{"id":409082,"date":"2026-05-03T00:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T00:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/409082\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T00:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T00:00:11","slug":"kiwi-stars-shine-as-cult-hit-musical-heathers-kicks-off-its-explosive-six-month-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/409082\/","title":{"rendered":"Kiwi stars shine as cult hit musical Heathers kicks off its \u2018explosive\u2019 six-month tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

Without Heathers, there\u2019d be no Clueless or Mean Girls. And Westerberg High\u2019s Heather Chandler is the most \u201cmythic bitch\u201d of them all.<\/p>\n

So we can take it as a matter of national pride that in the new production of Heathers: The Musical touring New Zealand this month, not only has a Kiwi been cast as Chandler, but there\u2019s also a Kiwi in one of the two sidekick Heather roles.<\/p>\n

\"KiwiKiwi performer Calista Nelmes (centre) as “Queen Bee” Heather Chandler, with fellow New Zealander Amelia Rojas (left) as Heather Duke and Australian Abigail Sharp as Heather McNamara.<\/p>\n

British-based producer Paul Mansfield had seen her at the Sydney Opera House as Maureen in Rent, which won her the 2024 People\u2019s Choice Award for best performance in a musical.<\/p>\n

He reckons it wasn\u2019t only Nelmes\u2019 soaring vocal talent but her personality and character that made her a perfect fit for the role.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a real bitch, then? \u201cNo, no! Absolutely not, and I will not be quoted on that,\u201d he says, waving his hands in mock horror.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaureen is a big sing and she dominated that stage. That is what Heather Chandler is. She\u2019s the queen bitch and she has to own it. Calista brings that, too, and the character arc she goes through isn\u2019t just evil; it\u2019s clever and funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DescribedDescribed as High School Musical’s darker, dirtier cousin, Heathers: The Musical opens here this month as part of a six-month tour of Australia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n

The original film, a satirical coming-of-age that starred a 15-year-old Ryder as underling Veronica Sawyer and Slater as her psychopathic boyfriend JD, was adapted into a stage musical in 2010 by award-winning US director Andy Fickman.<\/p>\n

Sixteen years later, it\u2019s still drawing crowds. A current New York revival scheduled to sign off in May has extended its season to September. Another production of the show opens a 20-stop tour of Britain and Ireland in August.<\/p>\n

No bubblegum musical, Heathers is a hot mess of homophobia, toxic masculinity, date rape and relentlessly cruel bullying that drives one of its victims \u2013 a fat girl \u2013 to attempt suicide.<\/p>\n

Some of the scenes aren\u2019t easy to watch, and although the musical softens some of the film\u2019s bleaker moments, let\u2019s just say the end is explosive.<\/p>\n

Somehow, it still pulls off being very funny at times, with its slick choreography and the two jocks, Ram and Kurt, adding comic relief despite some truly despicable behaviour. When their dads sing the duet, I Love My Dead Gay Son, it brings the house down.<\/p>\n

\"EmmaEmma Caporaso as Veronica Sawyer and Conor Beaumont as her psychopathic boyfriend, JD, a role Brad Pitt apparently read for when the original 1989 movie was being made. The part went to Christian Slater instead. <\/p>\n

To maintain quality control, the original creative team from the West End and Broadway productions has remained actively involved in Heathers, reviewing audition tapes and giving feedback on the cast\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

Fickman, whose 2005 musical comedy film Reefer Madness won three Emmy Awards, is directing this six-month tour of Australia and New Zealand. Featuring a new set and new costume design, it takes in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland before finally wrapping in Perth at the end of October.<\/p>\n

At the glitzy premiere in Melbourne last month, excitement was at fever pitch for a show that\u2019s been described as High School Musical\u2019s darker, dirtier cousin.<\/p>\n

Fans came dressed as one of the Heathers or the lovers Veronica and JD \u2013 devotees of the film and musical are known as \u201ccorn nuts\u201d, after Heather Chandler\u2019s dying words. There was even a drag Barbie.<\/p>\n

The entry ticket for the VIP after-party was a red scrunchie, the symbol of Chandler\u2019s royal status at the top of the social hierarchy, claimed by another Heather after the Queen Bee\u2019s unfortunate demise.<\/p>\n

\"CalistaCalista Nelmes as “mythic bitch” Heather Chandler. “She’s obviously deeply troubled and insecure.” <\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first time Nelmes has had a death scene on stage. Spoiler alert: being dead doesn\u2019t mean she\u2019s out of the story.<\/p>\n

In the film, Chandler is played by Kim Walker, who\u2019d been a classmate of Christian Slater and Jennifer Aniston at the performing arts school in Manhattan that inspired Fame. (Apparently, Brad Pitt read for JD.)<\/p>\n

Nelmes based her interpretation of the role on Brook Crompton, the 27-year-old model from Queensland who made a dramatic but short-lived appearance in the latest season of Married at First Sight Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the first dinner party, she\u2019s wearing red, and as soon as she opened her mouth, I went, \u2018That\u2019s Heather Chandler\u2019. So that\u2019s who I\u2019m channelling,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

About 1500 hopefuls sent in audition tapes when the casting call first went out. Less than half made it through to the next round. Five days of in-person screenings were then held across Australia and New Zealand, with four Kiwis making the final cut.<\/p>\n

Professional opportunities offering this level of exposure and experience are rare in New Zealand, especially for young performers so early in their careers. Compared with most of the cast, Nelmes is a veteran.<\/p>\n

Abigail Sharp, the Baby Spice lookalike who plays Heather McNamara, is just a few months out of high school herself. Emma Caporaso, in the central role of Veronica, was part of the Aussie girl pop group G-Nation and is making her professional theatre debut.<\/p>\n

\"HeatherHeather Duke (Amelia Rojas) seizes power, including the red scrunchie, after Heather Chandler is deposed. Nic Van Lits (left) and David Cuny play the two high-school jocks, Kurt and Ram.<\/p>\n

Amelia Rojas, who landed the role of Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty in the movie), is only 20 and midway through a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Auckland.<\/p>\n

Last year, she played one of the murderesses on death row and was the understudy for Roxie Hart in a touring production of Chicago, directed by Michael Hurst. During its Christchurch run, she had to swing in mid-show when the star, Nomi Cohen, was unable to go on after the interval. The next night, she stepped on stage as Roxie.<\/p>\n

The most sycophantic and downtrodden Heather, Rojas smashes her big solo, Never Shut Up Again, a song that was added to the London season in 2019.<\/p>\n

She says her \u201crole model\u201d was Gretchen Wieners, the wealthy, deeply insecure member of The Plastics in Mean Girls. \u201cI grew up with that movie, and she\u2019s the one who really strikes it for me. She just leeches on to power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Nelmes, who describes herself as one of those \u201cweird theatre kids\u201d, Rojas came across her fair share of bullies at high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think I wouldn\u2019t be anywhere without them,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019ve made me into the person I am today, and I feel like that\u2019s such a strong message with Heathers. Every little aspect of life makes you who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Kiwi contingent at rehearsals before the premiere in Melbourne. From left: Jocelyn Scott as Stoner Chick, Calista Nelmes as “Queen Bee” Heather Chandler, Mackenzie Htay (seated) as Beleaguered Geek and Amelia Rojas (standing at right) as Heather Duke.<\/p>\n

Two other Kiwis, both originally from Wellington, are in the ensemble cast. Jocelyn Scott, who plays \u201cStoner Chick\u201d, was 15 when she left New Zealand to train at a performing arts school in Britain. <\/p>\n

A teacher at Ormiston Senior School in Auckland for the past two years, this is her second Australian gig after touring with Shrek the Musical last summer.<\/p>\n

Mackenzie Htay plays another high-school archetype, \u201cBeleagured Geek\u201d, a clumsy, bespectacled kid constantly being pushed around. He\u2019s also the understudy for JD. <\/p>\n

He thinks Heathers strikes a chord because it tackles the struggles so many teenagers go through, but are too afraid to speak up about.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why this fan base is so crazy,\u201d he says, \u201cbecause they relate to it so much and find an outlet through the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe OG (from left): Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Winona Ryder, and Kim Walker in the 1989 film Heathers.<\/p>\n

Even Heather Chandler is presented with a smidgen of compassion. A fleeting scene in the movie that\u2019s expanded in the musical shows her reading Sylvia Plath\u2019s The Bell Jar, which was published a month before Plath committed suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s kind of the worst,\u201d says Nelmes. \u201cBut high school is a tough place. It\u2019s an awkward time, figuring out who you are. The way that I see Chandler is she\u2019s obviously very deeply troubled and insecure, and I think everyone can relate to that on some level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fickman, the very embodiment of an American director in his merch T-shirt and baseball cap, spent six weeks rehearsing with the cast in Australia before flying back to Los Angeles to wrap the second season of his Disney show, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.<\/p>\n

What clique was he in at high school? \u201cI grew up Jewish in Texas,\u201d he says. \u201cThere weren\u2019t many groups I was allowed in.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the US, the Heathers team has done post-show \u201ctalk-backs\u201d with thousands of high-school students, including many who have survived school shootings. Fickman has deliberately given the musical a more hopeful ending.<\/p>\n

\"DirectorDirector Andy Fickman (left) at rehearsals in Melbourne with Emma Caporaso as Veronica Sawyer and Conor Beaumont as JD.<\/p>\n

\u201cSadly, we live in a world where it\u2019s not going away \u2013 gun violence, sexual assault, homophobia,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to live in a society where kindness is not rewarded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our audiences, we see kids from such a young age, 12 and up, who are dealing with it daily and finding there is another way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that all sounds pretty grim, there\u2019s plenty of lightness and sparkle in Heathers, too. Candy Store, which has become its \u201cbad girl\u201d signature song, is such a favourite of Fickman\u2019s 6-year-old daughter that the school has begged her to stop singing its racy lyrics in front of her classmates.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 20 years since some producer friends first pitched the unlikely idea of adapting Heathers into a musical. At the time, Fickman was in post-production for She\u2019s The Man, a comedy he directed with Channing Tatum in his breakout role.<\/p>\n

After the show\u2019s opening night in Melbourne, footage of the final bows was posted on social media. Everyone in the theatre was up on their feet. <\/p>\n

Daniel Waters, who scripted the original movie, was one of the first to comment on Instagram. \u201cWorld domination,\u201d he posted, \u201cis all I ever wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heathers: The Musical opens in Christchurch (May 15-24), then tours to Wellington (May 28-June 7) and Auckland (June 10-14).<\/p>\n

Joanna Wane is a senior lifestyle writer with an interest in social issues and the arts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Without Heathers, there\u2019d be no Clueless or Mean Girls. And Westerberg High\u2019s Heather Chandler is the most \u201cmythic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3017,806,4057,210444,51374,29804,156,36876,15144,5275,173748,3594,302,26662,15896,117863,194,435,9381,111,139,69,6662,210443,34458,48835,28464,4062,21410,1305,118452,5433,5436,8911,208,15897,80],"class_list":["post-409082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ahead","tag-as","tag-behind","tag-bomber","tag-cult","tag-date","tag-entertainment","tag-explosive","tag-featuring","tag-goes","tag-heathers","tag-hit","tag-its","tag-itself","tag-joanna","tag-kicks","tag-kiwi","tag-movie","tag-musical","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-off","tag-psychopathic","tag-rape","tag-reinvent","tag-scenes","tag-school","tag-shine","tag-show","tag-sixmonth","tag-stage","tag-stars","tag-suicide","tag-tour","tag-wane","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}