Samuel French is proud to announce that Heathers The Musical (High School Edition) is now available for licensing as part of their 101 School Editions Collection.
With book, music and lyrics written by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy and adapted from the cult classic movie Heathers by Daniel Waters, the musical gained its own cult status following the 2014 Off-Broadway run and cast album release. O’Keefe notes, “From the moment we opened in New York, we started receiving requests for the rights from students, teachers and faculties across the country. We underestimated how deeply the show would resonate with present-day high schoolers.”
According to Murphy, the Off-Broadway version was R-rated, “If we wanted Heathers to work for high schools, we’d have to find new ways to tell the same story in a PG-13 context. So we wrote and workshopped a brand new draft with the fantastic support of Samuel French and iTheatrics, and were surprised to discover that many of the changes turned out to be improvements.”
Premiered by JJ Pearce High School (Richardson, TX) last fall, Heathers The Musical (High School Edition) has been met with huge enthusiasm from teachers and students alike. Pearce’s production has been selected to recreate its sold-out performances with a coveted spot at the Educational Theatre Association’s (EdTA) International Thespian Festival in June 2017. The musical, a comedy, tackles issues of teen suicide, bullying, homophobia and gun violence, while also providing schools with an opportunity to discuss these topics with their community. Head Theater Director at Pearce, Heather Biddle, explains “Each night we partnered with various community organizations that deal with intervention and prevention services and teen support groups. Moved by the message of Heathers and our community partners, our students used their learning to support their fellow students.”
Heathers The Musical (High School Edition) is a full-length adaptation of the Off-Broadway Musical for high schools. Through a series of workshops with iTheatrics, and development alongside Pearce, this musical – along with all 101 School Editions – are tailor-made for high school and middle school performers. Marty Johnson, Director of Education and Resident Director at iTheatrics, worked closely with O’Keefe and Murphy, as well as Pearce, throughout the adaptation process.
“Working on this adaptation has given me the chance to see first-hand how the characters, songs and this story resonate so deeply with young people across the country,” Johnson explains. “iTheatrics is proud of our collaboration with Samuel French and the show’s authors, and are excited to know that high schools everywhere now have age-appropriate materials to thoughtfully and sensitively produce Heathers The Musical (High School Edition). This artistically rich show will start conversations that need to happen. That must happen.”
Heathers The Musical (High School Edition) joins Rock of Ages (High School Edition), Rock of Ages (Middle School Edition), and resources for producing musicals from Musicals 101. For more information on how to perform Heathers The Musical (High School Edition) and other 101 School Edition titles, click here. For videos, articles and more on Heathers The Musical (High School Edition), follow Samuel French’s social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). #makeitbeautiful
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