From Class of Cabaret to the Heathers stage
Adelaide actor and self-described ‘little musical theatre nerd’ Abigail Sharp is heading back to high school for her first major role in the national touring production of Heathers the Musical.
When Abigail Sharp landed her ‘big break’, she had barely graduated from high school; in fact, she was at her graduation party when she got the call.
“I had to completely contain myself and walk back into this party, with every single friend that I have, all of their parents, all of my family – all there – and go the rest of the night without telling anybody!” Sharp tells InReview.
“When I finally got to tell my mum, I dragged her into a bathroom stall, and I told her.
“It didn’t feel real – the rest of the night, I felt like I was like floating, I felt high just from this news.”
This news was that Sharp, an Adelaide local, had been cast as one of the Heathers in Heathers the Musical.
Sharp grew up being inspired by Adelaide’s arts scene. She attended a performing arts high school and came up through the ranks in ‘Class of Cabaret’, a program established by the Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide Cabaret Festival and centrED, which offers mentorship and performance opportunities to high school students.
She auditioned for Heathers on a whim, and was more focused on auditions for university drama programs.
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“I seriously did not think that I would have a chance at even getting a call back,” Sharp says.
“I kind of just auditioned because me and my friends were all trying just for fun, to see if it gets us anywhere – and then I ended up actually booking the job!
“It’s really cool to be doing this at such a young age, and I just feel so grateful.”
Heathers the Musical premiered Off-Broadway in 2014 and had now opened in Adelaide after wrapping up a successful run at the Melbourne Arts Centre.
The musical is based on the 1988 film starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, which has now become a cult classic.
The story follows Veronica Sawyer, a teenage girl trying to make her way through high school. As she befriends the popular girls – the three Heathers – and gets into a relationship with a “dodgy guy”, as Sharp describes him, things take a turn for the worst.
“I think the moral is that you don’t need to chase popularity or try and be someone that you’re not,” she says.
Sharp plays Heather McNamara, a character she sees a lot of herself in.
“She [Heather] keeps to herself a bit, and she tries to just follow along with the crowd,” Sharp says.
“But then she realises that, actually, that is so much harder than just being herself.”
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Like many of her generation, and many in the young Australian Heathers cast, the 19-year-old discovered Heathers the Musical before she ever watched the 1988 film
“Being a little musical theatre nerd, I was really into the musical because it became really popular online with a certain bootleg – which is like an illegal recording of the Off-Broadway original production,” she says.
“I watched the Heathers movie after that, which I think is maybe more common in my generation – whereas I think for a lot of older generations, they grew up watching Heathers the movie.”
Whether it’s living up to the 80s cult classic, or an unofficial bootleg with millions of views, Sharp says she feels a responsibility to do the production justice.
“There’s been such a big response to all of the productions of Heathers that happened overseas and in the past, so it was really cool to be stepping into those shoes, but also a bit intimidating and scary.”
The production team for Heathers in Australia is the same as that of the West End production and the Off-Broadway run, with Andy Fickman as the director, Gary Lloyd as the choreographer, and Will Joy as the musical supervisor.
Working with a team of international creatives is a first for Sharp, and she says there’s been much to learn from those who have such an established relationship with this production.
“It’s been so cool to work with people who know the show so well and who love the show so much,” Sharp says.
“I also think that they [the production team] really appreciated working with an Australian team.
“I think we worked really hard over here, and they really appreciated that.”
Bringing this production to her hometown is an opportunity that makes Sharp both excited and nervous – a good kind of nervous, of course.
“I really can’t wait to share what I’ve been working on with all my friends and family and get to have a response from Adelaide and all of these people who were my mentors growing up,” she says.
“I think it’ll be it’ll feel really full circle.”
Heathers the Musical continues at Her Majesty’s Theatre until July 26
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