Heathers The Musical at Sunshine Coast || Musical Director – Rachel Breeze

The Fame Reporter interviewed Australian theatre performer and musical director of Heathers The Musical, presented by Cope Creative and de Jager Productions playing at the Playhouse Theatre, The Events Centre, Caloundra from 31 October – 2 November.

From the team that brought you Grease The Musical, Sunshine Coast producers, Riley Cope and Marina de Jager are partnering up again to produce the smash musical hit, Heathers The Musical this Halloween.

With electrifying choreography and a wickedly funny script, Heathers The Musical brings the cult classic film to life in a thrilling tale of love, betrayal, and the perils of teenage hierarchy.

We sat down with Rachel and talked about what inspired her to pursue a career in the arts, her time performing in Heathers in London’s West End, what she loves about being Musical Director for the Sunshine Coast production and more.

Welcome to The Fame Reporter Rachel, can you share with us what inspired you to pursue a career in the performing arts initially?
Hello and thank you for having me. My first real theatre experience came from seeing ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ at QPAC when I was eleven years old. I was enthralled and proceeded to learn all the songs from the show the next week!

Throughout high school I was particularly interested in acting, but my musical background landed me in the sweet spot of musical theatre!

Can you share a bit about your journey from the National Institute of Dramatic Art to your recent work in the West End?
I was lucky enough to earn a place in NIDA’s Diploma of Music Theatre when I graduated high school. Upon graduating I was hoping to continue studying a degree at one of Australia’s drama schools but unfortunately didn’t make the cut (my first rejection experience of many!). I decided on a gap year in London – which turned into nearly nine years!

Initially I ushered in West End Theatres for three years, while also performing in amateur productions and singing at music theatre open mic nights. I even produced a show ‘Reagan Kelly’ at a pub theatre and also my own solo Kate Miller Heidke cabaret ‘Songs from the Southern Sky’ before successfully auditioning for Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts – one of London’s leading drama schools.

After my three years of training at Mountview I began auditioning professionally. It wasn’t until eighteen months later I landed my West End Debut role of Ms. Fleming in Heathers at the Other Palace Theatre.

I have learnt (and am still learning) the performing arts industry is a place for consistent hard work, persistence and patience.

What are some key differences you’ve experienced transitioning from a performer to a musical director?
What’s surprised me the most is the experience of nerves. I still get a little nervous when performing myself but as a musical director I know that actors and crew are relying on me to be focused and switched on at all times for the show to run smoothly. I am aiming to be a safe place for the actors and rehearse my own musical cuing at home so I can be as focused on them as possible during show week!

An integral part of this production has also been liaising with our musical supervisor Dominic Blanchard. Dominic is an experienced pit musician currently working on the European tour of Phantom of the Opera. He has created a completely bespoke cuing system for our production which has meant our show will be incredibly musically tight with the full rock band sound at our fingertips during the show!

We are incredibly lucky to have this type of system for our production and the professional edge it will bring to the show.

What does it mean to you to be returning to “Heathers,” especially in your hometown?
Heathers will always have a special place in my heart as the first show to take a chance on me as a performer. I was so excited to see it announced as a Sunshine Coast production and cannot believe I get to be Musical Director for it!

Heathers is quite a cult following musical, and while it has found great success since it was first workshopped in 2009 we don’t often see it in the community theatre production circuits!

On West End we fondly call Heathers super fans ‘Corn Nut’s’ and I believe we will soon have a Sunshine Coast collection of ‘Corn Nuts’

Having played Ms. Fleming and Veronica’s mom, how has that perspective shaped your vision for the musical as a musical director?
As a more classical style singer I found Heathers to be a huge stretch for me vocally. In our first rehearsals in London I adapted my song to include more soprano riffing and truly made it my own. Luckily our own musical director was delighted to play around with the material, and it was approved by the composer Lawrence O’Keefe.

Coming from a singers/performer’s perspective I have been very open to the cast making each song their own, changing keys if necessary, and doing everything possible to let them perform their numbers at 100% their own way.

How would you describe the musical style of “Heathers,” and what elements do you think resonate most with audiences today?
Heathers director, Andy Fickman, always described Heathers as half musical/half rock concert. It is a hectic score that always keeps the audience (and us!) on our toes. There have been no short-cuts in creating an incredible vibrant and humorous show which is only accelerated by it’s incredible score.

I think audiences love to hear that rock sound that we don’t always expect to hear from a ‘musical’. I have a deep love for the golden age Rodgers and Hammerstein scores, however I must say as contemporary musicals go it doesn’t get much better than Heathers!

How do you approach collaboration with the cast and creative team at de Jager Productions and Cope Creative?
A musical is always divided into three parts; the music, the dance and the acting and our job as the creative team is to bring all three of those together to the best of our abilities. While we have had prescribed times to rehearse these components independently, we are now in our final month of rehearsals assisting the cast into bringing these puzzle pieces together.

It’s been a delight to see the cast working so hard in the music calls, to then seeing what our wonderful choreographer, Abby Cutlack has created for the dance numbers, and finally seeing our director Riley Cope integrate his own special interpretation of the script into one fantastic streamline show!

After “Heathers,” what are your aspirations in musical direction or other areas of theatre?
I am still pursuing opportunities as a performer and excited to see what the Aussie industry has in store! I always practicing my piano with the view to become an actor musician and I’m on the look out for more MD opportunities! I have loved the process and hope to repeat on another show soon!

How do you see the Sunshine Coast theatre scene evolving, and what role do you hope to play in that development?
De Jager productions and Cope Creative have been an inspiration to me for many years now. I was lucky enough to attend high school with Riley Cope our director and I have watched him cultivate a thriving South-East Coast theatre community. Marina de Jager, one of our producers, brings invaluable experience from her extensive work in the theatre and helping lift the show into fruition!

It has been particularly special helping bring the show from West End to my home town and truly grateful to our producers Marina and Riley for having me on board. I eagerly await hearing their next production!

It’s been a delight teaching the cast and other Sunshine Coast locals at my private home studio in Buderim. In London I taught at a number of drama schools and specialise in helping young performers transition into the professional industry. We have a lot of young, ambitious performers at the beginning of their drama school auditions and journeys and it’s been wonderful to be involved in their process.

Can you share a fun or memorable experience from your time working on “Heathers” in the West End?
Every few months our production would host a ‘singalong’ event where house lights come up at every musical number and the audience is encouraged to sing along.

I must say singing ‘Shine A Light’ as Ms Fleming with 300+ very excited audience members will always be one of my top performing memories.

What can the Sunshine Coast expect with this version of Heathers?
Our director, Riley Cope, has a wicked sense of humour and style and I cannot think of a better person to take the reins of such a dark comedy piece! Our choreographer, Abby Cutlack has created completely original choreography for many iconic numbers within the show, while the local talent are blowing us away every rehearsal. Locals are in for a wonderful show!

Whilst Heathers is a dark comedy and does deserve its trigger warnings, it’s message and core is incredibly pure and genuine. Through the vessel of musical comedy we can’t wait for you to fall in love with Heathers!