angrette McCloskey adds to the setting. Ben Prince leads the buoyant five-piece orchestra. Erik Scanlon's direction is energy driven. At the performance I attended, there were sound problems in the first act with the sound excessively loud but it cleared up for the second act. I am sure that problem is now fixed. Heathers: The Musical plays through June 13th, 2015, at the Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th Street, between Mission and Capp, San Francisco. For more information or to purchase tickets visit rayoflighttheatre.com. Coming up next is the musical Lizzie opening on September 25 and playing until October 17th.
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