Be More Chill will begin performances at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street) on Wednesday, February 13 at 8 PM. The official opening night is Sunday evening, March 10. Tickets are now on sale at Telecharge.com, (212) 239-6200 or (800) 447-7400, and at the Lyceum Theatre box office. Group Sales are available through Broadway Inbound, (866) 302-0995, groups@BroadwayInbound.com.
Be More Chill, features music and lyrics by Joe Iconis (NBC’s “Smash,” The Black Suits, Broadway Bounty Hunter) and a book by Joe Tracz (The Lightning Thief, Netflix’s “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events”) based on the cult sensation novel by Ned Vizzini. Stephen Brackett (Buyer & Cellar) directs and Chase Brock (HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) choreographs.
The initial New York premiere production of Be More Chill played a sold-out limited engagement off-Broadway this summer. A hit with audiences and critics alike, The New York Times writes “Be More Chill is one of the most popular musicals in America.” The Wall Street Journal raves “you don’t have to be a millennial to revel in the spunky charms of Be More Chill. See it now if you can wrangle a ticket, because it’s going to hit big – deservedly so.” The New Yorker says “if you fed Dear Evan Hansen and Mean Girls to the Little Shop of Horrors plant, with a few Xbox games as a digestif, Be More Chill is probably what you would get. …Dynamic, jouncy, and as infectious as malware.” The Hollywood Reporter says “uproarious laughter …enjoyable, catchy, up-tempo numbers, so winning that it’s hard to resist,” and Vox calls Be More Chill “a sensation. … wildly adored …universal. … The audience was screaming at every song.” Variety writes “It’s one thing to be told that Be More Chill is a viral hit on the internet. It’s quite another to experience the hype live and in the room, where the audience explodes like it’s at a rock concert. …People have come from all around the country, if not all around the world to see it.”
Even before arriving in New York, Be More Chill‘s inspired a dedicated community of fans around the world. Before opening, this summer’s New York premiere engagement sold out its entire limited run with tickets purchased by fans from all 50 states (plus Washington D.C.), and from 18 countries on five continents. Be More Chill had already amassed an unprecedented following across various online platforms, with millions of fans from Brazil to Japan to New Jersey sharing fan art, streaming the album (over 200 million streams to date), and talking about the show. In 2017, Tumblr ranked Be More Chill as the #2 most talked-about musical on their platform, following Hamilton. Shortly after the announcement of Be More Chill‘s Broadway run, it was announced that Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps(“Stranger Things,” Arrival, Night at the Museum) and Greg Berlanti Productions (Love Simon, “Dawson’s Creek,” “Brothers & Sisters”) would bring an adaptation of the Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz musical to the screen.
What if popularity came in a pill? Would you take it, no questions asked? In Be More Chill, achieving that elusive “perfect life” is now possible thanks to some mysterious new technology-but it comes at a cost that’s not as easy to swallow. What could possibly go wrong? Blending the contemporary with retro sci-fi, this thrillingly exciting, comically subversive, and deeply felt new musical takes on the competing voices in all of our heads. And ultimately proves, there’s never been a better time in history to be yourself-especially if you’re a loser…geek…or whatever.
The cast of this summer’s New York premiere production of Be More Chill featured Gerard Canonico (Spring Awakening, Groundhog Day) as Rich, Katlyn Carlson (Dirty Dancing, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin) as Chloe, Stephanie Hsu (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Christine, Tiffany Mann (Waitress, Jerry Springer the Opera) as Jenna, Lauren Marcus (The Humans at St. Louis Rep, Company at Barrington Stage) as Brooke, Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen, The Black Suits) as Jeremy, George Salazar (tick tick BOOM!, Godspell, The Lightning Thief) as Michael, Britton Smith (Shuffle Along, After Midnight) as Jake, Jason Tam(NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” KPOP) as The Squip, and Jason SweetTooth Williams (Freaky Friday, Benny and Joon, Bloodsong of Love) as Jeremy’s Dad/Mr. Reyes. Cameron Bond (Finding Neverland), Troy Iwata (The Boy Who Danced on Air), and Talia Suskauer (Love in Hate Nation) are the company swings.
Be More Chill features scenic design by Tony Award-winner Beowulf Boritt (Come From Away), costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley II (Lizzie Borden, Top Girls); lighting design by Tony Award-winner Tyler Micoleau (The Band’s Visit); sound design by Ryan Rumery (Fool For Love); projection design by Alex Basco Koch (Buyer & Cellar); wig and hair design by Dave Bova; musical direction by Emily Marshall; orchestrations by Charlie Rosen (Prince of Broadway, Honeymoon in Vegas); casting by Telsey + Company / Adam Caldwell, CSA & Rebecca Scholl, CSA; production stage management by Amanda Michaels (The Children, The Ballad of Little Jo). John Corker and Lisa Dozier King are general managers for the Broadway run of Be More Chill.
Following up on the success of the 2015 Two River Theater cast recording, available from Ghostlight Records, a special edition Be More Chill original cast recording on vinyl is now available. The 2-disc package features new illustrative designs, green and red colored discs, and a 16-page, 12 x 12 booklet with lyrics, production photos and a new liner note from Joe Iconis.