Be More Chill (2015)

I missed the fervor over Be More Chill prior to its off-Broadway debut, and while I remember the buzz about it when it was making the move to Broadway, I was much more aware of the buzz than much of anything about the show itself beyond its basic premise. Given all the talk around it, I also remember being surprised when the only Tony nomination it snagged that year was for Best Original Score. After I learned that the “James in the Bathroom” number that James Corden performed at the Tonys (with assists from other Tony hosts of years past!) was a parody of a song from the show, my interest was piqued, but I didn’t follow through on that interest enough to check out the cast recording. More recently, though, I picked up the original recording from the show’s 2015 regional run, which features a number of the same cast members from the eventual off-Broadway and Broadway productions of 2018-2019, and I liked it quite a bit.

The premise is this: nerdy/awkward teenager Jeremy is clued into the existence of a SQUIP, a high-tech quantum computer that implants itself in a user’s brain after being swallowed in a pill (I’ve already talked at length about how much I love the SQUIP, so now we’re circling back to the show itself.) When he’s told that a SQUIP can teach him how to be cool, Jeremy decides to get his hands on one. Once implanted, the interface manifests itself to Jeremy and starts orchestrating his life, showing him how to get into the popular kids’ good graces and raise his social status while leaving his cheerfully-geeky best friend behind in the process. As the SQUIP’s influence over him grows, Jeremy has to decide whether or not popularity is worth what it’s turning him into.

It’s all painfully high school and follows the same beats of angst and insecurity that crop up in other teenage shows that have gained popularity on Broadway, from Spring Awakening to Dear Evan Hansen, albeit with more of an offbeat sci-fi hook. Musicals like this are known for their rabidly-devoted young followings and are frequently derided by theatre aficionados who find them trite and immature. Be More Chill is definitely tropey, and there’s more than one plot point that you can predict from space. But despite not being in the target demo, I’ve had a good time listening to the original cast recording.

Do I find the plot to be high art? Not particularly. But these shows resonate with young people for a reason, just like teenagers have also, at various times, been into Glee, Riverdale, and Pretty Little Liars. It’s wild and kind of sci-fi soapy, but it also wears its heart on its sleeve and speaks honestly about feeling alone, about feeling like everyone except you has cracked the code of how to be “normal.” There’s a place in the theatrical landscape for stories like that, and I’m fine with making room for it.

For my money, the score is the best thing to recommend it, which makes its lone Tony nomination make a bit more sense in retrospect. Composer/lyricist Joe Iconis doesn’t hit it out of the park with every number, but when he’s on, he’s really on. There are a lot of super catchy songs in this show with frank lyrics and infectious hooks, and I know I’ve spent my fair share of time in recent weeks singing snatches of “More Than Survive,” “Michael in the Bathroom,” or the title number while cleaning or cooking around the house. The show has a nice Broadway rock style that employs a fun pop/rock sound while still maintaining a good theatrical sensibility.

I’m most familiar with the show’s original cast recording, since that’s the album I have. Like I said, quite a few members of the original cast stayed with the show through its Broadway run, like George Salazar as Jeremy’s endearing best friend Michael and Stephanie Hsu as quirky theatre girl/Jeremy’s crush Christine. The show also features Gerard Canonico in a supporting role, who I’ve had a lot of affection for since he was a kid appearing in Children’s Letters to God off-Broadway. For original-recording-only cast members, Will Connolly does a great job as Jeremy, and Eric William Morris is excellent as the SQUIP. To be honest, when I downloaded this album, I hadn’t realized that there were two different recordings, but even though there’s a lot of cast crossover between the two, I’ll probably need to get the Broadway recording eventually, if only because YouTube taught me how much I love Jason Tam’s SQUIP performance, which is very different from Morris’s but equally fantastic.

Warnings

Language, sexual references, drinking/drug references, violence, and thematic elements.