Be More Chill (musical)

The list

1. 01

   New Jersey (2015) 2015

   World premiere at Two River Theater, Red Bank; directed by Stephen Brackett

2. 02

   Off-Broadway (2018) 2018

   Pershing Square Signature Center; Will Roland as Jeremy; extended one week

3. 03

   Broadway (2019) 2019

   Lyceum Theatre; 30 previews, 177 performances; cost $9.5 million

4. 04

   Off-West End (2020) 2020

   The Other Palace London; closed early due to COVID-19

5. 05

   Cancelled Chicago production (2020) 2020

   Apollo Theater run cancelled due to COVID-19

6. 06

   West End (2021) 2021

   Shaftesbury Theatre; ten-week run; most London cast returned

7. 07

   Japanese production (2022) 2022

   Tokyo New National Theatre Playhouse; then Fukuoka and Osaka

Facts from the original

• Music and lyrics by Joe Iconis, book by Joe Tracz, based on the 2004 novel Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini.
• World premiere ran May 30 to June 28, 2015 at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey.
• The musical was commissioned by Two River Theater in 2011 as part of its new play development program.
• A cast recording of the original production entered Billboard's Cast Album chart Top 10 in July 2017, helping spark an Off-Broadway run.
• Off-Broadway played the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center, previews July 26 and opening August 9, 2018, closing September 30, 2018 after a one-week extension.
• Broadway previews began February 13, 2019 at the Lyceum Theatre, opening March 10, 2019 and closing August 11, 2019, playing 30 previews and 177 performances.
• The Broadway transfer was estimated to cost $9.5 million according to lead producer Jerry Goehring.
• Off-West End began previews February 12, 2020 at The Other Palace, opened February 18, 2020, closed early March 16, 2020 due to COVID-19, and all remaining performances were cancelled June 3, 2020.
• West End run resumed at the Shaftesbury Theatre for ten weeks, opening June 30 and closing September 5, 2021.
• A Chicago engagement at the Apollo Theater was postponed then cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Japanese production opened July 25, 2022 at the New National Theatre Playhouse in Tokyo, then ran in Fukuoka and Osaka.
• The SQUIP is an acronym for Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor, a pill-sized computer implanted in the user's brain.
• The world premiere cast album was recorded July 21, 2015, released October 31, 2015, and has over 350 million streams online.
• An original Broadway cast album was recorded in March 2019 and released May 3, 2019.
• The cast recording was issued on vinyl by Ghostlight Records in July 2018; the song Loser Geek Whatever was released as a single November 29, 2018.
• George Salazar won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical; the show was also nominated for Outstanding Musical.
• Joe Iconis was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score for the Broadway production.
• A film adaptation was announced October 20, 2018, produced by Shawn Levy's 21 Laps and Greg Berlanti's Berlanti Productions, distributed by 20th Century Studios, with Iconis as executive producer.
• In August 2021 Levy confirmed a script had been written by the musical's creators and the project was still in development.
• Critics gave the show mixed reviews; Terry Teachout and Peter Travers praised it, while Ben Brantley of The New York Times was harshly critical.
• The Off-West End production received mostly positive reviews from The Guardian and The Telegraph.
• Plot: Jeremy Heere, a bullied high school junior, buys a SQUIP to become popular, gains then loses friends, and learns to make his own decisions.
• Plot: Rich Goranski, once unpopular, tells Jeremy about the SQUIP he used to rise to popularity.
• Plot: Jeremy's best friend Michael Mell is progressively abandoned as the SQUIP boosts Jeremy's social standing.
• Plot: On Halloween Jake hosts a party; Chloe pursues Jeremy, alcohol makes the SQUIP malfunction, and Michael has a panic attack in the bathroom.
• Plot: Rich threatens his SQUIP with a lit jack-o'-lantern and burns down Jake's house, sending Rich and Jake to the hospital.
• Plot: Green Mountain Dew activates the SQUIP while discontinued Mountain Dew Red deactivates it, used to free the student body.
• Plot: At the end Rich comes out as bisexual, Michael and Jeremy reconcile, and Christine agrees to date Jeremy.