Be More Chill – Shaftesbury Theatre

Scott Folan and Blake Patrick Anderson in Be More Chill at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London

Be More Chill continues at Shaftesbury Theatre, London until 5 September 2021.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Surely the holy grail for commercial musical theatre producers is a piece that can connect with young people in a way that feels authentic. Those young people know how to use the internet which means they have the potential to make your show the next big thing. The path to success of Be More Chill – the musical by Joe Tracz (book) and Joe Iconis (music and lyrics) based on a novel by Ned Vizzini – has become the dream of theatre-makers across the world.

Originally a small production in New Jersey, Be More Chill released a cast recording that resonated with the young in an unprecedented way. Internet memes abounded; slash fan fiction was devised and devoured; and unsuspecting amateur productions saw hordes of excited fans selling out their shows and singing along, presumably to the bemusement of any attendee without a Tumblr account. With dollar signs positively bursting from the eyes of its producers, the show was brought to New York in 2018, and then to London’s Other Palace Theatre in early 2020. After a 15 month wait while the world dealt with a pandemic, it has now opened in the West End’s historic Shaftesbury Theatre.

More than most shows, the marketing for this production is absolutely spot on. There are lots of bright colours; excitable young actors with smartphones; and an angular, faux-digital edge to the graphics, all suggesting a thoroughly modern musical. Certainly, the original 2004 novel has been updated, but it is the show’s approach to dealing with very serious subjects that feels the most current.

Be More Chill is set in a high school and concerns social misfit Jeremy, his best friend Michael, his crush Christine, and the inevitable cast of gossips and bullies that stand in the way of his happiness. If your scriptwriting app had a template for “high school”, it would probably resemble this plot almost beat for beat. Even the musical’s USP – a wondrous ‘SQUIP’ pill that implants a supercomputer in your brain which tells you how to be ‘cool’ – is a 21st century update of the classic Faustian bargain of selling one’s soul for short-term gain.

But there is nothing wrong with a genre piece. By rooting itself in the stable foundations of a thousand tales told before, Be More Chill frees itself to be an absolute riot in its telling. The plot gallops along and the show’s two and a half hour running time (including interval) zips by with a rollercoaster’s pace. The set design is bright, neon, and centred around a ginormous LED screen. Huge kudos should go to director Stephen Brackett and graphic designers Beowulf Boritt and Alex Basco Koch for how sparingly and effectively this technology is used. There are many die-hard devotees to traditional sets who decry the use of screens and projections in theatre, but this show stands as proof that given the right artists at the helm, the technology is nothing to be feared.

Iconis’ music is firmly rooted in the modern pop-rock musical style, but it brings in just enough references to other genres to avoid feeling repetitive. Admittedly, Iconis doesn’t quite clear unscathed that perennial hurdle of a white musical theatre composer attempting rap, but on the whole the score is catchy, well-orchestrated (the recurring augmented chords and theremin-esque sounds that hark back to vintage sci-fi are particularly effective) and worthy of many re-listens after the show is over.

The cast is uniformly excellent. Scott Folan’s Jeremy strikes the perfect balance between soaring vocals and adorable, ‘geeky’ uncertainty. The ‘SQUIP’ supercomputer that takes over Jeremy’s brain is given a scene-stealing physical presence by Stewart Clarke, whose formidable rock vocals are matched only in impressiveness by his stunning, Matrix-couture wardrobe (one of many inspired choices by costume designer Bobby Frederick Tilley II). Miracle Chance shines as the primary object of Jeremy’s affections, Christine: a character who might fall into the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ trope was it not for her ‘mania’ being pushed so far beyond mere male fantasy it morphs into a truer kooky brilliance.

Perhaps the biggest round of applause of the night is earned by Blake Patrick Anderson for his rendition of ‘Michael in the Bathroom’, the show’s breakout Act II showstopping ode to social anxiety. Anderson’s performance throughout the play is touching and relatable, and when this charm combines with his immaculate vocals for this number it is pure musical theatre magic. Special mention should also go to Eloise Davies (Brooke) and Millie O’Connell (Chloe) – who play BFFs occupying opposing ends of the human-cartoon spectrum, but who are both flawless and hilarious in their execution – and Renée Lamb’s Jenna – who delivers not only some of the most uproariously funny lines of the show with undeniable charisma, but also some of the most virtuosic vocal gymnastics.

What Tracz and Iconis have done – as Vizzini did in his original novel – is achieve a feeling of authenticity not necessarily through contemporary references or language, but in tone. Given its subject matter and the sometimes-tragic backstory of its inception, Be More Chill is inseparable from the very serious issues of mental health, anxiety and adolescent male fragility that permeate not only the lives of its characters (and, presumably, also the lives of some of its young fans).

However, while it does a brilliant job of normalising such struggles and offering a reassuring shoulder of relatability, it never gets bogged down in seriousness or allows anything to detract from the pure fun on offer. There is something wonderfully authentic in its acknowledgement of the considerable hardship in this world, but stubbornly having fun anyway. Life is complicated and multifaceted, and so are young people. This show – on a surface level – is decidedly and blessedly not. Instead, it provides a pure-hearted, brightly-coloured and invigorating shelter from the storm.

Ian Bowkett