Jason Blossom has been murdered. The small town of Riverdale is on edge and being very cautious about who they hang out with and what they say to others. In Riverdale, everybody knows each other, meaning the murderer could be your neighbor.
Throughout Extension-Korda’s original production of *Not Another High School Murder*, you follow Cheryl Blossom (Jason Blossom’s twin), who was very close to her brother and will not stop until the murderer is caught. The students at Riverdale refer to Cheryl as the “Antichrist,” as she knows how to get under people’s skin and how to twist stories to get her way.
Riverdale High students Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper, and Archie Andrews are also intrigued by what happened to Jason. They team up to look for clues to help solve the murder and watch their backs.
*Not Another High School Murder* was written by Gemma Cunial, who also played the role of Cheryl Blossom. It was inspired by the popular Netflix TV Series “Riverdale,” which was itself inspired by the Archie Comics by John L. Goldwater. *Not Another High School Murder* is also a musical with music from *Heathers*, but with rewritten lyrics. So, I guess you could say *Not Another High School Murder* is a parody, based on a parody, based on comics, with music from a musical that is based on a movie. Are you following me?
After watching a few episodes of *Riverdale*, I can see where many of the connections are made in this parody musical. I can see why Amanda Gray and Alex Hristoff were cast as Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, as they look almost identical to the actresses in the Netflix series. Actor Dalton Mugridge, who played Jughead, may not have looked like the actor but definitely embraced the embodiment of Jughead, pulling off a deep, dark, suspicious character who was also the narrator throughout the show.
A rather humorous scene in Act 1 involved Zephyr, who played Archie Andrews, and Carly Morrison-Hart, who played Ms. Grundy. It was a spoof of the TV series, showing the secret and scandalous love affair between teacher and student.
An actor not originally mentioned in the program was Joey Wright, who played Clifford Blossom. The reason for his program absence was that he had told a number of his theatre friends he was going to take a hiatus from theatre for a little bit. When he was cast in *Not Another High School Murder*, the only people he wanted knowing were the cast and crew. They all did a great job keeping it quiet. Joey was the surprise appearance of the show, shocking many people.
Having the music from *Heathers* was a good call for this show, as *Heathers* also carries some heavy subject matter and teen murder, making it suitable. As I said previously, the lyrics to the *Heathers* music had been rewritten to fit this show. For example, “Beautiful” is now “Riverdale,” “Dead Girl Walking” is now “Hot Girl Stalking,” and “Candy Store” becomes “Maple Store.”
Parodies are some of my favorite shows to go to. The acting is meant to be over-the-top and corny. You could tell the actors had a great time becoming these popular characters. It featured a minimalist set, making set changes easy. A screen overhead of the stage cast projections of things you would see in *Riverdale*, like the diner “Pop’s.”
KordaZone Theatre is known for its unique variety of shows, whether it is originals, parodies, plays, musicals, or even their annual holiday Pantos. If you were one of the audience members of *Not Another High School Murder* and want to see more, make sure you check out Korda’s next show, “Strangers Among Us,” which opens May 25th.
Cast:
Dalton Mugridge as Jughead Jones
Amanda Gray as Betty Cooper
Alex Hristoff as Veronica Lodge
Zephyr as Archie Andrews
Gemma Cunial as Cheryl Blossom
Jessie Gurniak as Josie McCoy
Sara Way as Sabrina Spellman
Grace Gasparini as Juno Cooper
Riley Campbell as Kevin Keller
Carly Morrison-Hart as Ms.
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