Annotations for Jodie steele carrie hope fletcher rebecca lock and original west end cast of heathers the me inside of me

Lyric: Heather cried, our sins fell on her shoulders!
 
 [HEATHER CHANDLER]
 Jesus Christ!
 
 [ALL]
 Heather died, so we could all be free!
Annotation:
Comparing her to Jesus Christ himself showing how much they all admire her and worship her almost like she is a god

Lyric: I’m sorry, it’s just that this classroom discussion has stirred up emotions I haven’t felt since Hands Across America!
Annotation:
This line used to be “Um, maybe Heather realized that in order to be happy, she had to give up her power, and the only way to to that was through death.” This, along with some other lyrics for what I suspect are similar reasons, was changed because it made suicide seem like the answer. Things like this are a little bit different in the high school version, to try make sure the teenagers involved in high school productions understand that suicide is not the answer. Perhaps when changing a lot of stuff for the West End version, Laurence O'Keeffe and Kevin Murphy realized that a lot of teenagers like Heathers, and tried to have a different approach to how they talked about suicide in some cases. A different line in the song that was similarly but not identically changed was, “this is the loveliest suicide note I’ve ever read” to “have you read this suicide note, really read it?”

Lyric: [PRINCIPAL GOWAN]
 Aw, hell. Long weekend for everybody!
 
 [MS. FLEMING]
 Not so fast, kids.
Annotation:
Suddenly, you can hear Mrs. Fleming yell “NOOOOT so fast kids!” like a party horn.

Lyric: Heather touching me…
Annotation:
In the original cast recording, it’s a goth girl that says this, hinting towards her being a lesbian. In both versions of the lyric, it shows Heather Chandler being objectified as nothing but a shallow princess, and ties in to the earlier line “I am more than just a source of handjobs”. Heather, or the imagined version curated by Veronica, is done with being a source of meaningless sex, contrary to the movie line, “They all want me as a friend or a fuck. I’m worshipped at Westerburg, and I’m only a junior,” which implies that Heather likes being desired after in this purely sexual way.

Lyric: [HEATHER CHANDLER]
 I’m bigger than John Lennon!
 
 [KIDS]
Annotation:
John Lennon was gunned down by a fan on December 8 1980. He was a famous member of the English band, The Beatles.  Being this musical takes place in 1989, it would be reasonable. for Heather to compare herself to Lennon. The way Heather says this line exitedly shows that she’s happy nobody forgot her and somehow she damn near worshipped by these kids!

Lyric: [HEATHER MCNAMARA]
 Her world seemed like a perfect place
 
 [MS. FLEMING]
 Go on!
 
 [HIPSTER DORK]
 But friends and toys had no effect
 
 [MS. FLEMING]
 Feel!
 
 [YOUNG REPUBLICANETTE]
 That’s why she punched me in the face
 
 [MS. FLEMING]
 Heal!
 
 [KIDS]
 ‘Cause she was desperate to connect!
Annotation:
These lines weren’t in the original Off-Broadway cast recording, and made an appearance in the  Heathers 101: The Musical (High School Edition).  The original lyrics are here: [HEATHER MCNAMARA] I never knew about her pain [MS. FLEMING] Go on! [HIPSTER DORK] Her life had hit a rocky patch [MS. FLEMING] Feel! [YOUNG REPUBLICANETTE] Deep down she wasn’t cruel or vain - [MS. FLEMING] Heal! [KIDS] She didn’t mean to be such a snatch!

Lyric: “Myriad”
Annotation:
To add context to this line: In the 1988 movie, Heather Chandler missed the word myriad on a vocab test. As J.D. is telling Veronica what to write in the suicide note, he tells her to use the word myriad. Veronica tell him she would never use that word, to which J.D. responds that she’ll “want to cash in on as many 50-cent words as possible.” When informed that she missed it on a vocab test, J.D. calls it a “badge for her failures at school.”

Lyric: She’s the dove that sings outside my window!
Annotation:
This is ironic as doves represent peace. Heather never did anything peaceful especially not to Martha who was probably her biggest victim.

Lyric: Air Supply
Annotation:
Air Supply was a band known for quite depressing lyrics

