In 2021, it was announced that the production, featuring the original London cast, would resume performances on the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre for a 10-week run starting June 30.
[6] It featured Will Connolly as Jeremy, Eric William Morris as The SQUIP (an acronym for "Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor"), George Salazar as Michael, and Stephanie Hsu as Christine, as well as Katie Ladner, Lauren Marcus, Jake Boyd, Gerard Canonico, Katlyn Carlson, and Paul Whitty.
[10][11] This production featured several original cast members including Hsu, Salazar, Canonico, Carlson, and Marcus reprising their respective roles.
Understudies and covers for the Broadway production featured Cameron Bond, Anthony Chatmon II, Morgan Siobhan Green, Troy Iwata, Talia Suskauer, and Joel Waggoner.
[18][19] On December 9, 2019, casting for the London production was announced, with Scott Folan as Jeremy, Blake Patrick Anderson as Michael, Miracle Chance as Christine, and Stewart Clarke as the SQUIP.
Other cast members included Renée Lamb, Millie O'Connell, Eloise Davies, James Hameed, Miles Paloma, and Christopher Fry .
[26] The cast was announced as Liam Oh as Jeremy, Jeremiah Alsop as Michael, Rebecca Hurd as Christine, Teresa LaGamba as Jenna, Michelle Lauto as Chloe, Eben K. Logan as Brooke, Billy Rude as Jake, Koray Tarhan as Rich, Alex Goodrich as Mr. Heere/Mr.
Millie O’Connell and Renée Lamb would not reprise their roles as Chloe and Jenna, and would be replaced by Grace Mouat and Nathania Ong .
On July 25, 2022, Be More Chill Japan began performances at the New National Theatre Playhouse in Tokyo, containing the same set design and script from London.
The cast consisted of Kota Yabu, Seishiro Kato, Sayuri Inoue, Yuya Kido, Akiyoshi Utsumi, Ruki Saito, Marika Dandoy, Ayaka Larrison, Bro Tom, and Daisuke Yokoyama[29] On July 1, 2023, Be More Chill had its official Dutch Premiere at the Zonnehuis in Amsterdam.
The cast consisted of Ethan Rajanayagam, M. Monteiro, Alissa Kos, Philippe Bernay, Mahila Baut, Brittany Sanders, Ties Jansen, Tsnatee Elisa, Mats de Winter, Michael Schilder, Simon Bitton, Seraphim Gumede, Eva Palacois, Evelien Vermeulen and Lauren Maxwell.
He lives with his recently separated father, who works from home and makes Jeremy uncomfortable by refusing to wear pants in the house.
His best friend, Michael Mell (on whose backpack Rich has written "riends"), tries to comfort Jeremy by telling him that being a loser is okay.
During rehearsal, Jake Dillinger, one of the popular boys, flirts with Christine, making Jeremy jealous ("More Than Survive (Reprise)").
Jeremy is tormented in the bathroom by Rich, who tells Jeremy how he managed his rise to popularity: as an unpopular freshman, he took a pill called a "Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor"—a "SQUIP"—containing a computer that implants itself inside the user's brain and tells the user what to do and say.
The SQUIP (in the guise of Keanu Reeves), criticizes Jeremy's appearance, personality, and behavior, telling him that everything about him is terrible ("Be More Chill, Pt.
The SQUIP delves into the inner psyche of the student body around him, giving Jeremy insight on the fears and insecurities of his peers.
Afterward, the SQUIP informs Jeremy that Christine won't date him until his social standing drastically improves.
Encouraging Jeremy to use an interested Brooke as a stepping stone to greater popularity, he hooks up with her, while Jake asks Christine to come to his house ("Upgrade").
Chloe also has Jeremy drink alcohol, causing the SQUIP to malfunction, and then feigns having sex with him after being caught, angering Jake and breaking Brooke's heart.
Michael tries to warn Jeremy of the dangers of the SQUIP, having researched it and discovered that someone ended up in a mental hospital after they went crazy trying to get it out of their head.
Jeremy talks to Christine without the SQUIP's help and he asks her out in a burst of confidence ("A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into (Reprise)").
The SQUIP retorts that Mountain Dew Red was discontinued decades ago for this reason, but Michael reappears from the audience with a bottle of his own.
Jeremy, however, knows this is not what he had wanted and makes Christine drink the last of the red Mountain Dew; this causes a chain reaction that destroys the rest of the SQUIPs ("The Play").
Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Be More Chill is one of the strongest new musicals of the past decade, a charming, astutely crafted tale of neurotic post-millennial geeks in love whose appeal is in no way limited to those whom it portrays.
"[38] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine wrote, "The audiences who made this show happen digitally are now making pilgrimages to the Lyceum Theater to see those songs done live by a talented young cast with enough juice to ignite every light on Broadway... By the time Jeremy belts out his final number, 'Voices in My Head,' you’ll be hearing those voices, too, in a wow of a musical that comes on like gangbusters.
"[41] On the other hand, A.D. Amorosi of Variety called the Off-Broadway production "a memorable thrill ride, a zealously caffeinated high school musical.
"[42] Of the Broadway version, Amorosi wrote, "Traditional theatergoing audiences that tend to be older than the teens and twentysomethings that packed the Off-Broadway run will find delicious favor in Iconis’ contagious melodies and tricky lyrics...Be More Chill is Broadway's wiliest and socially savviest night out for teens and parents alike.
Arifa Akbar of The Guardian said the production was "gloriously like its own thing, filled with astute observation alongside delightfully silly humour and storming performances.