Trigger Warning: The following article contains content that relates to self-harm, substance abuse and underage sex. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Community Performing Arts Center (CPAC) in Mayfield, KY gives audiences their final chance to grab some corn nuts and relive high school like they were seventeen with its production of Heathers: The Musical this coming weekend from Friday, Oct. 25 to Sunday, Oct. 27.

This production in particular is a dark comedy musical based on the 1988 film written by Daniel Waters, dealing with serious topics such as peer pressure, suicide, abuse, use of illicit substances, underage sex, amongst others. Far from being the kind of play you would expect to watch in the rural regions of Western Kentucky and Tennessee, the play comprises a cast of adults and college students who are nothing short of musically talented.

Director Kyler Danowski was aware that the play was not the typical small-town theatre production many expected to be in the season lineup.

“[We’d] had a lot of people request it and we knew it was risky. So we slowly built up with two other after-dark productions…that were just kind of a slow little dip into something a little more risqué like this,” he said.

The story starts out when Westerberg High School senior Veronica Sawyer, played by Lone Oak Middle School theatre teacher Emily Parker, gets pressured by her “friends,” Heather Chandler (Cali Wheeler), Heather Duke (Hannah Huntley) and Heather McNamara (Faith Sheridan) to prank her nerdy childhood friend, Martha Dunnstock (Jennifer Lee). As Veronica grows tired of constantly bowing down to the other girls in an attempt to be “beautiful” and popular, she sets her eyes upon a mysterious new kid named J.D. (Alex Jones), who can easily take football players Ram Sweeney (Micah Franks) and Kurt Kelly (Weslan Banks) in a fight.

As she becomes more infatuated with J.D., she gets more involved with risky behavior with him, which she mostly dismisses due to his deceased mother and loveless father. It gets to the point where she plans to get back at Heather Chandler for ruining her image, which results in J.D. poisoning her with drain cleaner during what was supposed to be a harmless prank. In a panic, the couple forges a suicide note that leads the entire school to mourn and feel sorry for Chandler, even though she was mean to everyone when she was alive.

It only gets further complicated when J.D. kills Ram and Kurt in what Veronica thought was a harmless prank. All of this culminates in both Heather McNamara and Martha attempting to take their lives as they mourn the deceased students and view themselves as worthless.

Veronica decides to bring J.D.’s murders to an end, only to discover that he is plotting to blow up the school. After a confrontation in the boiler room, J.D. brings his makeshift bomb outside school as it detonates, killing him in the process. As the finale, Veronica, Martha and the Heathers come together and put aside the high school drama to be kids one more time before adulthood arrives.

Throughout the performance, the cast displayed excellent vocal talent that fit the energetic music perfectly. Parker’s leading portrayal of Veronica stood out as she led a variety of the show-stopping numbers that exhibited her character’s hopeful, timid nature in Beautiful and her chaotic, lustful side in Dead Girl Walking.

Jones’s portrayal of J.D. was also a highlight of the production. His ability to strike each individual note of his complicated solo, Meant to be Yours, was a testament to his vocal ability, displaying how he could sing with a rich timbre while displaying the mannerisms and expressions of a crazed, revenge-driven psychopath.

Many of the numbers relied on its large cast of characters and its ensemble. The high school students and their constant shouts of “freak,” “slut” and “homo” helped set the unhealthy environment the teenagers lived in every day. The Heathers specifically exuded an odd air of superiority everywhere they went, exposing their mean, snobbish attitudes through their dialogue and choreography through songs like Candy Store and Never Shut Up Again.

There were also a variety of scenes that displayed the teenagers’ partying, sexual desires and substance abuse through choreography courtesy Catherine Wyatt. Songs like Big Fun and You’re Welcome really encapsulated the boys’ erratic behavior through their movements, often involving suggestive gestures that were disgusting yet comedic.

The technical side of the production also left little to be desired. The set construction and artistry by Jamie Lee and Ronnie Moyers was fascinating, imitating a casual high school setting with lockers that could easily be rearranged into bedrooms and the like. One of the set’s best innovations was the use of an upper balcony, which helped make emotional scenes such as Martha’s suicide attempt in Kindergarten Boyfriend feel as if they were happening in real life. The lighting done courtesy Isaac Phillips and Matthew Owen helped properly convey the mood of each scene, changing color depending on which Heather was the central focus and even including a disco ball for a brief segment of My Dead Gay Son.

As her first performance through the Purchase Players, Veronica’s actress, Emily Parker, enjoyed her experience and appreciated the play’s dark undertones.

“Heathers is this just maniacal combination of humor and heart and fear. I feel like when you come to Heathers, you are not ever going to be bored, and it’ll always keep you guessing as to what’s coming next,” she said.

Alex Jones, who played J.D., encouraged that people come see Heathers and come to their own conclusions concerning its story.

“I do have a question for all the listening ears out there. Is J.D. fixable? Is he savable?” Jones asked. “CPAC has the cheapest tickets anywhere. It’s 13 bucks a ticket. You got to come out and see it.”

After a successful opening weekend, Heathers: the Musical currently has tickets available for Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. Welcome to the candy store.