From Heathers to Six: Stealth musicals and the TikTok Broadway archive

Abstract

This article explores two popular TikTok trends that use sound bites from the original cast recordings of Heathers: The Musical and Six. The ‘Martha Dumptruck in the Flesh’ challenge from Heathers: The Musical and the ‘Yeah That Didn’t Work Out’ challenge from Six were, by and large, completely detached from the musicals. TikTokers who engaged with these trends, therefore, likely did not even know that the sound bites came from musicals. These musicals became what I term ‘stealth musicals’, or undercover musicals that proliferate on TikTok in ways that are completely removed from the show’s dramaturgy. As stealth musicals, Heathers: The Musical and Six did not just go viral but stayed viral on TikTok. I argue, therefore, that these two musicals became canonical pieces of Gen Z culture. With viral canonization, Heathers: The Musical and Six demonstrate how cultural capital accrues in digital spaces and, as a result, sound bites such as ‘Martha Dumptruck in the flesh’ enter into a public life that extends beyond the musicals themselves. Indeed, as I propose, quoting ‘Martha Dumptruck in the flesh’ is as synonymous with Gen Z culture as it is with the musical Heathers.