1375 – Heathers the Musical | Act 1

Episode 1375 – Heathers the Musical | Act 1

 

[START OF RECORDING]

 

SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, musical…what is that game called? Not bocce ball. Croquet players every…bocce, croquet, lawn bowling, whatever your…whatever…if you play yard games or reindeer games or none of the above…board games…talk about bored games, am I right? I mean, B-O…however you spell ‘boring’ bored. You're in the right place, 'cause that’s the kind of mild humor we have here, humor…near…close…it’s humor-like material I use here on the podcast. It’s not barely funny; it’s funny…it’s like something funny but it’s not funny. I say, perfect. I’m doing my job. If you're new, welcome.

 

This is a podcast to be your friend in the deep, dark night, to let you fall asleep, to take your mind off of stuff to fall asleep, to be there while you fall asleep or you can't sleep at all, which is a bit different, but I’m really glad you're here for the show. Let me…if you're…just in case you're new or you want a little refresher, you're a regular listener…holy cow, great to see you, by the way. Coming back after a while? Oh yeah, no…okay, great. All the pets out there listening along, fishes…what up, my fishes? I love shouting out all pets, not just fish, but I love saying…I love giving a little shout-out to my fishes. Fish food, right? It’s just food to you. That’s another humor-like thing. I don't know why they call it fish food. It’s actually flakes of stuff. You know, whatever.

 

Okay, in case anyone’s still here, just so you know, this is a podcast you barely listen to. Okay, so, what we having coming up is support, and that’s for new listeners and casual listeners and people that listen every once in a while or who are going through something. Then there’s a long, meandering intro totally separate from the support meant to ease you into bedtime or just hang out while you're winding down or just to ease you into it. Then later on we’ll have a bedtime story. It’ll be me talking about a performance of Heathers the Musical and thinking about the plot of Heathers the Musical, and probably comparing it to Legally Blonde the Musical, maybe a little bit to the Meon Girls, that French musical, Meon Girls that…based on the Tina Fey movie.

 

But probably not directly, 'cause my mind can't hold that many details in it. But I don't know, we’ll see how it goes. So, I’m glad you're here. If you're new or a regular listener, that’s what we got coming up, but you barely have to listen. I’m just here to…I’m here for your benefit. Now, if you really benefit from this show, like it makes your life a lot better, you're a super listener, then these next messages…you're the…if the show’s essential for you, these messages are…you're a essential part of the show, and here’s a way you could say, yeah, the show’s an essential part of my life. How do I make sure that stays that way? These are the ways you could do that.

 

INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake. It could be thoughts, it could be feelings, it could be physical sensations, it could be changes in time, temperature, routine…I think I forgot the intro. I got distracted. I’m totally off. I mean, I don't know, 'cause I can't rewind. Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome.

 

This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake. That could be thoughts…maybe my thoughts now…I had a thought pop in my head in the middle of that, and now I’m not sure if this is my second trip through this…up to this point of the intro or not. It was a thought of someone…a non-positive person who was giving me feedback on the show, and my brain just popped it in there, and I’m trying to get better at dealing with that stuff. So, I was trying…and I said, whoa, whoa, we're trying to make a sleep podcast intro here. I wonder what the video…so, I recorded the video of this.

 

I wonder…I’m gonna have to watch the video back to see where I went. Felt like I was in a classroom and I was not the teacher. So…okay, so, thoughts, it could be things you're thinking about about the past, the present, the future, or all of those, and in my case it was kinda all of those. I was thinking about in the future I’d be more adjusted and be able to say, hey, what if you see this from my side? Or so well-adjusted I say, nah, man, it doesn't matter. Different thoughts for different thinkers. Then I was in the past being like…there was some finger-wagging going on at me and I wasn’t…I was still in the present, though I wasn’t really present in the present, and that’s kinda my job, is to be here present for you. But even in these meta ways I get to be here present for you, which is a cool part about the show.

 

So, it could be thoughts, it could be feelings related to those thoughts or feelings that are just there, feelings left over from the day or the past or feelings about the future, the thoughts, physical sensations, changes in time, temperature, routine, work schedule, maybe you work a different shift. By the way, not only does this show pander to fish, pets, or fish…I mean all fish and the band Phish and people named Fish, people nickname…nickname named Fish; that’s hard to say. Is there any…? I’m gonna forget my other tangent 'cause I just realized that’s a good tongue twister if you say, nickname name named. My name is Nick. My nickname name…nicknames nicknames…nicknames nicknames. Nicholy…something. I don't know. So, I already forgot my other tangent.

 

It was related to thoughts and feelings, physical sensations…no idea. So, that’s cool. That’s what happens with the show, though, is one tangent goes into another. We get lost and…'cause I’m here to…oh, the only show that panders not only to fish and all those other things I listed but to people that work different shifts, obscure shifts. Like a lot of the shifts…rightly so, they get a lot of praise, and people pander to the first shift, second shift, or third shift, or ABC, or ABC and D or the night shift and the swing shift. All those…a lot of those have been even glamorized in movies. What no one that I know of…I’m sure there’s other people out there…I mean, I love to point out…you say, it’s not really pandering when you point it out.

 

Okay, it’s…so, in that case it’s gratuitous pandering, I…can you combine gratuitous pandering and…is this navel gazing? I don't think it is. I do think this is gratuitous pandering. But I do do a lot of gratuitous pandering to shifts that have not yet been named, though I name them. The PPS is post…or post-Parton shifts, or non…NPS is non-Parton shifts, shifts not sung about…by Dolly Parton. So, if you work a shift like 9:00 to 5:00 and then…9:00 to 5:00 also…by the way, I’m gonna give Dolly credit here; that implies that she’s also giving love to other shifts. 9:00 to 5:00, then you got 5:00 to whatever…five plus eight…five and five is ten…5:00 to 1:00 and then 1:00 to 9:00; yeah, that makes sense. The math works out on that. So, all three of those shifts are covered, by the way, in the song 9 to 5, in my opinion.

 

But Dolly does not…she just does…it wouldn't be a song if she was like, I’m working 2:00 a.m. to…again, plus eight is ten, but you gotta work on your break, so you're probably working 2:00 to 11:00. What a way to make a living. That’s what this show…I pander to you right now. So, it could be work shifts. Or if you change one of those shifts, that’s gonna be a rough one, the 2:00 to 11:00. That would be a big lifestyle change that you'd probably need a sleep podcaster for if you went from working 2:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. to, I don't know, some other shift. Maybe the glamor shift; 9:00 to 5:00. You say, man, 9:00 to 5:00…and that’s when you get to go home? So you get a hour paid lunch or something? That’s great. So…okay, so…or it could be anything else.

 

You could be going through something, getting over something, in the middle of something. The only reason I run through all that stuff and list it is so you get the sense that you're in a place where there’s an attempt to understand you and to see you where you are. I can't…like I said, I just don’t have…just like Dolly, I don’t have time to pander to every shift in every episode…or whatever keeps you awake, but I know what it feels like for me. I’m still in the middle of a really rough patch, and I know what it feels like for me. Each night it feels different but non-positive. Even though I have all the tools in my toolbox, for the most part, it’s like, I’ve got stuff personally and then stuff interpersonally and outside of my control. All those things are happening.

 

So, I know what it feels like for me, and I know what it’s felt like for me in the past, too. I laugh because it’s kind of…it’s…helps me make this show knowing really there’s some part of me deep within me not just in the surface that says, please, please, let tonight go better. Please let me get a couple more hours of sleep, or please let me not wake up, or please let me just fall asleep and stay asleep. There’s a part of me begging for that, but not in a…but people, normal…day people would be like, what, are you begging yourself for sleep? You'll never sleep like that. I say, okay, I guess you just don’t get it. But, I don't know, here I think we can connect on that. That’s what’s important to me.

 

The thing is, I’ve been saying this for maybe a year now; I’ve been doing the show for a long time, and over the past couple years I realized what…I always knew we had a special thing going together, but there’s this extra layer; that is somewhere out there listening to this show right now is another listener who really and truly can really relate to whatever it is that you are dealing with of why…whatever brought you to this show. There’s at least one other person out there in the world, on this globe, on this planet, Spaceship Earth, as they say, who really gets it, and they really do feel for you and they really hope this podcast can help you out just like I do.

 

They are rooting for you to get the rest you need so your life is better, that your life is more manageable when you're rested, and that it’s not such a rigmarole or something you have to dread or kinda feel that thing; please let tonight go better, please, I don't know what else to do. Luckily I kinda do, but it’s…even that part of me, at least, is like, I don't know what else to do. I say, well, we could try this or this. Yeah, I don't want to do that, either. So, that’s cool, but on top of all that…and this isn't a must that the show has to work for you or help you out, but if it does, then you could have that wonderful experience — wonderfully subtle but wonderfully powerful — of rooting for somebody else out there in the world, too, that’s kinda hurting like you might be or uncomfortable like you might be.

 

So, that’s the magic of the show. It’s you and the other people you can connect with even though it’s indirect and subtle. Now, the way the show works is I send my voice across the deep, dark night. I use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents, which means I go off topic, I get mixed up…whatever, I’ve gone on a few…quite a few tangents already. Not all of them make sense, and my voice is not traditionally soothing. It’s creaky, dulcet. Now, what else do you need to know if you're new here? Well, one, this show is just not for everybody. Most people don’t like me or the podcast, particularly when they first get here, and my thing is I embrace that. Like, why would you?

 

I would be skeptical, I would be doubtful, I would probably be grouchy when I was looking for something to help me fall asleep and I searched and I found any show, but particularly this show…and that you're like, what is this going on? I thought this was a sleep podcast and you're just rambling on and on and on about nothing. That takes some getting used to. My personality and the style of the show may never work for you. There’s people who just…their thoughts of me change over the years. There’s also a lot of people that have listened the whole time. But just in case any of those things happen for you, we have a website. It’s…now it’s a combination website-survey to get you to the right place; sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou.

 

When you go there, if the show’s not for you or you just don’t like me or the show, you click on one thing and it’ll take you to a page that has other sleep podcasts and sleepy stuff on there. If you need to…if you're just fed up with me or whatever, you can vent that kind of stuff out. It just gives you a positive way and a way to find something that’s gonna help you in the end if this show doesn't, 'cause everything I said up to this point is still true even if you strongly dislike me, which is pretty common. The only thing I’ll ask is, yeah, go to the website and use that. Then we don’t have to…then you don’t have to expend any energy on me and we just both go our separate ways. It’s kinda cool. Then maybe one day you're listening to another sleep podcast and you're rooting for listeners on that show. It’s a wonderful thing.

 

So, yeah, most people don’t like me, this podcast is a podcast you don’t…oh, it takes some getting used to for the people that do like it. I think that was kinda in-between the lines of what I just said, but there’s a million people, I think, over the past eleven, twelve years that have e-mailed me and said, at first I couldn't stand you or I had no idea, and then on the second or third try, it clicked; oh, now I get it. He really does know…he really does barely know…he really knows that he barely knows what he’s doing, and he knows what he’s barely doing, and he’s barely doing it. I’d say, pretty…that’s pretty apt. Pretty…that’s right on. Just give it a few tries and see how it goes. You got nothing to lose, 'cause if the show doesn't work for you, go to sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou and find something that does. That’s cool.

 

Also, this is a podcast you just barely listen to, kinda like background noise or a TV on in the other room or something streaming under your pillow like a show or whatever. So, that takes some…is kind of…yeah, it just takes…you kinda listen, you kinda don’t listen, you could listen, you don’t need to. This is also a podcast that’s…doesn't put you to sleep. My job is to keep you company while you fall asleep. There’s no pressure to fall asleep with this show. I’m gonna be here to the very end because there’s people listening who can't sleep at all or who need a break during the day or who wake up in the middle of the night, and they're counting on me to be there. So, I’m there whether you're listening or not. I’m here to the very end for you. You don’t have to worry about when you fall asleep.

 

That’s why the episodes are over an hour, and, yeah, I’m here to be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your neigh-bore, your bore-bie, your bores, your boreman, your bore-bor, your neigh-bore, your Boris Borlaf, your chairman of the bored, your boreman, your best bore-friend f’eva, and keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep, which is different, right? Instead of putting you to sleep, I’m here as your friend or a friendly voice or a mild distraction that you don’t feel like you have to pay attention to but you could if you need to. The only other thing to know is the structure of the show.

 

We have a very distinct structure, but it is adaptable if you decide the show works for you and you want to become a regular listener, but most people…or ‘most people’ is kinda the wrong way to say it, but a lot of listeners…I guess it is most listeners; they kinda are going through something temporary, right, or they're new to the show or they kinda come and go when they're…when they're dealing with stuff, and they like to listen linearly. So, the show starts off with a greeting — linear just means in order — friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. It’s how our show starts out so whether you're a person that’s been listening for eleven years and you listen to ten episodes a night or this is your first episode, you feel seen and welcomed in. Then there’s a long, meandering intro.

 

Oh, first there’s support, sponsor support, so that paying for the show is optional, right? It’s just for the people whose lives have been changed by the show. Those are the people we need to support the show. If you're new or casually here, don't worry about it. Or if you can't afford to, don't worry about it. It’s not your responsibility. It’s the responsibility of the people whose lives are enriched by the show. So, that’s the support. Then there’s a long, meandering intro meant to ease you into bedtime, not to put you to sleep. But as you get ready for bed or you're in bed getting comfortable, the intro…or you're doing a wind-down routine, that’s why the intro goes on and on and on.

 

But the reason it’s different every time and it follows a familiar structure but I go on tangents about new things is so…it’s kinda like a hang time and a wind-down time together, but it’s unpredictable because predictability in sleep podcasts, in my opinion, don’t work because whatever’s keeping us awake likes to be able to predict things so it can keep us awake. So, that’s why every intro is different. If you decide you want a show without ads, you can get that on Sleep With Me+. If you decide you want a show without intros, you can get it in any podcast app that is also ad and listener-supported. It’s called Bedtime Stories from Sleep With Me. So, if you're like, I don't like the intros, try that or if, yeah, you want to supplement your listening to try something new.

 

But that’s what the intro is, is to ease you into bedtime, a buffer, a getting-comfortable time. Again, if you're listening linearly, you could either…depending…every podcast app is different, but most of them have a sleep timer or you can have it stop at the end of the episode. But yeah, some people…most people have it stop at the end of the episode. Some people have a forty-five minute timer. Some people have a thirty-minute timer. You just see how it goes, right? Then later on there will be support, then our bedtime story. Tonight will be me discussing Heathers the Musical and the structure and the performances…well, a multitude of performances I went to at a local musical theatre here. So, that’s the structure of the show.

 

You heard why I make the show, and I’m really glad you're here. Whether you're coming back time after time after time or you're new or you're just going through something tough right now, I really hope I can help you out, and so does everybody that works really hard on this show. So, yeah, I appreciate you coming by. Again, here’s some other ways you could support the show if this makes your life better on a regular basis. If it does make your life on a regular basis, we do need your support or to support a sponsor or support the show. But if it doesn't or you can't afford to, don't worry about it. It’s not your responsibility, right?

 

We're here…you're just coming and going or you're just going through something tough, and we're here to help you out, me and all of the other listeners who have been…lives have been greatly improved are here to make the magic of the show for you. So, thank you so much for coming by, and if you decide you're at the point where like, wait, this has changed my life, here’s a couple ways you could do that and support the show back.

 

Alright everybody, Scoots here, and it’s time for me to cover another musical. So, this is coverage of Heathers the Musical, which I think I saw six times at Korsa Theater. I was at a beautiful theatre…this particular show was at a beautiful theatre in Hayward, California. Heathers the Musical is…it is in…it is similar to the film, so this is…but I’m gonna sleepify it and everything and I’m gonna read the director’s notes, which I didn’t read until the last performance. Or, I’m gonna paraphrase the director’s notes. This kind of…so, here’s a couple things to think about, right? We recently…well, recently…I don't know when the episode came out, but about six months ago I recorded a couple episodes about Legally Blonde the Musical. My daughter was in Mean Girls the Musical last year.

 

I didn’t do an episode about that just 'cause it was in the summer and I had things…family stuff in the summer, so I wasn’t…yeah, I wasn’t present to record that episode. Then, since Legally Blonde, Wicked the Musical came…the movie version of the musical came out. I have not seen Part 1 yet. The only reason I bring that up is 'cause I’m like, huh, what would make up a good trio, or would it be…have to be a quat…is it a quatro? So, I mean, I know Heathers and Mean Girls would be good…this is not gonna be a compare and contrast episode. I guess that’s what I’m trying to explain. But I think you could…it’d be interesting to see those musicals together and reflect on them and learn more about both of them. I think Legally Blonde is a little bit different because it’s just Elle’s story.

 

Most of the story is in service of Elle, and that makes it a different musical, I believe, though maybe…I don't know, 'cause it has been a while since I saw it. Mean Girls is Cady’s story, and in Heathers it’s Veronica Sawyer’s story. But it also got me thinking about Wicked. Like, is Wicked a high-school music…like a high-school…? Not High School Musical the musical and not High School Musical the musical the TV show. But is that in the same genre or not? I don't know, 'cause I haven't…I mean, I’ve seen Wicked on Broadway and touring. For me…and that’s another thing; it’s just for me. I need to see these musicals six times in a row over a weekend or two weekends ‘til my story brain starts to unlock these things. This isn't something like I can sit at one musical…I’m not…I don't have that level of intellect.

 

But as I absorb the story over and over again, I notice new things that I like or I’m like, huh, what about that? So, yeah, this is a musical about high school. This particular one, I really believe…I mean, this takes place in a high school, but I don't know, I have some strong feelings about the theme. This isn't a critical analysis of it, either. It’s just looking at the story and pondering, I guess. But I do want to read the director’s note because this is something that’s…even the people that attended the show, either they weren't aware of the movie or the people that were aware of the movie, it was like, this is a musical? So, this is paraphrasing from the directors Jennifer and David.

 

Hey, yeah, you probably know that Heathers the Musical is based on a 1988 movie. Heathers the film was by…it was a reaction to popular John Hughes movies of that era. I never thought…to be honest, I never thought about that, and it’s…so, okay, let me read their stuff before I start giving my own thoughts. But dark and satirical…it offered a cynical version of teen life. Its irreverent presentation was meant to be an allegory, but yeah, that was in 1988, right? Then Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy decided to adopt Heathers the Musical in 25…2005, in a different time. Instead of it being over-the-top comedy, this was something that the kids said, hey, it’s like a macabre mirror. Even at this Korsa Theater that my daughter was a part of, the students have been really wanting to do this musical.

 

But working on the show hasn’t been all dark, 'cause there’s something powerful added to the source material, the music, which balances out the gloom with a deep…so, I think this is important when I talk about where I went with this musical; deeply-relatable beating heart. Music deepens, humanizes, and beautifies everything happening. Now, it’s still just as much of a allegory, but maybe…and again, I highlighted this; an honest exploration of what it’s like to be seventeen these days. It has the hard times and comedy, laughing at it, you know?

 

But the music gives meaning in the midst of it all, helps us understand and experience the teens’ feelings and all those deep feelings we all have about ourselves and the world and where we fit in — I’m paraphrasing a lot now — and stuff…the positive stuff that’s on the other side of that. So, join us for the next seventeen hours…is…we invite you to be seventeen with us. So, yeah, that’s Jennifer and David. I did rewatch the movie in the middle of the run of the musical, and it is exactly…it is…I guess I’m like, man, they don’t really make these styles of comedies anymore. I thought that’s what a dark comedy was, that Heathers kinda fit that very…I don't know. So, let’s just start.

 

Okay, so…okay, so, here’s the characters. Veronica Sawyer, Ram Sweeney, Kurt Kelly, Martha Dunnstock, Heather Chandler, Heather McNamara, Heather Duke, Jason Dean…oh, that’s who’s singing at the beginning or maybe those are the main characters. I don't know. I have notes and tried to pull scripts and stuff. Okay, so, let’s just jump ahead though, because it’s like…one thing when you're watching this, my first two or three times through…and when we think about trying to define this through the Story Circle and some of the tropes about analyzing musicals…like an ‘I want’ song, right?

 

But this one I kind of…instead of…there is, I believe, an ‘I want’ song, and I do think that Veronica wants something specific, though it gets lost in a way…and again, because this is a seventeen-year-old’s story, a seventeen-year-old telling the story…and when my daughter and I talked about it, she said, well, Heather…this is all happening in her diary, so how much is the narrator reliable or not? That’s a question I don't have the answer for. But I do want to jump to a song in the second act which is called Lifeboat.

 

I won't jump to the words or anything, but I think if you're looking at the cast album or looking at the show, that song captures the…not the ‘what’ or…but the ‘why’ and the ‘why’ of…so…'cause for me, when I found…when I figured out what I thought the ‘why’ was, like what is Heather…or Veronica want? I was like, well, that’s kinda non…we’ll get to that. But when you get to the ‘why does she want it’, the song Lifeboat makes…for me made it all make sense. ‘Cause one, the song is…it’s a great song. It’s a great song for someone to sing, a performer, and it’s a little bit…but it’s a little bit dissonant in the…where it is in the…I mean it’s…in the story structure it makes sense, but it’s like, this is a song that’s beautiful and tough to listen to and it’s a straight-up metaphor song, but a on-the-nose metaphor song.

 

For me, what it does is it captures exactly what it feels like to be seventeen. That’s what’s import…like, that’s…so, that’s the ‘why’. Why would…? Wait, are you sure this is what the main character wants, Scoots? Well, if she feels like this, which I’ve felt like before, like that song…like, what does it feel like to be…do you remember what it feels like to be seventeen? I say, no. Okay, listen to that Lifeboat song. You'll remember pretty quick and you'll be like, oh yeah, it’s not easy. So…okay, so that’s…when we get to the ‘what’, you may…when you get to Scoots’ ‘what’ of imagining what Veronica wants, then you'll get to the ‘why’ for me. Why? ‘Cause this is how I feel. Again, this is why it’s a musical. People don’t talk like this or they don’t necessarily identify their ‘whys’. Okay, so the show opens up.

 

This is her first lines, which are important. 1989; dear diary, I believe I’m a good person. You know, I think there’s good in everyone. Then I put, question; is she good? Is there good in everyone? But I think that’s the thematic question of the whole show, and that’s answered, maybe. I don't know. I mean, that’s…it’s been a while since I took these notes, so…the theme of the show, kind of, maybe. Okay, is there good in everyone? Is Veronica good? Those are questions to ask yourself. So, this first song starts and it’s a high-school song, and it’s setting up the ordinary world, which for her is high-school life as a seventeen-year-old. Okay, what else do we got? So, she’s singing about it and she’s saying, welcome to my high…welcome to my school. This ain’t no high school. It’s a tough place to be. Again, I’m paraphrasing.

 

Hold your breath and count the days. We're graduating soon. College will be paradise if…as long as I can get to June. Then it kinda changes and she says, I know, I know life can be beautiful. A better way…we changed back then. We could change again. We could be beautiful. ‘Cause she’s kinda singing about the contrast between…when did things change and everybody became not so nice, right? So, a question I had right around this time when I was analyzing it is, okay, so does Veronica want to change, and so everyone is good? Or is it just to be seventeen? So, right now that’s the question we gotta figure out the answer to. Also, another thing to point out is the language in the show. I’m not talking about the grown-up language. I’m talking about this…Veronica says, I hope, I hope, I pray, I pray.

 

There’s a lot of mythological and theological language in the show. I don't know the backstory of anything. I don't know, I think there’s just some really interesting language, especially with Heather, but…or with her interactions. Okay, so, is there a better way? Is basically…why do we change? Is there a better way? But right now in her ordinary world, she just wants to get outta high school and graduate to go to college where it’s gonna be better. So, for now, she dreams of getting out, away from this thing. Take my diploma, get out of this town, dream of ivy-covered walls and smoky French cafes, and…but I’d rather…I don't…really don’t…I really have strong feelings about disliking this place. We start to meet the characters of the high school; Ram, who’s very not nice.

 

Return to a time that did not exist; that’s another theme that comes up in the song. We were kind before. Can we be kind once more? We can be beautiful. Thematically, this is pretty…returning to a time that never existed that we imagine existed. But I also put, this is a very seventeen-year-old world view. It is, that if we could all just act like we did in grammar school…we were all nice then, right? That’s how Veronica remembers it. So, that’s, again, remembering this is a seventeen-year-old’s show. Okay, so, then we meet Martha who’s her best friend. She’s got a big heart, but around here, that’s not enough, Veronica says. They used to be best friends, a common theme in these kind of shows; the friend, the best friend that’s not cool enough. But they talk about…Martha says, I’m a sucker for a happy ending.

 

Then the kids aren't nice to her anymore, Kurt and Ram. Now, she stands up for her friend here and kind of in a way that…she’s like, yeah, I’m better than you guys. Soon you'll be out of high school and you'll be nowhere. So, again, then it becomes this kind of chorus song where everybody’s kinda confused about being in high school. Then we start to hear the students’ needs or the students’ wants. The students are like, why is nobody nice? Why don’t…what is it like this? Why is it so hard to be seventeen? Then they sing, somebody hug me, somebody fix me, somebody save me. Send me a sign, God. Get me some cold beer, something to live for. So, I put, is this the students’ need or hers? But again, this mythological thing…I even put, mythic float? Because they say, there’s the Heathers. They float above it all. 

 

The song changes; Heather McNamara, Heather Duke, and Heather Chandler…mythic. She’s mythic, not nicer. I would give anything to be like that, Veronica says. Then it said, what would you give? Then it goes down here later. So, now we're like, you need…so, her ordinary world maybe is this chaotic high school. I need or want to be at a nicer time, or I got…either I gotta get outta here or I gotta get through this, and I just wish it was nicer, 'cause that would be beautiful, as the kids are singing and Veronica’s singing. Okay, now we have, again, where the Heathers become aware of Veronica, 'cause Veronica is always aware of them. They're all in the restroom without a hall pass. But then Veronica says…oh, no, I…she fakes a hall pass. She says, yeah, I got this hall pass for everybody.

 

So, that’s her ‘you need, go’. That’s her kinda first attempt. This show has kind of a lot of…what do you call it? Rising…I can't remember. Whatever, a lot of tries and failures or whatever. But this is one of my favorite lines in the show; they say, who are you? What are you doing? Heather does. She says, I’m Veronica Sawyer. I crave a boon. Heather says, what boon? Okay, that’s the language I really like, and it just sticks out to me as…again, a boon is something…like Joseph Campbellian, like Campbellian or whatever. A boon…you could look it up in the…I looked it up or my daughter looked it up when we were talking about it, but a boon is something you give a hero or a heroine so they can get to the next stage of existence, right, or a gift from the gods for a ordinary mortal. So, yeah. So, she says, what boon?

 

She says, can you just let me sit with you once? You don’t even have to talk to me. If people think you tolerate me, they’ll leave me alone. So, this is kind of her first attempt. She’s…if you just…yeah, maybe this will get me through. So, it’s like a first attempt in these kinda storytelling structures. Like, yeah, I’m gonna put in min…what’s the path of least resistance? You owe me a favor, Heathers. Heather’s like, I have mythical power, by the way. Yeah, I just want you to just acknowledge me. But you can't just make these kinda deals, right? ‘Cause Heather says nothing. Her offer, of course…let’s see, the Heathers laugh. Before I answer or before you answer, I can do other stuff, too. Then they…Heather says, well, wait a second, I don't know, I think I see some potential in you. Now, Heather gives her way of doing things.

 

You know, you know, this could be beautiful…makeup and stuff, and we're on our way. Get this girl some blush. Let’s make her beautiful, and then all the Heathers sing, let’s make her beautiful, let’s make her beautiful. So, Heather’s way…not something…or outside change versus in…not life, but your change…outside versus inside. So, they're changing her outside, you know? Then we go back to more high-school stuff, and then also…and Veronica’s with these Heathers. So, some amount of time passes. They say, oh wait, who’s that with Heather? Heather, Heather, and someone. Veronica, Veronica, Veronica. So, she has success, and she even sings it. You know, you know, you know, life can be beautiful. You hope, you dream, you pray, and you get your way. She goes, ask…she can feel it. She says, ask me how it feels.

 

Looking like heck on wheels. My god, it’s beautiful. So, this is very seventeen, too. She’s kind of caught up in the moment and she’s kinda saying, I found what I need. Then there’s this other theme for the show about means to an end and ends to the means, right? Or maybe I’m…right, like…you're like…but yeah, I believe it is about…the show’s about do the means…the ends justify the means ever or not? Or…so anyway, the whole high school is like, Veronica’s on the map now. Then she talks to her diary. It’s been three weeks. I don't know if we're actually friends. It’s kinda like people I work with and our job is being popular. Okay, then she runs into Martha. She says, hey, Veronica. Hey. You really look beautiful. Thank you, but it’s still the same me underneath. Martha says, are you sure?

 

She goes, yeah, yeah, I’m sorry. Well, I get that you're with the Heathers now. So, we…she said, we’ll hang out again soon. Then she gets interrupted by one of the Heathers. So, it’s like, okay, this boon was not free, so we're gonna have to start to see her pay the cost of the boon. This is the first time she has to pay a price. Not quite at the story structure later…I mean, the Story Circle pay a price, but she says, I want you to write a note from Ram Sweeney. They write this fake note to Martha, who has a crush on Ram. Heather starts to help with it, but then says, wait a second, no, no, no, you can't do that. That’s not nice. She said, well, who are you friends with, us…? Basically that kinda thing. She says, please don’t do this. Not to Martha.

 

So, she knows this is wrong and she’s seventeen, so she’s like…she says…and she even predicts what could happen, the potential of…the consequences of her actions. Says, this would not be good for Martha. Then Heather sings this song. She says, are we gonna have a problem? This is Heather Chandler’s big song, or all the Heathers. You've come so far, is basically what she says. This is the song, Candy Store. She says, yeah, you…do you…this is our world. You can play with dolls and ask your mommy to fix a snack, or you could come be cool with us. Then she says, it’s time for you to prove you're not one of them anymore. At your feet, pay the check. Not always…help with answers on tests. Alls you have to do is say goodbye to your old friends. So, it’s kinda like laying out the price of Heather’s world and the rules.

 

She says, I can tell…if she had your shot, she would take this choice, too. So, it’s like, almost again like subtle means justifying the ends. Like, this is what it takes to be popular. So, you could live the dream; that’s your choice. Or if you prefer, keep on testing me. So, you've made a deal with me and it does have a cost, is what Heather seems to be saying to Veronica. Then we meet Jason Dean, who kind of is observing all this…appears…a stranger comes to town. He says, hey, what are you doing? You're just going along with those people? Don’t you understand the consequences of all your actions? Veronica says, who are you? He says, you seem to be a good person. You just gotta…you got a good spirit about you. You just gotta work hard on keeping it clean.

 

We're all born…he quotes the thing; we're all born for not-good choices. I said, oh, is this the inverse of the theme? ‘Cause he’s saying we all have this potential for not-goodness even though he’s quoting Baudelaire. Then JD runs across Kurt and Ram and shows that he’s superior at dancing-off, and Veronica’s…then this is very seventeen, too; she says, I know I shouldn't watch them dancing-off. That’s not who I am. But with this kid, hey, no-name kid, who might you be? Could you dance-off for me? So, again, she’s kinda moving just like any seventeen-year-old might from one group to another. Hey, could you face the crowd? Could you stand with me and still act proud? Could you hold my hand, carry me through this no-man’s land? Would you dance-off for me? We see kinda JD is good at dancing-off.

 

She even says, I would dance-off for you if you would dance-off for me. Okay, then we have this scene with adults, and there’s a couple adult numbers. So, in this show, all of it was portrayed by young adults and teens, except for…the adults were played by adults. In this show and I think in the movie…but this particular musical, it really kind of portrays the adults in a very specific way, which is that they're…right here I put, they're kind of useless, right? So, there is a little bit of Veronica versus…or Heather versus Veronica’s parents, but it’s kind of more like, whose orbit are you in? It kinda portrays Heather, I guess, as not a nice person. Then Mrs. Sawyer even says to Veronica before she leaves to go to this party, don’t let these popular girls change you. Veronica says to her mom, I need them.

 

So…and then they repeat the song of like, this is what it’s like being in our world. Then they go to 7Eleven, or maybe it’s something else in the…and she meets JD for the first time, 'cause she had observed him…or they just barely met the first time in school during the dance-off. She goes, that was quite interesting. He goes, well, the extreme always seems to make an impression. Then they talk about his dad, which also has…his dad’s in a deconstruction. They kinda talk about everybody’s life has static. Veronica says, yeah, I don't like my friends. He goes, I don't like your friends, either. Why don’t we hang out? Then he tells his story or kinda his thing, which is about getting brain freeze from a Slurpee. Happiness comes when everything numbs, and do you want to try it, Veronica? You're planning your future, Veronica Sawyer. 

 

You'll go to some college, marry a lawyer, but maybe you should put up some walls and not let people in. JD kinda lays out his rules about his world, which is like, hey, maybe dance-off…or maybe give people cold drinks and give them brain freeze, because this is…that’s kinda the rules of my world as a loner. Also, it’s interesting…I forgot to mention this; when you watch the movie, you see that that character that’s portrayed in the movie Heathers is a cool character in a way that doesn't exist anymore and that doesn't really translate. I said, wait a second, this idea of this outsider, loner, it’s portrayed in different ways nowadays, but it wouldn't be presented as…you know what I mean? It’s almost like they had to reinvent the JD character or give him a little bit more nuance. I guess that’s it.

 

In the movie he has no…I don't think he really has any nuance. He’s really just…he’s really…Christian Slater does a great job, but it’s like he’s just a rebel archetype, and that’s what he’s supposed to be in the movie, 'cause it’s a comedy. So, this song kinda lays out how JD’s different than the JD in the movie. Like, hey, I have this particular point of view. I guess he has a point of view in the movie, too. I guess it’s just like…I don't know. I guess you could find out when you discover it. Okay, so then they part ways 'cause she’s gotta hang out with Heather. Maybe we’ll hang out again. Then there’s a party. We kinda see more adults with Ram and Kurt and that their dads are kinda super macho. Then we get the idea…then this party starts, and this song is Big Fun. So, this party starts. Everybody’s getting ready to party. 

 

Dad says, act our age. So, we're gonna party. So, this is in Mean Girls, too. I don't think it’s in the Heathers movie. It’s in the Mean Girls movie and in the Mean Girls musical in a different way. But it’s like, Veronica hits the party and she’s at a crest now even though she just saw JD. So, maybe she’s also heavy with love or something with him, but she’s also…this song’s interesting 'cause she peaks and crashes in the same song. ‘Cause she goes, wait…everybody says, Veronica, you look great. Well, I feel great. Hey, no mockery. She’s enjoying partying more and more. Dreams are coming true. When people laugh, it’s not at you. I’m not alone. I’m not afraid. I feel like Bono. I put ‘peek’. What does that mean? Like peek into her new world? Everybody’s saying, this is big fun, big fun.

 

So, this is like Veronica’s finally able to have big fun as a high school student, but what was the cost? Well, the cost is that Martha enters the party because she had gotten the fake note from Ram that said he liked her and to come to the party. Veronica says, what are you doing here? Yeah, I’m excited. Well, I want to say hi to Ram. I brought some sparkling cider. Then Heather is like, this is what we live for, giving people a hard time. We see Martha talk to Ram. Ram’s like, I don't know. Then they ask her to play this game. It’s kind of a pinata game, but they're really giving Martha a hard time. Then Veronica says, no, this has gone too far. You're not gonna make fun of my old friend.

 

She throws away the pinata and says, Martha, go home, and basically says, in my opinion, I’m not willing to pay the full price for this…what I wanted, at least to you, Heather. She actually believes that she has a choice, which she finds out…well, we gave it a shot, okay? I’m resigning my position from the Lip Gloss Not-Nice Club. Going back to civilian life. Heather just says, no. She goes, no, no, no, I’m not…she goes, no, no, no, you don’t get to be a nobody. Come Monday, you're an ex-somebody. So, the cost…you still have to pay the cost, and now the cost is to be…it’s really unpleasant. You still will pay a price. I raise you from nothing, and what’s my thanks? Then the classic line…I don't know if it’s in the movie, but it’s like, I know who I’m eating lunch with Monday. Do you?

 

So then Veronica, in a very seventeen-year-old way, says, I’m kinda without direction. Who other allies can I find? Oh, that JD guy. She’s like, even if it’s just, again, to carry me through a couple songs…she says, maybe I should hang out with him. ‘Cause she goes, I could change my name and live in Seattle or something else. I said, another very seventeen move. Is there another way? ‘Cause they start singing together. You know you know it’s 'cause you're beautiful, JD. You say you're numb inside, but I can't agree. So, the world’s unfair. Keep it locked out there. In here it’s beautiful. Let’s make this beautiful. So, she’s saying, I see the beauty in you, JD. She even says, yeah, let’s spend some time hanging out, maybe slow dancing, and make this whole…all of this disappear, in a sense.

 

Then we get this other kinda thing that I liked where…and this is before, but that Heather has ethereal powers, 'cause she appears there even though it’s only in Veronica’s imagination, and Heather says, how’d you get in JD’s room? She goes, I’m like oxygen. I’m everywhere. She goes, Monday’s gonna be tough. She goes, why are you so determined not to be nice to me? She says, because I can. Basically I’m saying that she’s saying, I’m very powerful and I use my power. Then she wakes up hanging out with JD and she says, I gotta go to Heather’s house. He goes, I thought you were not friends. She basically says, you know, I’m unwilling to pay the other price.

 

First I was unwilling to pay the price for being a part of the Heathers; now I’m not sure I’m willing to pay the price of being excluded from the Heathers, the price Heather will exact on me. So, they go to Heather and she goes, yeah, I fantasized about a world without her, but it’s not…she goes, it’s not an option. She goes to Heather’s house to apologize, and Heather goes, okay, yeah, you're gonna have to beg for a apology. JD says, well, what if we could convince her to change realms? She goes, what do you mean, convince her to change realms? What, are you kidding me? That’s not possible. JD goes, you know, I think you're a bit of a realm-whisperer, Veronica. He goes, if I…with my coaching, I could convince you to whisper people to other realms. She goes, that’s just…that’s not even a thing, man.

 

Let me just apologize and get this over with. She goes in and Heather’s like, you're gonna apologize for me. There’s this French line that I couldn't figure out for six or seven shows. I had to ask. Where is it? I’ll look it…I’ll see. It’s spelled…whatever. But she goes, hey, I’m sorry. Okay, you're gonna have to apologize. But then JD had said, hey, if you talk to her and say, oh, how wonderful all the other realms are; Heather, you could go to one right now and they’ll dance around you. He says, if you just say that, she may just go to the other realm 'cause she’s tired. Heather accidentally…or Veronica accidentally says it, and then she says, what did you say? Then Heather repeats it. She goes, I feel like I’m headed to another realm. Oh, case…what is that? Quelle surprise. Quelle surprise. That’s the line. I was like, what is that line?

 

I thought it was…then I said, it’s French; what a surprise, I think. So, yeah, Heather’s like, you're gonna beg. Then Veronica accidentally tells her the realm…kinda the realm saying that makes her change realms. She goes, I’m not gonna accept your apology, anyway. Then it works out. So, it’s like, did Veronica do that…did Veronica and JD do it by accident or appointment? ‘Cause she changes realms, but she didn’t let…there was no prior notice, right? So, they say, wait a second, Heather has changed realms. Who’s gonna…? You can't just change realms as a teen. She’s got stuff to do and stuff like that. Who’s gonna clean her room and do her chores, all that stuff? We shouldn't be realm-whispering. I didn’t even know that was possible. 

 

JD says, we’ll, she’ll just…we’ll just say that she decided to change realms on her own, not that she was kinda tricked into changing realms. So, then we have this other song which actually…so, this is the means justify the ends part and the just…the ends justify the means, the means justify the ends, 'cause she starts to write this song that’s kind of true and a lie at the same time, 'cause she’s writing a song for Heather about…yeah, hey, I’m idolizing these other realms and of how it felt to be Heather on the inside even though it wasn’t actually Heather’s experience unless it was a deep experience we’re unaware of. This realm held me down. No one sees the inside of me. That’s the song. No one gets me. Then we start to see that Heather’s ethereal, so she’s trans-realmed now. So, she’s across two realms, at least for Veronica.

 

She says, by the way, Veronica, this is making me more popular, because she kinda becomes bigger…they're like, this is legendary stuff, so identifiable. I just wanted somebody to see the inside of me and how I feel on the inside. We again see the adults; they can't really provide anything for the kids. They're ineffective. Then Heather’s kinda saying, hey, let’s…what if you do stuff for other people that’s nice? No one thinks a pretty girl has feelings, is one of the lines. So, Heather becomes a legend. Also very seventeen. Unintended consequences; oh, that was the thing, with the means justifying the ends. So, this is the unintended consequences thing. So, then everybody’s singing how Heather’s made us better than we were.

 

Heather is the me inside of me, and Heather’s there as a realm-journeyer for Veronica, saying, this is awesome. I’m bigger than John Lennon. She’s the dove that sings outside of my window. It’s very comedic. So, she’s making the kids feel seen. So, she’s the twin from whom I’m separated. She’s the horse I never got for Christmas. Heather sees the inside of me. So, this is almost like one of the ends Veronica wanted is accomplished by this, because the kids feel seen. Is it real or not? We don’t know. Okay, then we have the adults kinda taking advantage of stuff, and JD and Heather…or JD and Veronica are both like, I can't believe this, these unintended consequences.

 

We meet JD’s dad, who’s also another adult that’s just…he kinda plays a part in the…the adults are kind of made out to be I think a very eighties, nineties way, to be like, hey, this is kinda your fault, 'cause none of you are effective…doing any kind of effective caring for us. You're either caught up in your own stuff or unaware of our stuff. So, we see Mr. Dean’s not great. Okay, then what do we got? Okay, then Heather…the two Heathers that are still around, we kinda see that things haven't changed. So, they try to use Heather, and then we see that then there’s another layer.

 

Some of the songs have been changed or stuff depending on what version you watch, but it’s kinda showing the worst sides of high school, and it’s just…and Veronica has to get through those two scenes depending on which version you're watching. Then Veron…or Heather Chandler makes an appearance. She says, see? You should have thought of all this. These are all unintended consequences. Then there’s the next day at high school, and Veronica approaches the two Heathers and says, what, did you set me up for disaster? I thought we were friends. Then this is one of my favorite songs; it’s the other Heathers…wait, do I have the Heathers’ names mixed up? Heather…no, yeah, Heather Chandler, Heather Duke, and Heather McNamara. Okay, so then there’s a song, S-H-U-T Up, in some versions that I really like.

 

Heather says, Heather’s gone. It’s up to me to replace her. So, does she…it’s up to me to…wait, I have some of the lines. It’s up to me to fill the vacuum, to run this racket…strong arm. Heather’s gone. Who will rise to fill her vacuum? So, it’s like, this other Heather is gonna fill in for Heather now that she’s gone. I think Heather Duke. I don't know. It’s one of the Heathers, right? What does this say? Not Heather…make a run on time…hot bowl of…okay, so then…I don't know if it’s this…'cause, again, a couple versions are different, but Heather Chandler makes a reappearance and says, see? The ends do justify the means, Veronica. I made the trains run on time. There’s nothing like a hot bowl of chaos to make you appreciate someone like me. I dominated this school and it worked for what it was.

 

Now, without me, it’s just chaos. So, good luck, because this is your doing. ‘Cause now this other Heather is not quite as sharp as Heather Chandler was. We see immediately that nothing’s changed and that then Ram and Kurt are not nice. Then, actually, JD tries to stand up for Veronica. His dancing skills don’t come around, so he gets danced-off by Ram and Kurt. It’s like, things are actually worse than when Heather was around, I think is the point. It’s like, okay, so you made this other attempt, whether or not it was intentional or unintentional, to trans…have Heather visit another realm. Say, well, okay, if we get rid of the meanest person or the leader of the mean people, we’ll be fine.

 

Also, I kinda…I’m in love with JD or whatever, so this is gonna work out. This feels good. It’s like, no. It’s also like…she’s like, hey, I tried it Heather’s way. Now I’m trying JD’s kinda way or way of like, me and JD working together. It’s like, okay, that doesn’t…that hasn’t…that’s not working. I guess we’ll just do the first act 'cause we're close to the first act. So, then they come up with another plan, rising attempts…and JD says, hey, what…? He goes, I got another idea. She goes, no more transversing realms. He goes, oh no, no, no. Have you heard about sleep podcasts? She goes, no.

 

He goes, well, I got…I’ve been listening to this sleep podcast and I’ll give you a script from this sleep podcast, and it’s so good that it’ll make Ram and Kurt fall asleep and drool like babies and talk like babies, and they won't…they’ll be sound asleep doing that and snoring like in a cartoon, and we could film it or we can get people to come watch them, and it’ll be so embarrassing that…and she goes, through a podcast? He goes, yeah, but we’ll just do it. So, it’s kinda like this bedtime story technique. She goes, this sounds fictional. He goes, well, yeah, by the way, Veronica, we're fictional characters. She goes, no, we're…and she goes, no, we're just fictional characters in a sleep podcast right now. He goes, correct. But this is also this thing about their unity, kind of. He’s like, we're gonna kinda do this together.

 

She’s like, okay, this sounds like a reasonable plan, I guess. He goes, and that’ll make…we just didn’t…we gotta…it wasn’t just Heather Chandler, right? We gotta kind of…we gotta coalesce or something. If they're treated like babies, they’ll see the error of their ways, right? Or other people will and they'll lose their power. They sing this song again with a lot of theological and mythological things; our love is God. Like, this is a JD-kinda-led song. Yeah, this world…but when morning comes we're gonna build our own world on this…based on the love we have for each other. He goes, yeah, I used…I was like a frozen lake, but you melted me awake. You're not alone. She sings back to him, you're not alone. So, it does…she is kind of…and, again, it’s a musical about being seventeen.

 

She’s kinda swept up in this thing, and he says, yeah, we're gonna raise our city here. This is his version or kinda her version, right, like a heightened version of her want. We’ll make a new high school where there’s sleep podcasts and whatever, and this heightened version of it. Through our love, we’ll build your vision, basically. Or, that’s what Veronica’s hearing. Is JD saying that or not? I don't know. So, she says, hey, have you guys ever heard of a bedtime story, Ram and Kurt? They say, what do you mean? She goes, do you want me to tell you a story at bedtime? They're like, yeah, of course. She goes, okay, let’s meet up. Then there’s this other part of the song; we're the asteroid that’s overdue. The dinosaurs were dust. That was part of the circle of life. The new world needed room for me and you.

 

But then we also get hints in the lyrics that JD’s maybe not totally available for a true partnership, a loving partnership, and that…but I guess even the use of the…'cause they keep repeating, our love is God, our love is God. She goes, well, what’s the name of that podcast, the sleep podcast? He uses a other language, and if you translate it, it means this is totally untrue that this is a sleep podcast that is guaranteed to put you to sleep and make you drool like a baby and snore like a cartoon. It may not do that, but in French. So, it…I mean, I don't speak French, right? But it’s like, [French] something like that. It sounds smooth. She goes, wow, that’s a long name for a podcast. He goes, yeah, it’s…almost the title will put you to sleep. She goes, can you say it again? He goes [French] something, something, something. 

 

She goes, where’d you hear about this podcast? He goes, oh, my grandparents listen to it, totally. They love it. Okay, so they meet up with…or she meets up with Ram and Kurt and she’s like, okay, lay your heads down. I’m gonna tell you a bedtime story. They say, okay, but then JD starts talking, too. They're like, wait a second, this doesn't sound like a…this is like two voices. But it actually works and they fall asleep and they start drooling like babies. But also what JD’s actually saying is the same thing about realm-crossing. So, they fall asleep and then they cross realms, too, and they go into this dormir realm or something. Then they're like, okay, we’ll just pretend that they decided to go on a realm-crossing trip together 'cause they're besties.

 

Veronica’s like, wait a second, did we just have them cross the realms? Did we just…did I just do that again even though I didn’t intend to, or did you do it on purpose, JD? This one was clearly on purpose, not an accident, 'cause otherwise you would have just put them to sleep so they drool. He goes, yeah, this is where we're gonna…and they sing this ‘our love is gone, our love is gone’. The first act comes to a close. So, I guess that’s the first act of Heathers, everybody. Thanks, thanks, and goodnight.

 

[END OF RECORDING]

(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)

Recap

 

Phish

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/04/21/after-forty-years-phish-isnt-seeking-resolution

https://outandaboutnow.com/for-the-love-of-phish/

https://phish.net/faq/band-history

 

Heathers

https://ew.com/article/2014/04/04/heathers-oral-history/

https://theasc.com/articles/heathers-francis-kenny

https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3811803/heathers-35-years-later-have-we-learned-the-lessons-of-this-sharp-80s-satire/

 

Heathers, the Musical

https://playbill.com/article/heathers-writers-laurence-okeefe-and-kevin-murphy-break-down-the-musicals-full-album-track-by-track

https://breakingcharacter.com/heathers-the-musical-10-facts-for-10-years/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/heathers-the-musical_n_5064485

 

The development of Teenage Culture

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/02/brief-history-teenagers/

https://time.com/3639041/the-invention-of-teenagers-life-and-the-triumph-of-youth-culture/

https://www.americanheritage.com/rise-and-decline-teenager

 

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Bocce and Croquet players everywhere

Talk about bored games, amirite?

Humor-Like Material

It’s like funny but not funny

Thinking about the plot of Heathers the Musical

 

PLUGS

Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Rusty Biscuit Links; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

 

SPONSORS

Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; Progressive; Quince; Odoo

 

INTRO

I think I forgot the intro, I just got distracted

Let me start over

I’ll have to watch the video back on this to see where I went

Different Thoughts for Different Thinkers

Feelings left over from the past

Pandering to Fish and Phish

Nick Names Nicknames

One tangent into another

Pandering to the obscure shifts

Gratuitous pandering, combined with navel gazing

I gratuitously pander to shifts not yet named

Shifts that Dolly Parton hasn’t sung about yet

Pleading and begging myself for more sleep

Another listener out there right now on Spaceship Earth really gets what you’re going through

The wonderfully subtle power of rooting for someone else

I totally get why you might feel skeptical or grouchy

sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou

It’s common to not like me, don’t worry

He really knows what he’s barely doing and he’s barely apt at it

Explaining the method and structure of the show

The value of the Wind Down Routine

Thanks for coming by

 

STORY

Heathers the Musical

I saw this 6 times at Corsa Theater

It is like the movie but I’m going to sleepify it

Reading the Director’s Notes

Before I recorded an episode on Legally Blonde 

And then Wicked came out 

And I figured Heathers could make this a good Quatro?

Reflecting on a couple musicals

Legally Blonde is just Elle’s story, which makes

Is Wicked a high school musical (Not High School Musical)?
I need to watch these shows like 6 times before my story brain starts unlocking stuff

This is a musical about a high school

Paraphrasing from Directors Jennifer and David

Heathers the film was a reaction to popular John Hughes movies of the era

Huh, I never thought of that before

Lawrence O’Keefe adapted it

A macabre mirror for young folks

The music balances out the gloom

It humanizes and beautifies and deepens the plot

An honest view of what it’s like to be 17 these days

I watched the movie halfway through the musical’s run

They don’t make this style of movie anymore

Veronica Sawyer

Bram Sweeney

The Heathers

Jason Dean

Can we define this via the story circle

An I Want song of sorts

What does Veronica want, exactly?

It’s a little shaky because it’s all happening via Veronica’s diary

Unreliable Diary Narrator

The song “Lifeboat” captures her why

An On the Nose Metaphor song

This captures the experience of 17, imo

That’s the Why

People don’t necessarily explain their Why’s

It opens up with her diary

Is there good in everyone?

This high school ain’t no easy place to be

College will be paradise

When did everyone become not so nice?

Does Veronica want to change? Does she want everyone to be good?

There’s a lot of mythological and theological language in the show

Dreaming of ivy colored walls and smoky French cafes

Meeting the not so nice characters

Returning to a time that never existed

A very 17 year old world view

A common theme: the former best friend who is now not cool enough

Martha is a sucker for a happy ending

Kurt and Ram aren’t nice to her

A chorus song where everyone talks about their high school experience

Is this their need or her need expressed through them?

Mythic Float

The mythic Heathers float above it all

What does V need? To get out of here

Veronica Sawyer craves a Boon

That word Boon really stood out to me

If the Heathers let V sit with them, people will leave her alone

The path of least resistance

I have mythical powers, btw

Heather sees potential in Veronica

Heather explains her POV

Let’s make Veronica beautiful

Changing outside vs changing inside

Some time passes, and now Veronica has changed

Do the ends justify the means ever?

Veronica is now the HS social map?

The Heathers have a job and that is to be beautiful

Martha checks in on Veronica

The first time to pay a price for the boon

Veronica has to write a fake note to prank Martha, who has a crush on Ram

V knows this prank is wrong

Heather gets her big song (“Candy Store”)

Prove you’re one of us now

Just say goodbye to your old friends

Then we meet Jason Dean

A classic Stranger Comes To Town moment

Keep your spirit clean!

He’s quoting Baudelaire

JD wins a dance off with Kurt and Ram

In the version I saw, adults were played by adults and teens were played by teens

The adults are portrayed as kind of useless

V’s mom urges her to not be changed by the Heathers

V meets JD proper

JD’s dad is in Deconstruction

JD tells his story

A song about brain freeze

Reinventing how a character is “cool”

This song has to explain how JD is different from the JD in the movie

Then we go to a party

We see that Ram and Kurt’s dads are super macho

The party song, “Big Fun”

Time to party

This is Mean Girls, too

Veronica enters the party on a crest

She peaks and crashes all in the same song

Dreams are all coming true

V is finally able to have big fun

Martha enters the party thinking Ram wants to talk to her

The Heathers live for people giving her a hard time

They give Martha a hard time

Veronica doesn’t like where this is going

V tells Martha to go home

V isn’t willing to pay the full price for what she wants

She believes she has a choice

Resigning her position from the Lip Gloss Not Nice Club

V will no longer be a Nobody

Now she’ll be an Ex-Somebody

Heather says Veronica will pay a price

V needs an ally – maybe JD?
V sees the beauty in JD

Let’s hang out and slow dance, y’know?

Then we get insight into Heather’s ethereal powers

Heather materializes into JD’s room

Heather is very powerful and she uses her power

V wakes up from “a dream”

She needs to go back to the Heathers and figure this out

She goes to Heather’s house to apologize

JD thinks they should convince Heather to change realms

Realm Whisperer

There was a French line I just couldn’t figure out, even after 6 shows

Quelle Surprise

Veronica accidentally says the phrase and makes Heather change realms

Was this an accident or on purpose?

Heather has changed realms!

Back to the old ends justifying the means

V has to write a song for Heather about how Heather idolized other realms and wanted to go there

Heather has trans-realmed now

Heather’s new realm status makes her even more popular

The adults are ineffective at providing anything for the kids

No one thinks a pretty girl has feelings

Heather is now bigger than John Lennon!

The adults kind of take advantage of stuff

These adults are very 80s / 90s in their ineffectiveness

Then the other 2 Heathers are still around

They still have power

Showing the worst stuff of high school

There’s a lot of different versions of these songs

So many unintended consequences

Veronica confronts the other 2 Heathers, who tried to set her up

There’s a great song called “Shut Up”
Who will rise to fill Heather’s vacuum?

I might be mixing up my Heathers

There’s nothing like a hot bowl of chaos

Nothing has changed, there’s still chaos

The realm-swapped Heather was holding everything together

JD tries to stand up for Veronica but he gets danced off by Kurt and Ram

Things are worse than ever

I guess we’ll just do Act I

No more traversing realms, JD!

JD will use a sleep podcast script to make Ram and Kurt fall asleep

They’ll drool and sleep like babies

Then we can film them and embarrass them

V is skeptical

Our Love Is God, a JD led song

A song about JD and V’s commitment to one another

They’re getting swept up, just like every 17 year old

A dream to make a new high school through V’s love

V offers to tell a bedtime story to Kurt and Ram

There’s also some hints that JD might not be totally above board

Secretly, JD’s source material isn’t actually a sleep podcast

V meets up with Ram and Kurt

But then JD starts talking too!

Ram and Kurt fall asleep

But JD’s words make them cross realms, too!

Veronica is dismayed that there was more realm crossing

And that’s the end of Act 1

 

SUMMARY:

Episode: 1375

Title: Heathers the Musical | Act 1

Plugs: Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Rusty Biscuit Links; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

Sponsors: Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; Progressive; Quince; Odoo

Notable Language:

• Different Thoughts for Different Thinkers
• Nick Names Nicknames
• He really knows what he’s barely doing and he’s barely apt at it
• Macabre Mirror
• Unreliable Diary Narrator
• An On the Nose Metaphor song
• Mythic Float
• Boon
• Realm Whisperer
• Quelle Surprise
• Trans-Realmed
• S-H-U-T Up
• A Hot Bowl of Chaos

 

Notable Culture:

• Heathers

• Heathers, the Musical

• Legally Blonde

• Mean Girls

• • Tina Fey
  • Phish
  • Dolly Parton
  • sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou

• Wicked

• John Hughes
• Lawrence O’Keefe
• Joseph Campbell
• Baudelaire
• Christian Slater
• John Lennon

 

Notable Talking Points:

• I think I forgot the intro, I just got distracted
• Let me start over
• I’ll have to watch the video back on this to see where I went
• Different Thoughts for Different Thinkers
• Feelings left over from the past
• Pandering to Fish and Phish
• Nick Names Nicknames
• One tangent into another
• Pandering to the obscure shifts
• Gratuitous pandering, combined with navel gazing
• I gratuitously pander to shifts not yet named
• Shifts that Dolly Parton hasn’t sung about yet
• Pleading and begging myself for more sleep
• Another listener out there right now on Spaceship Earth really gets what you’re going through
• The wonderfully subtle power of rooting for someone else
• I totally get why you might feel skeptical or grouchy
• sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou
• It’s common to not like me, don’t worry
• He really knows what he’s barely doing and he’s barely apt at it
• Explaining the method and structure of the show
• The value of the Wind Down Routine
• Thanks for coming by
• Heathers the Musical
• I saw this 6 times at Corsa Theater
• It is like the movie but I’m going to sleepify it
• Reading the Director’s Notes
• Before I recorded an episode on Legally Blonde 
• And then Wicked came out 
• And I figured Heathers could make this a good Quatro?
• Reflecting on a couple musicals
• Legally Blonde is just Elle’s story, which makes
• Is Wicked a high school musical (Not High School Musical)?
  I need to watch these shows like 6 times before my story brain starts unlocking stuff
• This is a musical about a high school
• Paraphrasing from Directors Jennifer and David
• Heathers the film was a reaction to popular John Hughes movies of the era
• Huh, I never thought of that before
• Lawrence O’Keefe adapted it
• A macabre mirror for young folks
• The music balances out the gloom
• It humanizes and beautifies and deepens the plot
• An honest view of what it’s like to be 17 these days
• I watched the movie halfway through the musical’s run
• They don’t make this style of movie anymore
• Veronica Sawyer
• Bram Sweeney
• The Heathers
• Jason Dean
• Can we define this via the story circle
• An I Want song of sorts
• What does Veronica want, exactly?
• It’s a little shaky because it’s all happening via Veronica’s diary
• Unreliable Diary Narrator
• The song “Lifeboat” captures her why
• An On the Nose Metaphor song
• This captures the experience of 17, imo
• That’s the Why
• People don’t necessarily explain their Why’s
• It opens up with her diary
• Is there good in everyone?
• This high school ain’t no easy place to be
• College will be paradise
• When did everyone become not so nice?
• Does Veronica want to change? Does she want everyone to be good?
• There’s a lot of mythological and theological language in the show
• Dreaming of ivy colored walls and smoky French cafes
• Meeting the not so nice characters
• Returning to a time that never existed
• A very 17 year old world view
• A common theme: the former best friend who is now not cool enough
• Martha is a sucker for a happy ending
• Kurt and Ram aren’t nice to her
• A chorus song where everyone talks about their high school experience
• Is this their need or her need expressed through them?
• Mythic Float
• The mythic Heathers float above it all
• What does V need? To get out of here
• Veronica Sawyer craves a Boon
• That word Boon really stood out to me
• If the Heathers let V sit with them, people will leave her alone
• The path of least resistance
• I have mythical powers, btw
• Heather sees potential in Veronica
• Heather explains her POV
• Let’s make Veronica beautiful
• Changing outside vs changing inside
• Some time passes, and now Veronica has changed
• Do the ends justify the means ever?
• Veronica is now the HS social map?
• The Heathers have a job and that is to be beautiful
• Martha checks in on Veronica
• The first time to pay a price for the boon
• Veronica has to write a fake note to prank Martha, who has a crush on Ram
• V knows this prank is wrong
• Heather gets her big song (“Candy Store”)
• Prove you’re one of us now
• Just say goodbye to your old friends
• Then we meet Jason Dean
• A classic Stranger Comes To Town moment
• Keep your spirit clean!
• He’s quoting Baudelaire
• JD wins a dance off with Kurt and Ram
• In the version I saw, adults were played by adults and teens were played by teens
• The adults are portrayed as kind of useless
• V’s mom urges her to not be changed by the Heathers
• V meets JD proper
• JD’s dad is in Deconstruction
• JD tells his story
• A song about brain freeze
• Reinventing how a character is “cool”
• This song has to explain how JD is different from the JD in the movie
• Then we go to a party
• We see that Ram and Kurt’s dads are super macho
• The party song, “Big Fun”
• Time to party
• This is Mean Girls, too
• Veronica enters the party on a crest
• She peaks and crashes all in the same song
• Dreams are all coming true
• V is finally able to have big fun
• Martha enters the party thinking Ram wants to talk to her
• The Heathers live for people giving her a hard time
• They give Martha a hard time
• Veronica doesn’t like where this is going
• V tells Martha to go home
• V isn’t willing to pay the full price for what she wants
• She believes she has a choice
• Resigning her position from the Lip Gloss Not Nice Club
• V will no longer be a Nobody
• Now she’ll be an Ex-Somebody
• Heather says Veronica will pay a price
• V needs an ally – maybe JD?
  V sees the beauty in JD
• Let’s hang out and slow dance, y’know?
• Then we get insight into Heather’s ethereal powers
• Heather materializes into JD’s room
• Heather is very powerful and she uses her power
• V wakes up from “a dream”
• She needs to go back to the Heathers and figure this out
• She goes to Heather’s house to apologize
• JD thinks they should convince Heather to change realms
• Realm Whisperer
• There was a French line I just couldn’t figure out, even after 6 shows
• Quelle Surprise
• Veronica accidentally says the phrase and makes Heather change realms
• Was this an accident or on purpose?
• Heather has changed realms!
• Back to the old ends justifying the means
• V has to write a song for Heather about how Heather idolized other realms and wanted to go there
• Heather has trans-realmed now
• Heather’s new realm status makes her even more popular
• The adults are ineffective at providing anything for the kids
• No one thinks a pretty girl has feelings
• Heather is now bigger than John Lennon!
• The adults kind of take advantage of stuff
• These adults are very 80s / 90s in their ineffectiveness
• Then the other 2 Heathers are still around
• They still have power
• Showing the worst stuff of high school
• There’s a lot of different versions of these songs
• So many unintended consequences
• Veronica confronts the other 2 Heathers, who tried to set her up
• There’s a great song called “Shut Up”
  Who will rise to fill Heather’s vacuum?
• I might be mixing up my Heathers
• There’s nothing like a hot bowl of chaos
• Nothing has changed, there’s still chaos
• The realm-swapped Heather was holding everything together
• JD tries to stand up for Veronica but he gets danced off by Kurt and Ram
• Things are worse than ever
• I guess we’ll just do Act I
• No more traversing realms, JD!
• JD will use a sleep podcast script to make Ram and Kurt fall asleep
• They’ll drool and sleep like babies
• Then we can film them and embarrass them
• V is skeptical
• Our Love Is God, a JD led song
• A song about JD and V’s commitment to one another
• They’re getting swept up, just like every 17 year old
• A dream to make a new high school through V’s love
• V offers to tell a bedtime story to Kurt and Ram
• There’s also some hints that JD might not be totally above board
• Secretly, JD’s source material isn’t actually a sleep podcast
• V meets up with Ram and Kurt
• But then JD starts talking too!
• Ram and Kurt fall asleep
• But JD’s words make them cross realms, too!
• Veronica is dismayed that there was more realm crossing
• And that’s the end of Act 1