Michael Lehmann on the legacy of his cult teen film Heathers

While some of the taboo-busting elements of the Winona Ryder-starring film have not aged well, much of its toxicity still resonatesAny doubts about whether Heathers still appeals to people 30 years after its release were answered by a recent trip to Heathers: The Musical.

I’m old enough to remember seeing Heathers in the cinema in 1989, but looking around the auditorium, my generation was easily in the minority.

It was overwhelmingly young adults and teenagers, mostly female, many of them dressed in full Heather regalia: shoulder-padded blazers, knee-high socks, tartan, primary colours and, of course, scrunchies.

The movie’s pitch-black comedy has been brightened somewhat on its journey to the 21st-century stage, with the addition of musical numbers such as Freeze Your Brain (on the transformative properties of 7/11 slushies) and My Dead Gay Son (in which a double funeral becomes an anthem to inclusivity).

The show, which transfers to the West End in September,

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