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Heathers

Book, Music and Lyrics · Musical · 2019

In 1989, seventeen-year-old Veronica Sawyer despairs at Westerberg High School's hellish social hierarchy, where students like the heavyset Martha Dunnstock, Veronica's best friend, are tormented by jocks Ram Sweeney and Kurt Kelly, and the school is ruled by a clique called "the Heathers"; weak-willed cheerleader Heather McNamara, bulimic and petty Heather Duke, and "mythic bitch" Heather Chandler. When Veronica's talent for forgery gets the Heathers out of detention, they give her a makeover and elevate her to their inner circle ("Beautiful"). Three weeks later, Chandler orders Veronica to forge a love letter from Ram to Martha, threatening to return her to being a nobody when she hesitates ("Candy Store"). The mysterious, poetry-quoting new kid, Jason "J.D." Dean, criticizes Veronica for betraying her friend. After J.D. wins a fight against Ram and Kurt, Veronica finds herself unexpectedly attracted to him ("Fight for Me"). Veronica's parents express their disapproval over her friendship with the Heathers, but Veronica insists on staying with them so she can survive high school ("Candy Store (Reprise)"). Veronica flirts with J.D. at a 7-Eleven, leading J.D. to open up about his struggles and explain how he intentionally gives himself brain freezes to numb his grief ("Freeze Your Brain"). At Ram's homecoming party, Veronica gets increasingly drunk ("Big Fun"). When the Heathers cruelly prank Martha, Veronica angrily resigns from the group and vomits on Chandler's shoes. Chandler then vows to destroy her reputation. With nothing left to live for, Veronica breaks into J.D.'s bedroom and has sex with him ("Dead Girl Walking"). After being tormented by Chandler in a nightmare, Veronica, with J.D. in tow, heads to her house to apologize. While mixing a hangover cure for her, J.D. adds toxic drain cleaner to a mug and tries to convince Veronica to serve it to Chandler instead. Veronica refuses, but accidentally grabs J.D.'s mug anyway, with him noticing this and only wishing Veronica "good luck." Chandler refuses to accept Veronica's apology and drinks the drain cleaner, only to drop dead. Veronica panics, but J.D. convinces her to forge a suicide note, which paints Chandler as more complex and misunderstood. This fictionalized version of her wins everyone's sympathy and she becomes even more revered in death than she was in life ("The Me Inside of Me"). McNamara summons Veronica to a cow pasture, where she and Duke are stranded with a drunk Kurt and Ram. Upon Veronica's arrival, Duke reveals Kurt and Ram would only leave them alone if they brought Veronica, and the Heathers abandon her. Kurt and Ram unsuccessfully try to rape Veronica, though she manages to embarrass them and escape ("You’re Welcome"). The next day, Chandler's ghost appears to Veronica, warning she kept Kurt, Ram, and the other Heathers in check, and that with her gone, things would only get worse. Duke assumes Chandler's status and symbolic red scrunchie, becoming even more of a tyrant than Chandler was, while Ram and Kurt tell everyone they had a threesome with Veronica ("Never Shut Up Again"). Veronica is branded as a slut, and when J.D. attacks the jocks to defend her, they savagely beat him. J.D. and Veronica comfort each other and plan a vengeful prank: she will lure the jocks to the cemetery with the promise of a real threesome, then together they will shoot them with ich lüge (German for I lie) tranquilizer bullets to knock them out. Then Veronica and J.D. will leave another forged suicide note confessing Ram and Kurt were gay lovers and humiliate them in front of the school. When they arrive, J.D. shoots Ram but Veronica misses Kurt. As Veronica realizes that Ram is dead and the bullets are actually real, J.D. shoots Kurt dead and proclaims his undying love to a horrified Veronica ("Our Love Is God"). At Ram and Kurt's double funeral, a distraught Veronica reflects that they could have outgrown their immaturity ("Prom or Hell?"). Grief-stricken, Ram's Dad chastises Kurt's Dad for remaining homophobic, until the latter suddenly kisses the former, revealing their own secret love affair. Ram and Kurt are turned into martyrs to homophobia ("My Dead Gay Son"). Convinced that the murders are for the greater good, J.D. urges Veronica to target Duke next. When she refuses, he complains about doing nothing in the face of injustice. J.D. reveals he witnessed his mother's own suicide as a young boy, straining his relationship with his father and causing their constant moving around. Veronica gives him an ultimatum: give up violence and live a normal life with her or lose her forever ("Seventeen"). J.D. agrees and they reconcile. Martha tells Veronica she suspects J.D. of murdering the jocks, believing Ram's "love note" to her is proof. Veronica, urged by Chandler's ghost, confesses that she was actually the one who wrote it. Martha is heartbroken and runs off in tears. Ms. Fleming, one of the teachers, holds a televised therapy assembly, where she publicly breaks up with Steve, cutting off their affair ("Shine a Light"). She urges everyone to reveal their fears and insecurities, but only McNamara comes forward; admitting to experiencing grief and suicidal thoughts after losing Kurt and Chandler ("Lifeboat"). Duke mocks her and whips the students into a frenzy, and McNamara runs off crying. Veronica lashes out and blurts out a confession to the murders, but everyone believes she is only desperate for attention. Shortly after, McNamara tries to kill herself by overdosing in the bathroom, while Duke taunts her in her subconscious ("Shine a Light (Reprise)"), but Veronica stops her. J.D., carrying a gun, tries to persuade Veronica to kill Duke once more. Realizing how unstable he is, Veronica breaks up with him ("I Say No"). Furious, J.D. blackmails Duke into making the student body sign a petition to support a school holiday to honor the "suicide victims". Martha, mourning Ram, tries to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge ("Kindergarten Boyfriend"), but survives. Distraught, Veronica rushes home, only to find that J.D. has told her parents she is suicidal. She hides herself in her room as she is taunted by the ghosts of Kurt, Ram, and Chandler, while J.D. breaks in through the window ("Yo Girl"). Veronica barricades herself in her closet as J.D. reveals the petition was actually a mass suicide note, and explains his plans to stage the pep rally as such—using his demolition expertise. He breaks open the closet to find Veronica dangling from a noose. Grief-stricken, J.D flees to the school to enact his plan ("Meant to Be Yours"). Veronica, having faked her death, races to stop him. While the school pep rally is going on, Veronica confronts J.D in the boiler room, but in their struggle, he is shot ("Dead Girl Walking (Reprise)"). Unable to disarm the detonator, Veronica carries it to the empty football field to detonate the bombs out of range of the school. J.D. convinces her to let him take the detonator instead; it explodes, killing him ("I Am Damaged"). Returning to school, Veronica takes Chandler's scrunchie away from Duke, ending the era of social ridicule. Veronica then invites Martha and McNamara to hang out, rent a movie, and "be kids" before childhood is over ("Seventeen (Reprise)").

Reefer Madness

Book and Lyrics · Musical · 1998

This synopsis reflects the current version of the show as licensed. For information about other versions of the show, and cut songs, see below. The year is 1936. As the play opens, the Lecturer, a stern, conservative authority figure, informs a group of parents (the audience) of the new drug menace, "marihuana", which threatens the American way of life. (His warnings are reinforced by the Placard Girl, who throughout the play holds up large signs that clearly state scenes' moral lessons.) From his podium, the Lecturer warns the audience that action must be taken immediately before the children of America succumb to the Demon Weed ("Reefer Madness"). The Lecturer illustrates his point by re-enacting "the Harper Affair", which he claims is a true and horrific scandal. He begins by introducing us to Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane, a lovable pair of wholesome teens who hold hands, sip hot cocoa, and think pure thoughts while studying Shakespeare for English class ("Romeo and Juliet"). The Lecturer then shows us the seamier side of life at the Reefer Den, populated by drug-addled denizens. We meet Mae, the Reefer Den hostess, who is abused by her slick, pusher boyfriend Jack. She'd leave him, but Jack keeps her supplied with the marijuana she craves ("The Stuff"), despite his physical and sexual abuse. The Lecturer brings us now to the five and dime, a local teen hangout where wholesome kids indulge in the risqué rhythms of swing-jazz music, as performed by Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and other "ginger-colored agents of evil" ("Down at the Ol' Five and Dime"). The Lecturer assumes the guise of kindly Mr. Poppy, the singing and dancing proprietor. Jack, trawling for youthful victims, arrives at the five and dime, where he meets Jimmy and lures him back to the Reefer Den under the pretense of offering him swing dancing lessons. There, Jimmy encounters Ralph, a psychotic ex-college student who communicates primarily with cackling, maniacal laughter. He also meets Sally, a marijuana-addicted prostitute who works to support herself and her baby. Jimmy is pressured into taking his first hit of marijuana ("Jimmy Takes a Hit") and tastes the forbidden fruits of sensual abandon in a wild hallucinatory dance sequence featuring weird sex, belly dancers, fire eaters, and Goat-Man, a frightening satyr played by the Lecturer ("The Orgy"). Over the next few weeks, we watch Jimmy make a terrifying transition from "good egg" to "bad apple". He mouths off to his parents, brutalizes a puppy, and even attempts to tongue-kiss a shocked Mary, sending her running off in tears. Alone in church, Mary prays that her sweetheart will regain his senses and return to her ("Lonely Pew"). Later, Jimmy and Ralph break into the church to steal from the poor box. While Ralph goes off to smoke some frankincense, Jimmy receives a vision of Jesus Christ! Jesus (played by Jack) warns Jimmy (in a Tom Jones-style production number) to kick his reefer habit or suffer eternal damnation ("Listen to Jesus, Jimmy"), but Jimmy ultimately refuses to heed Jesus's warning. Back at the Reefer Den, Jimmy is completely out of control. A desperate Mae warns Jimmy to avoid her own mistakes – he must escape the Reefer Den while he is still able. The drug-addled Jimmy won't listen. Even the revelation that Sally has sold her baby for drug money fails to snap him out of it. Sally's baby (played by Ralph) appears and sings a plaintive solo ("Lullaby"). Jimmy's misbehavior culminates with his stealing Mary's Packard and taking it for a reckless, marijuana-induced joyride with Sally. His joy, however, proves short-lived – Sally, who is driving, runs over a helpless old man crossing the street, killing him. Finally regaining his senses, Jimmy returns the stolen Packard to Mary's house and apologizes to her, pledging his love ("Mary Jane/Mary Lane".) Before he can give her his school ring as a token of his undying love, a siren sounds in the distance. Jimmy, now wanted for a hit-and-run, realizes that he must get far away from Mary lest he bring her down with him. He runs off into the night with no explanation. Mary doesn't know the exact nature of Jimmy's demons, but she vows he will not face them alone. She drives her Packard into the night in search of "her poor lost Romeo". Meanwhile, back at the Reefer Den, Jack and Mae hear a radio broadcast announcing the hit-and-run accident. Police are looking for a young man in a late-model Packard. Jack, fearing Jimmy will be arrested and lead the cops back to him, grabs a pistol and ominously vows to bring Jimmy back to the Reefer Den "one way or another" ("Act I Finale"). As the act begins, hallucinatory visions of Ralph, Sally and Mae appear as Jazz Trio Backup Girls ("Jimmy on the Lam"). The Lecturer brings us up to date – Jimmy's on the lam and Mary's "combing the rain-spattered streets in search of her wayward young man." Jimmy arrives at the local train station and attempts to purchase a one-way ticket for "Parts Unknown". Before Jimmy can board the train, Jack appears and tries to convince Jimmy to return to the Reefer Den with him. Jimmy refuses; he promised himself he'd never smoke marijuana again. Jack tricks Jimmy by offering him a seemingly innocent brownie. Jimmy thinks this is the best brownie he's ever eaten in his life. The train station patrons join him in a song extolling the many virtues of said brownie ("The Brownie Song"). Jimmy is hooked once again. Meanwhile, Mary makes inquiries at the five and dime. Kindly Mr. Poppy provides Mary with the address of the Reefer Den. The naive Mary leaves, grateful for Mr. Poppy's assistance. As soon as Mary is out of earshot, Mr. Poppy telephones the Reefer Den and tells Ralph to inform Jack that an unsuspecting new "client" is on her way over. We learn that Mr. Poppy is secretly on Jack's payroll. He helps Jack "trundle little children off to pay the wages of sin" ("Five and Dime" reprise). Back at the Reefer Den, Sally drags Jimmy upstairs for a weed-whacked sexual liaison. When Mary arrives looking for Jimmy, the lecherous Ralph is lying in wait. He tries to seduce Mary by tricking her into smoking marijuana herself ("Little Mary Sunshine"). The plan backfires – the power of the weed is so great, it immediately transforms the virginal Mary into a whip-cracking sadomasochist who enslaves the frightened Ralph. Upon discovering Mary and Ralph in a compromising position, a smoke-addled Jimmy attacks Ralph. A scuffle ensues. Jimmy is knocked unconscious and Jack accidentally shoots Mary through the heart. The villainous Jack places the gun in the unconscious Jimmy's hand. Jimmy, who remembers nothing, is convinced that he has murdered his beloved "Juliet". Mary regains consciousness long enough for Jimmy to finally give her his school ring. She dies in his arms ("Mary's Death"). As the police pull up in front of the house, Mae tells Jimmy that he's innocent of the crime and that Jack is planning to frame him. A police inspector (played by the Lecturer) bursts in. Jack accuses Jimmy of murdering Mary while "hopped up" on reefer. Jimmy begs Mae to tell the truth and exonerate him. Mae, however, is too weak and too dependent on the "stuff" Jack gives her. She remains silent and Jimmy is dragged away to stand trial. A few weeks later. Ralph, Mae, and Sally are racked with guilt as they listen to Winchell announce Jimmy Harper's conviction and death sentence. Ralph, who has been smoking non-stop, is becoming seriously unhinged. He sees hallucinatory visions: the ghost of doomed Jimmy, dead Mary in Hell being sodomized by the Devil, and the zombie remnants of all the kids destroyed by reefer. Imaginary reefer vines drop from the ceiling, ensnaring him. All the while, Ralph, stricken with a severe case of the munchies, moans about starving to death. Fearing that Ralph's insane caterwauling will prompt a neighbor to call the cops, Jack and Mae leave to get Ralph something to eat. Sally is instructed to remain behind and keep Ralph quiet. When Jack and Mae return with Chinese food, they catch Ralph in the act of gnawing on Sally's severed arm – he has eaten Sally alive! Ralph, now a cackling reefer-fueled cannibal, turns on Mae and Jack. Jack shoots Ralph repeatedly. He dies laughing. The shock of all this causes Mae's mind to snap – she's surrounded by the angry visions of Ralph, Sally, Mary, Goat-Man, Jimmy, and the Zombies ("Murder!"). Jack warns the unhinged Mae that the world is kill or be killed; "the winner is the last one left alive." Mae decides the only way to find inner peace is to turn herself in and save Jimmy from the electric chair. Jack tries to bring Mae back to her senses in his usual fashion – by giving her a smoke. Mae stubs it out. An angry Jack slaps her for wasting "half a jay of good mootah". Mae reacts with cold fury and picks up a hoe from the victory garden. Frightened by Mae's intensity, Jack tries to shoot her – alas, he expended all his bullets on Ralph! Mae sings as she slashes Jack with the garden hoe, avenging the deaths of Sally, Ralph, Mary, and every other poor kid Jack has ever hooked on marijuana ("The Stuff" reprise). Fountains of blood spray over the stage. Finally, Mae runs off to save Jimmy. Meanwhile, in an execution chamber, Jimmy walks the last mile and is strapped into the electric chair. Just as the Switch-Puller (played by Ralph) prepares to fry Jimmy, he is interrupted by a second visit from Jesus and his backup angels! They sing and dance ("Listen to Jesus, Jimmy" reprise). Jimmy's immense relief is short-lived. It turns out Jesus has only come to gloat and watch the execution. Jimmy prepares to meet his fate – when a second interruption occurs. This time it is Mae who has obtained a presidential pardon. President FDR (played by the Lecturer) orders Jimmy to warn other children to beware the dangers of reefer. The President promises Jimmy plenty of help getting the message out.

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