Be More Chill - Not just great but great for Broadway
Updated: Mar 13, 2019
Be More Chill debuted this evening at the Lyceum Theater after a journey from off Broadway, first appearing for a limited engagement in New Jersey's Two Rivers theater in 2015 before moving to a limited run at the Pershing Square Signature Center in New York and finally arriving at the Lyceum with the help of a huge virtual following stemming from the incredible online success of the soundtrack which has been streamed more than 200 million times prior to the opening night. The plot centers around a socially awkward teenager, Jeremy Heere played by Will Roland, as he achieves newfound popularity after ingesting a pill-sized supercomputer that can only be activated by washing it down with Mountain Dew. The play tackles age old social status and structure in the world of modern technology showing that some things, such as high school drama, never change. Viewers are given a first hand look into the side-effects of the get popular quick pill as it examines the relationships between the characters pre and post popularity pill. Jeremy' pot smoking, video playing best friend Michael Mell, portrayed by George Salazar, and the object of Jeremy's desire, Christine Canigula, played by Stephanie Hsu, are all collaterally effected by Jeremy's new found popularity. The play explores all of these items with extremely upbeat musical numbers and choreography to match. The best part of this new musical is the audience, a radical shift from the standard theater demographic bolstered by millions of online streams. A much younger crowd to the Broadway Theater experience can be evidenced by the shrill screams echoing throughout the building as certain characters enter the stage coupled with the audience members dancing in the seats.This fantastic new play is simply fantastic for Broadway.
Be More Chill
Lyceum Theater
149 W.45th St.Midtown West
Category Broadway, Musical
Run time 2 hrs. and 20 min.
Credits Music and lyrics by Joe Iconis
Book by Joe Tracz;
Choreography by Chase Brock;
Directed by Stephen Brackett
Cast Cameron Bond, Gerard Canonico, Katlyn Carlson, Stephanie Hsu, Troy Iwata, Tiffany Mann, Lauren Marcus, Will Roland, George Salazar, Britton Smith, Talia Suskauer, Jason Tam and Jason SweetTooth Williams
