The Heathers Put Their “Mean Girl Clique” to Music with This Playlist

What’s your damage, Heather(s)?! More than a decade after it first premiered Off-Broadway, Heathers: The Musical is back with a vengeance — croquet mallets and color-coordinated scrunchies included.

The new production at New World Stages gives stars McKenzie Kurtz, Olivia Hardy and Elizabeth Teeter the chance to terrorize the halls of Westerberg High as the Heathers — the wicked clique of popular girls who rule over the savage dog-eat-dog world of Sherwood, Ohio in plaid-skirted uniforms of red (leader of the pack and infamous “mythic b—h” Heather Chandler), yellow (vapid head cheerleader Heather McNamara) and green (power-hungry yearbook editor Heather Duke).

“We feel like rockstars,” Kurtz tells Ticketmaster of the unforgettable moment the trio make their grand entrance during the show’s opening number, all as the rest of the school looks in wide-eyed awe, adoration and more than a little fear (and the audience goes wild).

“That first part of the show, the Heathers really move as a unit,” adds Teeter, “and from the second we enter, there’s a power we lock into together. It’s so fun to play off of the two of them and explore the dynamics of that hierarchy.”

The twisted pecking order between the three Heathers is challenged, however, when they decide to take a nobody named Veronica Sawyer (played by & Juliet Tony nominee Lorna Courtney) under their shoulder pad-clad wings and turn her into one of them. But when Veronica starts dating troubled transfer student J.D. (Casey Likes), things get murderous for her classmates — starting with Kurtz’s Heather Chandler.

The body count begins piling up with each murder made to look like a suicide, and suddenly life at Westerberg High escalates from bullying and expletive-filled insults flung between classes to jock-induced date rape, copycat suicides and, as J.D. becomes more and more unhinged, a plot to bomb the entire school.

Trigger warnings abound: As fans of the original 1989 teen classic know, Heathers’ sense of humor couldn’t be darker. Though in Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy’s stage adaptation, the pitch-black comedy is sprinkled with candy-coated musical numbers like “Candy Store,” “Big Fun” and “Dead Girl Walking.”

In its latest iteration, which has already been extended through January 2026, Heathers: The Musical has also been updated by the creative team with a revised book, new choreography and the addition of show-stopping songs from the 2018 West End production like the infectious “Never Shut Up Again” by Hardy’s Heather Duke and “I Say No,” Veronica’s 11th hour power ballad.

“It feels totally nuts,” Kurtz says of bringing the show back to its Off-Broadway home at New World Stages, calling it both “a dream role and dream show of mine.”

“I’m having a blast. I’m obsessed with this cast and the fans are insane in the best way,” she continues, while Teeter concludes, “It’s very fun to play a member of a clique so many people can identify…We ALL remember those people from high school.”

Ticketmaster caught up with the Heathers after school, and got them to curate a playlist of songs that their characters would jam (or kill) to. Below, step into the “Candy Store” as the threesome share the pitch-perfect songs by Beyoncé, Kesha, Olivia Rodrigo and more that inspire their nightly transformation into Heathers Chandler, Duke and McNamara. How very!

McKenzie Kurtz – Heather Chandler’s Mythic B—h Playlist

1. Ashnikko – “Tantrum”

Anytime I want to feel like a bad b—h, I listen to Ashnikko. This is the perfect song to strut to the theater to.

2. Queen – “Killer Queen”

Queen is one of my favorite bands of all time, and I feel like this song perfectly captures Heather Chandler’s posh, holier-than-thou essence.

3. Beyoncé – “Diva”

I feel like this just goes without saying.

4. Kesha – “Cannibal”

This is Heather C.’s freaky, feral side. Absolute banger. Makes me want to DANCE. 10/10.

Olivia Hardy – Heather Duke’s Playlist of Underground Talent & Fresh Discoveries

5. Mk.gee – “ROCKMAN”

Do you ever feel like you need a good walking jam to get your morning started? Like, ‘80s-style, Walkman in your hands, headphones over your ears, air guitaring down the sidewalk? That’s this song. If you’ve never heard of Mk.gee before, now you have. He also just co-produced Justin Bieber’s new album, SWAG.

6. BOYSCOUTMARIE – “Melody Machine”

Next up, we got a NY local band that I’ve been in love with for about two years now. One of the best places to find me on a random weekday night is in some basement in Brooklyn watching the local headliners. I ran across this band while at The Sultan Room watching my good friend Gian Perez (Sing Street, Romeo + Juliet) and his band Office Hours (check them out too, brilliant band from Puerto Rico!).

BOYSCOUTMARIE was opening and I just remember being floored by this giant voice coming of perhaps the smallest human being I have ever seen. Very much a heavily punk-influenced band — I find this song and this entire EP to be a wonderful display of artistry, songwriting and vocal talent. If you’re into punk rock, this band is for you.

7. Punch Brothers – “Julep”

This song just so happens to be my favorite song of all time, and for that reason, I don’t listen to it much at all save for maybe once or twice a year. I don’t want it to ever lose its magic (and for about 10 years, it hasn’t).

Give bluegrass country a chance! Everyone says they “don’t like country,” but they haven’t given the right country a try. Good country = good storytelling. I don’t even know if I have the words to describe how this song makes you feel. The lyrics do a pretty good job, though. You listen and let me know how it feels for you — I’m always curious to know how others react in contrast to myself. The full album is The Phosphorescent Blues (2015).

8. Claire Ernst – “Boots”

Lastly, and this is a tough one, but this has been on repeat for me the last few months since discovering it. This song popped up on, I think, Sabrina Carpenter Radio, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. The production is so pleasing and well mastered, the lyrics are so sweet — enough to make you cry. And the singer is from South Jersey, just like me. I couldn’t love her more. Check out her full [debut album], Oh, Hello! (2025). It’s a no-skips project.

Elizabeth Teeter – Heather McNamara’s Secret Lover Girl Playlist

9. Bonnie Tyler – “Holding Out For a Hero”

The classic ‘80s jam… the driving beat and fierce female backup vocals definitely get me pumped up and ready to hit “Candy Store.” Though I don’t think the Heathers are waiting around for Superman to sweep them off their feet…

10. Laufey – “Lover Girl”

Personally, I am a big Laufey fan. I love her instrumentation, and this new single just lightens my mood. Despite being in the mean girl clique, I do think deep down Heather Mac is a lover girl, and the joyful whimsy of this song helps me get into her cheerful airiness.

11. Olivia Rodrigo – “Brutal”

I think Olivia’s album SOUR really encapsulates the big highs and lows of being a teenager, which is also an underlying theme in our show. “Brutal” feels like throwing a tantrum, then recovering in a cool, collected way — which I think resembles the pressure cooker the Heathers clique operates under. Heather Mac is brutal to her classmates one second and then brutally wounded the next… and on top of all that, the song makes me feel like a cool girl when I listen to it.

12. Brandi Carlile – “The Joke”

I’ve always loved this song and play it when I need a release. There is a rawness in its message and a beautiful pain that feels cathartic to listen to. I do think in Act II, Heather Mac sheds her mask a bit and shows her pain in a way that requires me to be vulnerable in a way. I love having songs on rotation that allow me to feel and just get lost in the sound. It takes me out of my head, which sounds cheesy, but is true 🙂 I love music.