Untold Stories Theatre digs into the perils and pleasures of being 17 and back in high school in ‘Heathers: The Musical’

Cast of Heathers: The Musical which opens Friday at the Pumphouse Theatre (Mariah/Mariah Wilson)

A Calgary community theatre company known for producing family-friendly fare is taking a walk down the darkish side of the street with its latest production, Heathers: The Musical.

The show tells the story of Veronica, a student at Westerberg High School, who falls for J.D., who is dangerously charming, particularly when he launches a plan to take down the Heathers, the most popular -- and ruthless-- girls in school, because they are all that stand in the way of his utopia.

An adaptation of a hit 1989 Hollywood film starring Winona Ryder, Heathers was a kind of 1980s version of Mean Girls, which is brought to glorious stage life in Untold Stories’ new production, which opens Friday at the Pumphouse Theatre.

The production is co-directed by Untold Stories artistic directors Gad Gijon and Jason Bakaas, who said in their program notes that Heathers was a show they felt could challenge the cast of Calgary actors.

“While we love our family-friendly theatre,” they wrote, “Heathers: The Musical felt like a perfect blend of humour, heart and chaos.”

Heathers: The Musical runs at the Pumphouse Theatre through June 28. For more information, go here.