Be More Chill, the smash hit Broadway musical, is to transfer to London to make its UK premiere at The Other Palace on Wednesday 12 February 2020. Be More Chill is based on the groundbreaking novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini.
With original music and lyrics by Joe Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz, Be More Chill is an international sensation – when the 2015 Original Cast Recording was released, millions of people streamed the album and formed a passionate community of Be More Chill fans, ultimately leading the musical to receive a Broadway production.
When the 2019 Broadway Cast Recording was subsequently released, it debuted at #2 on the Top Cast Albums Chart. Songs from the musical have accumulatively garnered over 318 million streams, with the breakout track Michael In The Bathroom amassing over 31 million streams and 8 million YouTube views alone. Tumblr has ranked Be More Chill as the #2 most talked-about musical on their platform, behind only Hamilton.
This new production of Be More Chill will run at The Other Palace through until Sunday 3 May 2020. Tickets go on priority booking from Thursday 3 October 2019 and on general sale from Tuesday 8 October 2019.
Be More Chill tells the atypical love story of a boy, a girl….and the supercomputer inside the boy’s head guiding him every step of the way. The boy is desperately trying to fit in. The girl’s longing to be noticed. And the supercomputer just wants to take over the world.
The Tony Award-nominated score bursts with addictively catchy songs including More than Survive, Be More Chill and the hugely popular Michael in the Bathroom.
The success of Be More Chill in the US has been led by a groundswell of unprecedented online support. The show was commissioned by and premiered at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey in 2015, had a limited run, and released an original cast recording. In 2017, the number of online listeners to the recording started growing, with fans creating animated YouTube videos, art fiction, blogs and vlogs.
In 2018, the show’s creators thought it was time to bring it back – resulting in an ‘off-Broadway production’ and this year’s Broadway run at the Lyceum Theatre. Its runaway success continues with its London premiere at The Other Palace and a film adaptation which is currently underway.
Joining Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz on the creative team are director Stephen Brackett, choreographer Chase Brock, set designer Beowulf Boritt, costume designer Bobby Frederick Tilley, lighting designer Tyler Micoleau, sound designer Ryan Rumery and projection designer Alex Basco Koch. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Charlie Rosen, music vocal arrangements by Emily Marshall and UK casting is by Will Burton.
Casting for the UK production is still to be announced.
