'Heathers' stars Lorna Courtney and Casey Likes continue to rule NYC's teen-theatre scene

The Off-Broadway revival’s stars go back to high school as they usher a cult classic musical adaptation of the 1989 film back to the stage as Veronica and J.D.

"We came in and had a packet of questions about these characters handed to us. We literally hit the ground running," remembers Casey Likes, who is returning to the stage as the brooding bad boy J.D. in a revival of the cult favorite Heathers The Musical. Based on the 1989 film about a mysterious series of murders at a high school, the musical is appearing at New World Stages, the same theatre where it debuted off Broadway in 2014.

"There’s really a family that was created with this show and all the iterations and versions and casts before," added Lorna Courtney, who stars as Veronica, a teenage nobody whose exploits with J.D. and her school’s popular clique (the titular Heathers) launch her into infamy. "It feels great to be a part of that."

But Likes and Courtney have even more in common than headlining this musical. Both actors made recent marks on the New York stage playing beloved teenage roles. Likes took his first Broadway bow as the curious young journalist William Miller in a 2022 musical adaptation of Almost Famous and followed it up as the ’80s icon Marty McFly in the Back to the Future musical. Meanwhile, Courtney earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for originating the title role of & Juliet, a reimagined version of Shakespeare's young heroine.

Likes and Courtney took some time away from rehearsals to talk with New York Theatre Guide about playing teenage leads and bringing Veronica and J.D. back to the stage.

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What is exciting about starring as Veronica and J.D. in Heathers?

Lorna Courtney: For me, Veronica is sort of the heroine, like Joan of Arc. It’s for the greater good that I save my school. I’m a martyr. And the movie Heathers is a cult classic, right? So we already have a fan base, which was neat and exciting with & Juliet. It’s also special doing the 10-year anniversary production in the same theatre where Heathers premiered. So there’s a bit of a legacy there, and it’s an honor.

Casey Likes: My job this time around is to make you root for me the same way I made you root for Marty McFly and William Miller, but this time I get to switch it up on the audience and make them question more about why they’re rooting for me, which is fascinating. It’s the type of discussion that needs to be happening in theatre. I’m excited to be a part of an important conversation like that and to play a role that is so drastically different from the last two.

Since the release of the film, which starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater in your roles, Heathers has become a favorite among young audiences. What makes the story resonate?

Courtney: Just how Veronica sees herself in every character, audience members see themselves in us too — and our show has some hard subject matter. It deals with bullying and mental health and thoughts of suicide, and unfortunately, that can be a reality for high schoolers. But in that same sense, the show is a lot of fun. In the numbers, you just want to dance and sing along. So it’s relatable and hilarious at the same time.

Likes: It’s a Trojan horse. I love a Trojan horse musical, something you go into thinking, “I’m going to have a good time,” and then you leave having learned all these lessons.

That’s so true; the show has some deep themes, like peer pressure. In finding your characters, have you two drawn on your own high school experiences?

Courtney: I definitely draw on previous school experiences. Though my high school was a bit different because I went to [the NYC] performing arts high school LaGuardia. So we were singing and dancing on tables and writing music with guitars in the hallway! But I’d imagine Heathers is what any normal public school would be like. You have different cliques, and people feel isolated from those groups. Here, there’s a hierarchy — Veronica is trying to find her way and navigate and survive this final year of high school.

Likes: I did go to public school, and all of this stuff did happen, but I stayed away from it quite a bit. I still went to the big, fun parties, like [Heathers characters] Kurt and Ram. But I would be there, and I was not aware of the debauchery, like J.D., in the sense that I had strong opinions about who I spent my time with and who, morally, I thought was worth my time in high school, which is such a J.D. thing to think.

I guess it paid off because I’m where I wanted to be. But it’s very interesting playing a role that is so anal-retentive, so anxiously aware of his morality, which is something I’ve always been quite aware of — but he takes it a little too far.

What do you hope audiences take away from Heathers?

Courtney: I would say kindness. A little goes a long way, and you never know how it will affect someone’s life. So I would say being kind and spreading love.

Likes: It is hard to find theatre right now that is going to simultaneously entertain you while also doing something very important for the current society we are in. Heathers is that. There are messages and themes in Heathers that really, genuinely, if unwrapped and taken in beyond just the good songs and good dances, can change society a bit.

Get Heathers The Musical tickets now.

Photo credit: Heathers off Broadway. (Photos by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)