Village Roadshow Pictures has teamed with Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment for the U.K. release of the live-captured version of hit West End production “Heathers: The Musical.”
The live-event style distribution strategy marks a first for both companies and will see a series of events premiering at more than 320 screens across the U.K. and Ireland from March 28 through May 6. In addition to screening the musical, each event will feature a bonus 10-minute special titled “Behind the Scenes at The Other Palace,” named for the London venue where the musical was filmed in 2022 as a Roku original for the North American market. Sky VIP also ran a preview screening on March 21 in 30 Vue cinemas across the U.K.
Similar licensing strategies in other international markets are expected to follow.
“Heathers: The Musical” tells the story of high school nobody Veronica Sawyer, whose dreams of popularity start to come true when she is taken under the wings of three beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers, until mysterious rebel J.D. shows her the deadly consequences of being somebody. The production is based on characters from the 1988 cult classic film, “Heathers,” which is now part of the IP library of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group’s parent company Vine Alternative Investments.
The musical is directed by Andy Fickman, with book, music and lyrics by Kevin Murphy. Laurence O’Keefe produced along with Village Roadshow and Bill Kenwright’s BKStudios. In 2018, the production transferred from The Other Palace to the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a sold-out limited run later that year. In 2021, it returned for another successful season, as well as a concurrent U.K. tour, before transferring back to The Other Palace.
Jason Buckley, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group’s executive VP of worldwide sales and distribution, said: “We are thrilled to bring this beloved story and these phenomenal performances to a wider audience. As we continue to develop and demonstrate the success of such innovative release strategies, we look forward to bringing this and other premium content to regions around the world.”
Adam Sergeant, COO, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, added: “Kaleidoscope is highly experienced in delivering premium content, such as ‘Heathers,’ to audiences through one-night only and special preview theatrical events. We have created exclusive bonus content to sit alongside the feature, available only for the U.K. theatrical market, and audiences are extremely excited to have the opportunity to experience this wonderful hit musical in a different format and setting. Ticket pre-sales have been superb. We look forward to further collaborations with the Village Roadshow team to come.”
The DVD and Blu-ray special edition of “Heathers: The Musical” will be released alongside the digital release on June 5.
Source: Variety
