INTERVIEW: ‘Heathers the Musical’ bullies its way back to NYC
Photo: Heathers the Musical features, from left, Cade Ostermeyer, Xavier McKinnon and Lorna Courtney. Photo courtesy of Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade / Provided by The Press Room with permission.
NEW YORK — The beloved show Heathers the Musical is back at New World Stages in Midtown Manhattan, and high school has never looked so ferocious. The setting is Westerberg High, where the so-called Heathers dominate the hallways, and everything is about how much popularity one can amass amongst friends and bullies.
Two of the key characters are Ram Sweeney, played by Xavier McKinnon, and Kurt Kelly, played by Cade Ostermeyer. These two roles supply a lot of the humor in the hilarious show; they are bullies and not the smartest students at the high school. They also fall out of favor with Veronica Sawyer (Lorna Courtney) and Jason “J.D.” Dean (Casey Likes), who have a deadly plan to seek revenge.
“I was extremely familiar with it,” Ostermeyer said about his introduction to the musical. “It was one of those musicals that made me fall in love with theater in high school. I went through a huge Heathers phase. It turned me on to the movie, became obsessed with that, and the music was just something me and my friends would jam to all the time.”
McKinnon, on the other hand, was not familiar with the Heathers material, which was penned by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe. When he auditioned for the show, the music and characters were brand new to him, so as performances continue at New World Stages, he’s still discovering so much about Ram Sweeney and the other roles on stage.
“It’s all really new to me, the music and the story and all of it,” McKinnon said. “I’m still discovering so many things with each show. It’s really great.”
Ostermeyer, who is making his off-Broadway debut in the musical, said his parents came to see the show, and they were familiar with the original movie, which stars Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. His parents left the musical “a lot happier” than when they watched the movie, which was good news to Ostermeyer. This is difficult, challenging material that can be shocking in its violence and dark humor, but it seems the actors are striking the right tone.
“I think it’s a pretty accurate depiction of the time frame that we’re referencing, but some of the stuff is just heavy,” McKinnon said. “I think they try and lighten up in some ways, but at the same time, we’re dealing with some relatively heavy material that you can’t make pretty. But the music is really pretty.”
McKinnon said his character of Ram is one of the most fun he’s played in his career, and that’s saying something because the actor has built quite the life on stage. He played Fiyero in the national tour of Wicked, a role he stayed with for one full year. He has also appeared in Aladdin, Rent and Once on This Island, among other musicals.
“I think he’s a really big animal,” McKinnon said about Ram. “We’re playing 17-year-olds, so we are really fortunate to be uninhibited in that way that young kids are. When you’re young, you just do stuff, and there’s no rhyme or reason, except oftentimes a lot of the rhyme and reason ends up being the examples you were shown. So a lot of my character is based off of who my father is in the show, for sure, but then Ram’s nature is quite animalistic. He grunts a lot. He drools. He plays with his spit. He’s a bully. He uses physical force to get his way. That’s something that he’s learned from his father, so that’s helpful for me as an actor. Also, I’ve been able to lean into the fact that I just think he’s a big old beast, just tromping around.”
Ostermeyer sees Kurt in the same way. “Kurt and Ram go hand in hand,” Ostermeyer said. “I also went to school with people like Kurt and Ram, so pulling from that has been a lot of fun because I kind of steered clear of those types of people in high school and just watched from afar. So to get to make a character out of those people is a lot of fun.”
Ostermeyer is delighted to be appearing in Heathers the Musical, which was extended through January at New World Stages. He cannot believe he’s making his off-Broadway debut in a show that means so much to him.
“Getting to have this show be my first big step into the industry is really special because the show was my first big step into the world of theater just in general, and to get to do it with Xavier and this group of people, everyone’s just been so nice and so welcoming and sweet,” he said. “I just feel so much love.”
McKinnon added: “It’s nice. I live in Weehawken, New Jersey, right now, and it’s nice to be slightly removed from New York City but still get to work there and be in the area where I have so many friends, lots of connections. But we’re out here working. We have a pretty busy schedule, so when I’m not doing the show, I’m sleeping. But I love touring. I will say I love to tour. I just think it’s so much fun. I’m a big traveler. It’s nice to be in New York for a change, but I am kind of thinking of it as a longer tour stop.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Heathers the Musical, featuring Xavier McKinnon and Cade Ostermeyer, is currently running at New World Stages in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
