'Be More Chill' a pill of a show

‘BE MORE CHILL’: The cast. Photo: Maria Baranova

BE MORE CHILL
Music & lyrics by Joe Iconis
Book by Joe Tracz
Based on the novel by Ned Vizzini
Directed by Stephen Brackett
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
866-302-0995
http://bemorechillmusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

The backstory of Be More Chill is perhaps more interesting than the musical itself. When the show originated at a small New Jersey theater in 2015, it reportedly became a digital phenomenon when its pop score went viral online on various social media platforms. After an Off-Broadway run last summer at the Signature Theater, the show has for some inexplicable reason opened on Broadway, targeted at the under-30 set (the younger siblings of millennials sometimes called Generation Z). Everything about this production is derivative of earlier musicals and movies that mastered the topic of tension between high school nerds and popular kids so much better (from Dear Evan Hansen to Mean Girls and Heathers).

Science fiction is the uninspired twist that sets Be More Chill apart from other teen angst musicals. Socially awkward teens Jeremy (Will Roland) and Michael (George Salazar) will do anything to shake off their geeky reputations. High school junior Jeremy is hot for Christine (Stephanie Hsu) and is eager to find new ways to impress her. Jeremy doesn’t have a great life at home, either. He lives with his divorced father (Jason Sweettooth Williams), a man who works from home and never wears pants.

Bully Rich (Gerard Canonico) introduces Jeremy to a computer-in-a-pill known as a SQUIP (an acronym for “super quantum unit intel processor”). Whenever one takes the pill, a computer implants itself in one’s brain and instructs the user in what to say and do in order to be cool. After meeting a “dealer” at a nearby Payless ShoeSource (don’t ask), Jeremy is persuaded to take the SQUIP. When he swallows the pill, the SQUIP manifests itself as a character modeled after Keanu Reeves (Jason Tam), clad in a sci-fi costume resembling a sad Vivienne Westwood knockoff. The SQUIP harshly critiques Jeremy’s personality, wardrobe and behavior and cooks up ways he can finally become popular among his classmates.

The narrative often seems like an excuse to pad out the story with numerous shrill technopop songs, from “More Than Survive” and “Do You Wanna Ride?” to “Halloween,” “Michael in the Bathroom” and “The Smartphone Hour (Rich Set a Fire)”. “The Smartphone Hour” is supposedly a tribute to “The Telephone Hour” from Bye Bye Birdie but fails miserably as a modern ode to that classic. Chase Brock’s choreography is unremarkable. One of the sillier subplots is the school play Christine and the other kids are working on, a zombie-apocalypse rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by the high school drama teacher Mr. Reyes (Mr. Sweettooth Williams again, playing one of several roles). The show’s sense of humor primarily mocks 1990s pop culture with references to Crystal Pepsi and “Red” Mountain Dew, Eminem and video games.

The performances from the cast are mostly forgettable except for Tiffany Mann, the gossipy teen with a powerful voice. Ms. Mann does her best to add some dimension to her role, but the rest of cast cannot rise above the paper-thin material and stereotyped characters. Unlike other teen musicals, there is ultimately nothing redeeming whatsoever about the characters here, so it’s impossible to root for any of these kids. Just like Mr. Reyes’ dreadful play within the play, Be More Chill is an unsatisfying evening of theater and reeks of amateur writing. Despite the colorful, clever sets by Beowulff Borritt and all the energy emanating at the Lyceum, watching the show is akin to being on a bad acid trip—awkward, painful, jarring and unsatisfying.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 13, 2019
Reviewed at March 12, 2019 performance.