High school antics to hit the stage

SONG, dance, and teenage angst will soon be on show as part of the BallaRat Pack’s first production of the year.

Running across three days at Mount Clear College’s Gay E. Gough Theatre, the company is set to put on Heathers: The Musical (High School Edition) from Thursday next week.

The show’s producer and director Reuben Morgan said it will mark several firsts for the company.

“We’ve wanted to do a summer school production to give kids the opportunity to perform and to learn with professionals and to do a show that wouldn’t usually get put on in Ballarat,” he said.

“Heathers is quite a modern show that doesn’t come around very often. It’s something new and different that we’ve never performed before.”

The production is based on the 2010 musical adaptation of the eponymous 1988 black comedy film.

Cast and crew have spent two weeks overall rehearsing for the show, including one week in December and their second round this week.

“It’s a more intensive pre-production period than what we’re used to,” Morgan said.

“Usually, we have our Broadway to Ballarat shows which are 12 weeks of rehearsal. To have this in two weeks is exciting and scary at the same time.”

The show will feature a cast of 22 young performers and five adult actors as well as a live band featuring seven musicians.

Morgan said the show’s primarily high school-aged cast is bringing a layer of authenticity not normally seen in other adaptations.

“Our youngest high school-aged performer is 13 and the oldest is 18,” he said.

“It’s very much a youth-driven production. Usually, the show would be performed by young adults so to have this show, which is about high school life, being played by actual high schoolers is something very special.

“It’ll bring a new facet and angle to it and that lived experience which doesn’t happen very often in musical theatre.”

Heathers: The Musical (High School Edition) will run three times from 7.30pm to 9.30pm from Thursday 25 to Saturday 27 January.

Tickets are $25 for attendees under 17 years old, $30 concession, and $40 adult and can be booked at bit.ly/3SkpBnJ.