Rebecca Gayheart is returning to the cult classic that helped define her career, but this time she’s stepping onto a stage rather than a movie set.
Twenty-seven years after starring in Darren Stein’s 1999 teen film Jawbreaker, Gayheart is making her musical theater debut in Jawbreaker: The Musical, a workshop production running through September 20 at Hollywood’s Hudson Theatre.
Speaking to Deadline during a rehearsal break, she admitted the singing component has her rattled.
“Well, I’m scared shitless about singing. I’m just going to say that,” she said.
“I’m not a singer, so I have one solo and I’m really nervous about it. But at the same time, I am going to make it entertaining and fun. And if the singing isn’t amazing, it won’t matter, because the scene will be so much fun.”
In the original film, Gayheart played reluctant popular girl Julie Freeman, in the musical, she’s stepping into a new role entirely, playing Principal Sherwood, a part originated on screen by Carol Kane.
The stage adaptation follows the same premise as the film, a birthday prank at Reagan High goes fatally wrong, and the school’s ruling clique scrambles to cover it up, with a book by original writer-director Darren Stein, music by Jeff Thomson and lyrics by Jordan Mann.
The cast includes AJ Paramo as Fern Mayo, Méami as Courtney Shayne, Kristen Seggio taking over Gayheart’s original role of Julie Freeman, along with Jane Papageorge, Will Riddle, Mireya Zoé Nevel and Brandon Keith Rogers.
Gayheart isn’t new to the stage, despite her nerves about singing specifically, she made her Broadway debut in Steel Magnolias, playing the role originated by Julia Roberts in the film version, and later returned to Broadway in a revival of Boeing-Boeing alongside Christine Baranski and Mark Rylance.
Jawbreaker itself flopped at the box office upon its original 1999 release before growing into a cult favourite over the years, thanks to its stylized camp aesthetic and razor-sharp satire, the film also starred Rose McGowan, Judy Greer, Julie Benz, Pam Grier and Marilyn Manson.
