Show guide
Be More Chill
Be More Chill is a rock musical about an awkward teenager who swallows a supercomputer pill called a Squip to become cool, built on a fervent online fan base before it ever reached Broadway.
- Broadway premiere
- 2019
- Music by
- Joe Iconis
- Genre
- Rock/Pop
- Setting
- 2010s
Be More Chill: quick answers
What is Be More Chill about?
- Jeremy Heere, an anxious high school outcast, swallows a SQUIP, a pill containing a computer that tells him how to be cool, but the popularity it brings comes at a cost to his friendships and his sense of who he is.
When did Be More Chill open on Broadway?
- Be More Chill opened on Broadway on March 10, 2019, at the Lyceum Theatre, following an Off-Broadway run at the Pershing Square Signature Center, and closed on August 11, 2019, after 177 performances.
What kind of musical is Be More Chill?
- It is a science fiction musical with an original score by Joe Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz, adapted from Ned Vizzini's 2004 novel.
Where and when is Be More Chill set?
- Be More Chill is set at a New Jersey high school in the 21st century.
Has Be More Chill played in London's West End?
- After a London run at The Other Palace was cut short by COVID-19 in March 2020, Be More Chill played the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre from June 30 to September 5, 2021.
Is there a Be More Chill movie?
- No film has been released. A movie version from producers Shawn Levy and Greg Berlanti was announced in 2018, and Levy said in 2021 that it was still in development.
The story of Be More Chill
Be More Chill follows Jeremy Heere, an anxious, unpopular high schooler who learns of a pill-sized supercomputer called a Squip that, once swallowed, feeds him real-time advice on how to become cool and win over his crush, Christine Canigula. As the Squip's guidance grows more controlling, Jeremy begins pulling away from his best friend Michael Mell and turning into someone he barely recognizes.
Set in a contemporary American high school, the show mines its premise for both broad comedy and real anxiety about conformity, technology, and the pressure to reinvent yourself to fit in. Its resolution hinges on Jeremy recognizing the value of the unglamorous friendship he nearly threw away.
The music and the makers
Be More Chill has music and lyrics by Joe Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz, based on Ned Vizzini's young adult novel. Iconis's score is unabashedly theatrical pop and rock, full of hooky, quotable choruses built for a young, internet-savvy audience, including numbers like Michael in the Bathroom and The Squip Song.
That pop sensibility, combined with the show's satirical eye on smartphone culture and social anxiety, gave its songs an unusually long life as standalone hits before most fans had ever seen the show performed live, since the Off-Broadway cast recording spread widely online well ahead of any Broadway transfer.
Be More Chill on Broadway
Be More Chill premiered regionally at Two River Theater in New Jersey in 2015, then built an enormous grassroots following through its cast album on streaming platforms years before an Off-Broadway remount in 2018 led to a Broadway transfer. It opened on Broadway in March 2019 at the Lyceum Theatre.
The show closed on Broadway in August 2019 after a run of several months, a relatively short stay that surprised many given its passionate online fan base, though it has continued to be produced widely in regional and school theatre. Its Broadway run is often cited as an early example of a musical's audience being built largely through streaming and social media rather than traditional word of mouth.
Be More Chill: frequently asked questions
Is Be More Chill still running on Broadway?
No. Be More Chill closed on Broadway on August 11, 2019, at the Lyceum Theatre after 177 regular performances, about five months after it opened.
When is Be More Chill set?
Be More Chill takes place in the present day in suburban New Jersey. Its licensed script sets the story simply in the present rather than in a specific year, following Jeremy Heere, a high school junior.
Did Be More Chill win a Tony Award?
No. Joe Iconis was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score at the 2019 ceremony, but the award went to Anais Mitchell for Hadestown.
When did Be More Chill open on Broadway?
Be More Chill opened on Broadway in March 2019 at the Lyceum Theatre.
Who composed Be More Chill?
Joe Iconis composed the music and lyrics, with a book by Joe Tracz.
What is Be More Chill about?
It follows Jeremy Heere, a teenager who takes a supercomputer pill called a Squip to become popular, and the toll it takes on his real friendships.
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