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Media Advisory / For Immediate Release: Thursday, August 23, 2018
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Hart House Theatre presents
a story of teen-angst with murderous, musical twist:
Heathers: The Musical
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Toronto, Ontario - Opening the season on September 21, Hart House Theatre presents a musical that is "so very" with a dark side that is "grody to the max", Heathers: The Musical. Directed by well-known musical powerhouse, Jennifer Walls, and starring a stellar cast of emergent talent, this production of Heathers: The Musical promises to deliver a night at the theatre to die for.
About the show:
Based upon the iconic film of the same name, Heathers: The Musical tells the tale of mean girls and murderous vengeance between outcasts and the popular in-crowd. With a twisted, pitch-black sense of humour and a rockin' soundtrack, this musical explores some of today's societal challenges with the backdrop of a 1980s high school social scene.
 We welcome Director Jennifer Walls to Hart House Theatre for her debut directing project with us, although she is certainly no stranger to our stage or to musical theatre!
Jennifer returns to Hart House Theatre after performing as Mary Lane in the Canadian Premiere of Reefer Madness and Marie LaSalle in High Fidelity. A graduate of Sheridan Institute's Musical Theatre Performance program, Jennifer is a Toronto based performer, producer and voice actor. Jennifer has produced a number of successful productions at the Toronto Fringe including The Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl series and Baker's Dozen, Twelve Angry Puppets in addition to her performance work. She was the long-time host and producer of Singular Sensation, A Musical Theatre Open Mic, Toronto's premier weekly musical theatre event that recently celebrated their 7th year in Toronto. She is also a curator of the Sunday Cabaret Series at Toronto's 120 Diner, mentoring young and emerging performers helping create and produce Cabaret. This past year Jennifer was featured on the cover of NOW Magazine for her work at the Toronto Fringe and in the city. Most recently she acted as assistant to the director and dance captain in addition to performing at Drayton Entertainment under one of her mentors, David Rogers.
When asked what makes a story from 1988 relevant 30 years later, Jennifer had this to say:
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As I write this in late August, Toronto has had more deaths from gun violence this year in the city than at the same point in 2017. Twice this year, a mental health issue resulted in a needless loss of life. Ten people in April on a curb in North York, two this summer on the Danforth and who knows how many others haven't made the news. Why does this happen? The answer evades us, but somewhere in the Romantic/Comedy/Horror that is Heathers, there's a clue.
Somewhere in the mixed up world of senior year, Veronica, the precocious 17 year old at the centre of all this mayhem, makes the answer clear. There's a cycle of cruelty in the world, and in that cycle we make 'Heathers'. We made them in 1988 when the film was released and we continue to make them nearly 30 years later. Bullies and victims going back and forth (lather, rinse, repeat) until they tear each other apart. That cycle of cruelty turns into suicides, guns, bombs and sometimes a car on a curb in your city. We're responsible for our fellow 'students'. Veronica discovers how to break the cycle and opens our eyes to the importance of treating each other with compassion and understanding.
Beneath it's dark comedy and content, Heathers gives us a glimmer of hope that there can be change in the world if we stop looking the other way and connect."
Joining Jennifer on the production team are artists Giustin MacLean (Music Director) and Amanda Nuttall (Choreographer) as well as designers
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| Preliminary Set Rendering by Brandon Kleiman |
To interview the director or our production team, or to arrange a tour of the build-in-progress, please call the media contact listed below.
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| Preliminary Costume Renderings by Erin France Gerofsky |
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Heathers: The Musical
Book, Music and Lyrics by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe
Based on the film written by Daniel Waters
Directed by
Jennifer Walls
Music Direction by Giustin MacLean
Choregraphy by
Amanda Nuttall
Lighting/Projection Design by Melissa Joakim
Sound Design by Jeremy Hutton
FEATURING
For full cast biographies, click
here
.
For more information on the professional production team, visit
here
.
On Stage Sept. 21-Oct. 6, 2018
Week 1:
Fri. & Sat., 8 pm
Week 2: Wed. to Sat., 8 pm
Week 3:
Wed. to Sat., 8 pm and Sat., 2 pm
Postshow Talkbacks: Sat., Sept. 22 and Thurs., Sept. 27
Preshow Artist Chat: Sat., Oct. 6 at 1 pm
Warning: The show contains coarse language, mature themes, sexual and graphic violence.
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Single Ticket Prices
Adults: $28
Seniors: $17
Students: $15
$12 Student tickets every Wednesday night
Box Office
416.978.8849
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Established in 1919, Hart House Theatre is the University of Toronto's Performing Arts Leader. Since its inception, the theatre's unique mix of young professionals, alumni and students has garnered the theatre a reputation as a cultural destination for not only the community of U of T, but also the city of Toronto.
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Andrea Wasserman
Marketing Coordinator at Hart House Theatre
416.978.8381
[email protected]
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Partners:
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STAY CONNECTED WITH HART HOUSE THEATRE
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